A Robert Benchley quote says, “There are two kinds of travel, first class and with children.” And, when not traveling with their own children, few travelers look forward to the idea of traveling with someone else’s kids.
Personally, I’ve had some older unaccompanied children as seatmates who were delightful, although we’ve all been on flights where children traveling with their parents have made the trip miserable.
In any case, in recent years many airlines have raised the unaccompanied minor fee. On a short flight, the amount can be more than the price of the ticket. Now, British Airways is going other carriers one better — or worse, depending on your perspective — by saying they will no longer allow children under 12 to travel alone, period.
The airline made the announcement the last week of February, 2016. The airline announced they would honor existing bookings, but no future unaccompanied minor reservations. In a letter to travel agents, British Airways stated they, “will continue to take bookings for 12- to 18-year-olds who wish to fly independently. However, children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult aged 16 or over.”
Since bookings can only be made 11 months in advance, starting in late January, 2017, there will be no more unaccompanied minors on their planes.
In actuality, this means the number of children should start dramatically dropping off sooner, as most travelers don’t book almost a full year in advance.
Clearly, British Airways thinks the change will please the majority of its passengers. No doubt, it will please the majority of its flight attendants.
From the US, British Airways flights are all about seven hours or longer, and in my decades of travel industry experience, very few parents send their children that far alone. However, there are parents with shared custody. And, particularly with an older child, visiting a relative in London alone, for example, doesn’t seem like an unrealistic concept.
Moreover, within Europe, British Airways has many short routes. This new ban on accompanied minors applies to all flights, even those that don’t leave England. Presumably, with U.K. domestic flights, there is still the option of having an 11-year- old child fudge their age (more than a few parents do in the United States). But, this won’t be possible on international flights.
As an aside, presumably anyone who books online at the airline’s website will be warned before they make a booking. But, I do have to wonder — what happens with someone who books through a travel agent who hasn’t read about the change, or an OTA (online travel agent)? With luck, the British Airways site will send a message if the agent puts the child’s age into the record.
Fortunately, for parents who need to send their children on an international trip, there are alternatives. No doubt, other airlines are watching this change with interest. Stay tuned.
Janice Hough is a California-based travel agent a travel blogger and a part-time comedy writer. A frequent flier herself, she’s been doing battle with airlines, hotels, and other travel companies for over three decades. Besides writing for Travelers United, Janice has a humor blog at Leftcoastsportsbabe.com (Warning, the political and sports humor therein does not represent the views of anyone but herself.)
