Throughout our almost seven year history we have spoken to over 10,000 parents and some grandparents about options on how to fly a child alone. So you could say that we have a bit of experience! It always surprises us when a parent starts the conversation with, “I’ve been searching and studying on the web for a couple of weeks…”, or “The airline agent told me…” and the information they have is incorrect. So with the experience we have earned booking flights for over 3,000 kids here are some answers to the most common question we have been asked…

The first thing that people want to know is if their child can fly at all alone. Some parents are surprised when they hear that their 10 year old son can fly without them when most airlines start offering their unaccompanied minor services at the early age of 5! One of the things that I say which creates trust when speaking to a customer is the fact that I flew my son alone to Frankfurt, Germany from San Francisco when he was 5 years old. This usually produces a “Wow…OK!” This often helps put the parent more at ease about allowing their child to fly without one of his or her family members.

The fact is that most US airlines do fly kids starting at age 5 without one of his or her parents accompanying him or her. All of these airlines have in common the rule that for kids who are age 5-7 the flight must be a nonstop flight. This is where Weflykids can help because at times there aren’t any direct flights from and to the desired airports or cities. That’s when we can start flowing our creative juices and try to find a solution that hopefully works out for everyone involved.

It’s been awhile since we wrote on our blog so Happy New Year 2022 to all of our old and new to be customers out there! Many of our customers during this last travel season were shocked, as we were, at the quotes they received from us. One customer actually booked a flight for her teenage daughter who DIDN’T need the airline’s unaccompanied minor service. It was from a small airport in Oregon to Kansas City for $1200! Well, at least it was roundtrip LOL! So why were airfares so high this past Christmas season?

Truth to be told, many bookings for kids were priced about the same as during past years and seasons. So what happened and what is happening with the airlines that they are charging more than ever for their flights? Well, for one thing we know that we are experiencing inflation. That means that basically everything from the fuel that airplanes use to the peanuts offered on Southwest costs more for the airlines which translates to higher fares. Secondly, the airlines are still feeling a bit bearish after getting hit hard since March 2020. That means that they still are not using their full fleet. So just like everything else that is bought and sold, there was and still is a high demand for flights compared to the smaller supply…

Finally, as always we recommend you set up your next flight for your kid be it for Spring or Summer break ASAP for the reasons explained above. Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you either by text, phone or by filling out our form on our website soon!

This post was stimulated by yet another call from a parent who described her recent negative experience booking a flight with one of the major airlines operating in the US. Here at WeFlyKids, it completely baffles us how many airline agents simply don’t know the basic rules regarding booking flights for kids. For example, this mother was told that her 6 year old could fly on the airline’s one stop flight to visit the child’s grandmother in Texas. When the mother and child arrived to the airport, they were told at the counter that she indeed could not get on that flight because it wasn’t a nonstop flight. Okay…well, there weren’t any nonstop flights to that airport in Texas. And since it was of course past the 24 hour window eligibility for a refund, she could not get a refund!

The fact is that only about 2% of the flights booked by airline agents are for unaccompanied minors. How many times has a parent while listening to an agent (often difficult to understand because of a thick accent) heard, “Let me check to see (the rules) if your child can fly alone on this flight”? Admittedly, some of the details are difficult to remember, but failing to know that a six year old flying alone must fly on a nonstop flight with every airline is a bad joke.

Here’s another recent story from a disheartened mother. She told us that when she booked her flight with the airline, the agent forgot (or didn’t know!) to tell her that the $150 each way for the unaccompanied minor fee needed to be paid sometime before the flight. So she arrived to the airport with her child. And yes, it was yet another shock to a parent at the airport to find out that she needed to pay a total of $300 for the roundtrip and she simply didn’t have that amount on her card. The agent at the airport had no choice but to cancel the flight for the unaccompanied minor. She then told them to book another flight at a later date.

To be fair, there are many airline agents who know their stuff. They would never book flights for kids like the agents described above. But we think that it’s surer and safer to book with a professional who only books flights for children flying alone. Our agents know the rules and fees for all the airlines through and through. That way, the parent has the best chance to hear about more than one option for flying their kid and has someone on the other line who they can actually trust.