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<p>Point taken! :)</p>
<p>This is a little off the original topic of kids traveling alone but-</p>
<p>I just got back from revisit day with my middle son. We flew home out of Hartford, Bradley Int’l airport. I had the 2 youngest boys with me, 14 and 10. No problems at the ticket counter, United. We get to the TSA guy and he asks if the boys have any id. My 14 year old had a school id with a picture that he showed him. He actually recommended that we get them state photo ids from DMV or travel with their passports. It wasn’t that he was not going to let them through he was just being extra careful. He did not seem to be questioning whether or not I had my husbands permission to have the boys but rather who they were.</p>
<p>First time for everything!</p>
<p>I agree about having some sort of official id. My daughter has her school id which has been fine at TSA but could probably be easily duplicated. So she also carries her passport. I like the idea of the state photo id since it is cheaper to replace than a lost passport - I’ll check it out. Thanks for the tip.</p>
<p>My daughter is in her senior year of boarding school (she’s been there for 4 years) and has flown back and forth alone an average of 6 times per year for those 4 years – in addition to weekend trips to visit colleges, summer trips to visit friends, etc. – probably more than 30 round trip flights over the past few years. She does not have a driver’s license and she does not travel domestically with her passport because she has lost countless school IDs, credit cards, etc. The school ID (which has her picture and birthdate on it) has been fine on every occasion and she has NEVER been questioned by any TSA agent. The TSA regulations, as someone mentioned, require only adults 18 and over to provide ID. Soon we will have to get her a state ID since she’ll be over 18. I’d like to point out that not only is a passport expensive to replace but logistically a nightmare (having just done this with another child). </p>
<p>I’d also like to put in a good word for Southwest (no, I do not work for them). 90% of my child’s travel has been on Southwest and she has been delayed ONCE in four years. Never a flight cancellation! I fly once a month on Southwest to visit her and I have had 2 short delays – that’s it, with over 40 round trip flights. I go to an airport that is 30 minutes farther from my home just to take Southwest, because I know I won’t encounter unnecessary delays and rude treatment. On nearly occasion when I’ve taken another airline, I’ve been delayed and once was involuntarily bumped. Twice my flights were canceled for no evident reason. Also, as another poster pointed out, you can change your flight on Southwest without paying a penalty (which comes in handy when dealing with exam and sports schedules!) and you can check 2 bags for free.</p>
<p>We have had the same experience with Louisaj and Southwest.</p>
<p>Our experience has been that airlines don’t ask for the ID of a teenager if s/he is with adults. However, it is different when they travel alone. JetBlue phone reservation agents say that a boarding school ID with birthdate is NOT sufficient as it is not government issued (despite the fact that US presidents have graduated from some of these schools). Now, in reality they may allow a boarding school ID, but to be safe, I recommend the non-driver ID that most states have for US travel. However, it is wise to get a passport for your child even if you don’t think that you will need it…you never know when that club they are in will go on a trip to Canada.</p>
<p>Many yeas ago, why my d was about 5, she began traveling with my parents and traveling abroad. It was suggested to me send a certified letter with my parents along with medical card to allow my parents to make medical decisions if needed.</p>
<p>At that time I was told each state DMV provided ID’s for underage kids. I spent the 10 bucks and my d has had an ID ever since. Thus when traveling within the US she doesnt need her passport.</p>
<p>Great investment.</p>
<p>TSA loves it and they smile when she pulls it out…she never has to undergo the extra searches.</p>
<p>From the TSA website:</p>
<p>Effective June 21, 2008, adult passengers (18 and over) are required to show a U.S. federal or state-issued photo ID that contains the following: name, date of birth, gender, expiration date and a tamper-resistant feature in order to be allowed to go through the checkpoint and onto their flight.</p>
<p>So, passengers under 18 are NOT required to show government issued ID. The only reason my daughter has had to show ID is that she looks like she could easily be 18. No one at the airport asked her for ID until fairly recently, when she could be mistaken for an adult. The individual airlines may request ID because of their rules regarding minors traveling alone, but the federal regulations clearly state that minors under 18 DO NOT need to show ID while going through security. My daughter has flown through Baltimore, Logan, Manchester NH, Midway, O’Hare, Fort Myers, LaGuardia, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, Washington Reagan, and probably others I’m forgetting about over the past 4 years and has never been asked for a government ID.</p>
<p>Of course, there’s no reason not to play it safe and get the state issued ID – I’m just pointing out that our federal laws don’t require that.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great advice–you’ve convinced me !</p>
<p>I’m thinking of getting a passport card along with the regular passport (I think it’s only $10 more), and having my son either leave his passport at home or in a safe place at school. I think the card would work as well as a DMV id on airplanes, and it’s good for Canada as well. I also have concerns about him losing his passport, but the card is less essential, and less easy to misplace because it can stay in his wallet.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience traveling on United? I’ve been on their website, tried to call, and can’t get a live person to save my life–it looks like they won’t let unaccompanied minors fly unless they have an adult with them at the gate both at arrival and departure–but I’m not sure if I’m reading correctly–that might just be for 12 and under. The school provides shuttle service to and from the airport, but I can’t imagine any can sit with every kid at the airport! </p>
<p>I’m going to really be stuck if he can’t fly United as it’s the only airline within a 5-hour drive…I hate air travel!!!</p>
<p>I googled “United unaccompanied minor” and this nifty page came up for you:</p>
<p>[United</a> Airlines - Airline Travel Safety Rules: Unaccompanied Children](<a href=“http://www.united.com/page/article/0,1360,1052,00.html]United”>http://www.united.com/page/article/0,1360,1052,00.html)</p>
<p>From my cursory glance, it looks like 12-17 are NOT required to use a service. Scroll down for the chart.</p>
<p>Hope this helps.</p>
<p>BTDT–the chart seems to suggest that it’s okay, but then, below, there’s this stuff about filling out forms for all minors. Do you think that’s just for parents who choose to label their 12-17 year olds as unaccompanied minors? Another site I found says that children over 12 can travel as adults…so if I say he’s an adult, he’s not a minor as long as he’s over 12? </p>
<p>I just e-mailed United (since they apparently no longer have live human beings answering phones.) and got an automated repsonse telling me they’d get back to me within…FIVE DAYS! I swear, I’d send him by stagecoach if I could.</p>
<p>Never mind…I found a website that answered my question–and neato was right–I was overcomplicating things. I just had a panic attack at the thought of my son being sent back home at the airport because I didn’t read the fine print correctly! </p>
<p>At any rate, I’m posting the link as it discusses most of the major airlines and reiterates what many of you have said about Southwest. </p>
<p>[The</a> Ins and Outs of Air Travel for Minors - SmarterTravel.com](<a href=“The Ins and Outs of Air Travel for Minors”>The Ins and Outs of Air Travel for Minors)</p>
<p>classicalmama- My son always flies UAL to and from BS and has not once gone as a UM. He is 15 and uses his driving permit for ID but before he had that he took his passport with him. He has never had a problem. Starting in September I will be sending his brother as well and he is 14. I think I will get him the id from the state just to protect that expensive passport from careless kid stuff!</p>
<p>My D travelled alone frosh year as a 14, then 15 year old. Only JetBlue allows a 14 year old to travel without restrictions (and yes, get a state ID to prove it) I think most if not all airlines (at least, UAL, AA, Continental, Delta), allow a 15 year old to travel alone/no assistance. On those same airlines, at 14, someone needs to accompany to the gate and designate another person to pick them up at the gate upon arrival. BS, which provided a shuttle service at the airport, sent a faculty member to be the designated person to accompany to/from gate. Each of those airlines also charged a $75-100 fee for 14 year old–even though we got no value and had the added hassle of a designated gate person.</p>
<p>erlanger,</p>
<p>How does a school arrange to have someone meet students at the gate? I thought TSA didn’t allow anyone except ticketed passengers near the gates.</p>
<p>I know that goaliegirl’s school doesn’t send anyone to the gates. Heck, there isn’t even a school employee on the shuttle bus - it is hired out.</p>
<p>Goaliedad,</p>
<p>You can get a gate pass from the airline’s ticket counter to accompany your child to gate.</p>
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<p>Yes, that is the easy part, but the pickup part would require someone on the receiving end to present evidence that this person has legal responsibility to meet someone at a gate. How would an airlines know who is supposed to pick someone up?</p>
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<p>You designate this in advance, likely when you make the reservation.</p>
<p>You can not always get a gate pass to take a child to the gate. Once at UAL in Chicago they let me go with him and he was not traveling as a UM. The next time also UAL but in Milwaukee they would not let me go with him because he wasn’t traveling as a UM.</p>
<p>Also no one from my sons BS meets kids at the airport after breaks. It may be possible to arrange something but I have not inquired into that. He just goes and gets a taxi. Last time another boy he knew was on the same flight so they shared one.</p>