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Young Traveler flying with younger siblings

Shelbster2002
Explorer C

Can my 13 year old fly with my 11,9, and 8 year olds without me paying for Unaccompanied minors? They have flown many times with me and I would obviously take them to the gate and their father would pick them up at the gate. 

4 REPLIES 4

Re: Young Traveler flying with younger siblings

dfwskier
Aviator A
Solution

It would seem that the answer to your question is yes. Here's the rule:

 

"

  • Children ages five through 11 traveling without an accompanying Passenger age 12 or older must travel as Unaccompanied Minors (UMs) on Southwest Airlines."

So since the younger passengers would be traveling with a 13 year old, it appears that they are good to go.

 

https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/faqs.html?topic=unaccompanied_minors

Re: Young Traveler flying with younger siblings

bec102896
Aviator A

@Shelbster2002

 

My 13 year old cousin flew with his 6 year old brother to Florida to see the grandparents with no issues and no UM fees so you should not have to pay the fee unless you want the UM service (yes some parents still pay the fee for 13-17 year olds if they want the kids taken care of)  I believe you would just have to fill out the Young Traveler form when booking just to give your contact info so if there were to be any problems southwest could contact you.

 

hope this helps

Blake 

Re: Young Traveler flying with younger siblings

chgoflyer
Aviator A
Solution

@bec102896 wrote:

@Shelbster2002

 

My 13 year old cousin flew with his 6 year old brother to Florida to see the grandparents with no issues and no UM fees so you should not have to pay the fee unless you want the UM service (yes some parents still pay the fee for 13-17 year olds if they want the kids taken care of)  I believe you would just have to fill out the Young Traveler form when booking just to give your contact info so if there were to be any problems southwest could contact you.

 

hope this helps

Blake 


 

Just to be clear: You can't pay the UM fee or receive UM service for any child over the age of 12.

 

Southwest considers children ages 12 through 17 traveling alone to be Young Travelers, not Unaccompanied Minors. Accordingly, Southwest’s Unaccompanied Minor procedures do not apply to ages 12 through 17.

 

From the website:

 

 

Can a child older than 11 years of age be treated as an Unaccompanied Minor?

 

No. Our Unaccompanied Minor program is only for children ages five through 11 years old.

Children ages 12 and older are allowed to travel independently. However, we encourage parents to decide whether their children are capable of and comfortable with:

  • Negotiating all airports
  • Going through the checkin and boarding processes
  • Following crew members' instructions
  • Dealing with possible flight disruptions that may arise

If not, we strongly discourage allowing these Young Travelers to fly alone.

 

Re: Young Traveler flying with younger siblings

bec102896
Aviator A

@chgoflyer wrote:

@bec102896 wrote:

@Shelbster2002

 

My 13 year old cousin flew with his 6 year old brother to Florida to see the grandparents with no issues and no UM fees so you should not have to pay the fee unless you want the UM service (yes some parents still pay the fee for 13-17 year olds if they want the kids taken care of)  I believe you would just have to fill out the Young Traveler form when booking just to give your contact info so if there were to be any problems southwest could contact you.

 

hope this helps

Blake 


 

Just to be clear: You can't pay the UM fee or receive UM service for any child over the age of 12.

 

Southwest considers children ages 12 through 17 traveling alone to be Young Travelers, not Unaccompanied Minors. Accordingly, Southwest’s Unaccompanied Minor procedures do not apply to ages 12 through 17.

 

From the website:

 

 

Can a child older than 11 years of age be treated as an Unaccompanied Minor?

 

No. Our Unaccompanied Minor program is only for children ages five through 11 years old.

Children ages 12 and older are allowed to travel independently. However, we encourage parents to decide whether their children are capable of and comfortable with:

  • Negotiating all airports
  • Going through the checkin and boarding processes
  • Following crew members' instructions
  • Dealing with possible flight disruptions that may arise

If not, we strongly discourage allowing these Young Travelers to fly alone.

 


 

Oh I didn't know that that's weird they offered me the service when I booked the cousins tickets by phone maybe the reservations agent didn't know the policy (like myself 😂). I figure they would want to sell it to Young travelers (as an optional fee) to make more money