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young traveler

leftwingermom
Explorer C

My 16 year old son will be travelling by hiself for the first time, is there anything special that I have to do when making his flight reservations?  He can travel by himself?  Do I  have to pay extra for him to travel by hiself?  He has his drivers license, therefore he has ID to be able to show at the TSA gate.

 

Thank you in advance 

3 REPLIES 3

Re: young traveler

franktravel
Aviator B

"Traveling alone can be an exciting test of a minor’s independence; but whether it is appropriate depends on each minor’s individual maturity level. By purchasing this reservation, you acknowledge and confirm that"

 

"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"

 

You do not pay extra.

 

Re: young traveler

linda50202
Explorer C

 I'll ask again....If someone is willing to pay for the service for an older child, why not take our money?

Re: young traveler

TheMiddleSeat
Aviator A

With a 12 year old you can still get a passenger escort to accompany the child to the gate and meet them at the gate at the destination, the only piece you're really missing out on is the "monitoring" of the child during flight.  I'm a parent, I know all kids are different, but given a book, handheld game, or even just a pillow I think most can handle the flight.  Discuss the flight with them so they know what to expect, make sure they know to follow crew member directions, and let them know to call on a member of the flight crew if they need assistance with anything during the flight.