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Ticket pickup by minor children

danielnrouse
Explorer C

I live in Colorado and purchased tickets for my two minor children (15 & 13 - I know they still pay adult prices) living in Minnesota to travel out to see me.  What do they need to do when they get to the airport to get their tickets?  No Drivers license, credit card, etc for Identification.  They fly on the 23rd so I can't print and mail them out.

12 REPLIES 12

Re: Ticket pickup by minor children

bec102896
Aviator A
Solution

Great question!

 

when they get to the airport they can print the boarding passes at a kiosk and if they are checking bags they can do that as well at the ticket counter. Be sure they get to the airport with plenty of time because lines will be longer since it is the holiday season.  All you kids will need is the confirmation number since they are under 18. Another thing I would recommend is emailing your kid the confirmation email so they can show it to the Rep at the ticket counter.

 

Hope this helps!

Blake 

Re: Forcing a 12 year old minor children travel alone-

KimSmith
Explorer C

Who would ever think a 12 year old is old enough to travel alone!  I will NEVER use Southwest Airlines again.  I have a 12 year old grandson that recently had to start flying back and forth between Tampa, FL and Spokane, WA due to custody situation. Southwest will not even give you the option to pay for an unaccompanied minor if the child is 12.... ridiculous!  I'm talking I begged these people to take my $50, what is the issue.  In my opinion a 12 year old is not old enough to deboard a plane, walk through an airport full of people alone, especially during a busy season such as Christmas and New Years to get to the correct gate.  REALLY Southwest, you people charge for everything imaginable but you cannot take the $50 to ensure that a minor child gets to the correct gate!!!! Priceless, so now I'm stuck with a "credit in the childs name only" that I will never use due to this stupid policy.  I travel with a huge communication company quite often and I will NEVER use Southwest for even my own travel.  You should be ashamed, you'll sell alcohol to people who are more than likely getting off the plane and driving.... no second thoughts on collecting money there, but you will not take my $50 for piece of mind that my grandson will get to the correct gate...because he's 12 not 11 years old.  One of the stupiest policies I've ever heard of. Alaska will care for a child up to the age of 17 and let them travel as an unaccompanied minor, you are sad to let a 12 year old do this alone. Guess it's probably because you can make more money off the parents having to buy another ticket when the child wanders aimlessly thru a busy, packed airport and misses their flight, that makes sense....you get more on the backend while a scared child wanders aimless in a huge airport. I see in another post you are GLBT friendly, great because you sure are not kid friendly.

Re: Forcing a 12 year old minor children travel alone-

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager

Hi @KimSmith,

 

Thank you for taking time to visit the Southwest Community - I'm sorry you had a frustrating experience. I can offer some information that might be helpful and encouraging to you, should you want to consider giving us another chance to serve your family. 

 

At the ticket counter, you can request an "Escort Pass," which will allow you to accompany your grandson to to the gate, and a family member or friend on the arrival side can also request an Escort Pass, which would allow him/her to be waiting for your grandson at the gate. When we know someone is booking for a Young Traveler, we make every effort to fully educate them on the process. If we fell short in that, we're truly sorry. You and your grandson are important, and we want to do better next time around. Please reach out in a private message if I can be of assistance.

 

Re: Forcing a 12 year old minor children travel alone-

KimSmith
Explorer C

What would help would be providing unaccompanied minor travel for him.  I work for Verizon Wireless as a call center manager.  I travel quite frequently and I will never use Southwest and I know word of mouth carries a lot of weight. I'm completely appauld that you would not allow assistance to a young minor.  I could see not enforcing the rules if the situaton was flipped and I was trying to get out of paying additional funds to ensure the safe arrival of a young traveler.  I am willing to pay for his safety and you are refusing.  He travels between his parents 3-4 times a year from Florida to Idaho, again I will never use Southwest.

Re: Forcing a 12 year old minor children travel alone-

JMcG
Explorer C

I couldn't help but respond to this thread. I am just about to book a flight for my 15 year old. Southwest makes it abundantly clear what their policy is regarding young travelers, so if you read the policy clearly and chose to go ahead with the booking, I'm not sure why SW is to blame. They simply don't offer the Unaccompanied Minor service to anyone 12 and above, it's not a matter of throwing money at the situation. As you rightly point out, other airlines do have a policy that allows you to pay for that service for a 12 year old. The bottom line is that we have choices about what airline to book with based on preference and needs, I do find it hilariously ironic that a Verizon Wireless rep would complain about customer service or policies, when it's one of the worst companies on earth for customer service or efficiency.  Thanks Southwest for your CLEAR policies for that that choose to read them. Luv Ya!

Escort pass

lisapewitt
Explorer C

Can I get an escort pass to accompany my 16 year old daughter to her gate and wait for her to

board?  She has never flown alone before and I would feel more comfortable making sure she

gets on her plane safely.  She has other travelers that will be meeting her when she gets off the plane.

Re: Escort pass

franktravel
Aviator B

 

Non-passenger escort

 

According to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), all persons passing through security checkpoints must have a boarding pass, security document, or another type of authorization from the airline. As such, we offer Non-Passenger Escort (NPE) passes to people who are accompanying or meeting a Customer with a disability to/at the Customer's gate.

NPE authorization should be requested from a uniformed Southwest Airlines Employee at our ticket counter or Skycap podium. Individuals who desire an NPE should advise the Employee of his or her need to accompany/meet a Southwest Passenger to/at the gate to accommodate the Passenger's disability. The individual who desires a NPE pass will need to present photo identification and detail the Southwest Customer's itinerary.

 

We recommend reviewing our Suggested Airport Arrival Times page to help determine when individuals should arrive at the airport terminal so that you have plenty of time to park, wait in line to receive a NPE pass, go through the security checkpoint, and get to the gate.

It's important to explain that the TSA, not the airlines, is responsible for security checkpoints. If the flight arrival occurs after security checkpoint has closed for the evening, then we will not be able to provide a NPE pass.

Re: Escort pass

chgoflyer
Aviator A

(Assuming your daughter is not disabled...)

 

Short answer: Probably, but no guarantee.

 

Check in at the full-service desk at the airport (allow plenty of time) and explain your request, and I suspect they will grant you the gate pass. Southwest policy grants them for Unaccompanied Minors, but that ends at age 11, so that won't apply here. Unless TSA has advised to not give passes (occasionally due to lengthy wait times or other checkpoint issues) the Southwest rep will probably accommodate your request. Good luck!

Re: young travler

stewartsteph
Explorer C

Hello,

I am trying to book a flight for my 12 year old and it is her first time flying alone. I can not find a direct flight, so I was wondering if I requested the escort assistance then someone would make sure she would get to her gate for the connecting flight. We love southwest and prefer only flying with them.

 

Stephanie Stewart