This could have turned out very badly

sfIt’s every parent’s worst nightmare: Your 11-year-old son is scheduled to fly home on his own, but on the eve of his departure, the airline tells him his ticket is no good. Specifically, he has no ticket.

It happened to Meera Gopalan this weekend. Here’s the frantic email I got from her on Saturday.

We are writing to you about an emergency. The time is now 11:23 p.m. on July 11. My son Jay Gopalan traveled with us from Philadelphia to San Francisco by US Airways on July 1. We have already returned and he is supposed to return unaccompanied tomorrow, July 12 by the 8:30 a.m. US Airways flight 706 from San Francisco.

For the unaccompanied trip, we paid an extra $100. We just called to reconfirm everything and to our shock, US Airways told us that his reservation was canceled because he never made the onward trip! In fact, he did make the trip and is in San Francisco right now. We have no idea what will happen and are petrified for his safety.

How could US Airways cancel a return flight? If a passenger doesn’t make the outbound flight, then it would automatically cancel the return.

I asked the airline to look into the canceled reservation. A a representative told me it “looks like his boarding pass wasn’t scanned or given to the agent, and therefore his itinerary was canceled.”

By the time I checked my email, Gopalan’s father, Raja, had already sent me an update.

After having more hysterical conversations with US Airways, they finally agreed that our son Jay had, in fact, made the flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco and said they would reinstate his ticket.

It is shocking how an airline could take more money for an unaccompanied minor and then blithely cancel the reservation by stating that he never made the onward flight! If this is the attention they gave to the onward journey (when he was not unaccompanied but traveled with my wife) what hope can we possibly have for the return anyway? More critically, what does this say about the overall US Airways unaccompanied passenger program and the danger to which it exposes our children?

I asked US Airways about its unaccompanied minor program, and was assured that it was “in line with industry standards.”

Needless to say, this could have turned out very badly.

Question is, could it have been prevented? If Gopalan’s ticket had been scanned, none of this would have happened. But how can a ticket — and particularly a ticket belonging to an unaccompanied minor — not get scanned?

Something looks wrong here. But until it’s fixed, make sure your tickets are scanned before you board.

  • http://www.singleparenttravel.net John F

    Are we too dependent on technology that there are no backups? What would have happened if the PHL computers were down when they boarded? Would US have canceled the return flights for everyone on the plane?

  • Mort B

    I would assume that the youngster in question should have had a printed confirmation sent by e-mail from US Airways (since paper tickets are no longer used). If he did, the airline is completely to blame for the mixup, and I would urge the family to seek compensation for mental anguish. If he did not, then the parents are at least partially at fault for not making certain that the youngster had one.

    FYI, I am not a youngster (I’m 76), and I always make sure to have multiple copies of my airline confirmation with me when I travel.

  • Josh

    This is a problem in general (though worse to manage when it’s an unaccompanied minor, certainly) — airlines are *very* quick to cancel reservations, and reluctant to reinstate.

    A couple years ago on United, I called the day before our flight because the fare dropped (rare for a next day fare to be so low, but it was) — as they usually do, the agent reissued the tickets for the new fare and had credit vouchers sent for the difference — this part was fine, but when we checked in, the agent typed and typed and typed (which should have been a clue), but eventually gave us boarding passes.

    Well, when we checked in to return, the agent there insisted we hadn’t flow the outbound — apparently the first agent had somehow managed to check us in under the “old fare” tickets, so the “new fare” outbound looked unused. Luckily we still had the boarding passes, and the return agent was able to get their central office to reinstate the tickets. I’m not sure what would have happened if we didn’t have proof; I’m sure it would have involved full fare tickets and an immediate credit card dispute.

    IMHO, the airline is the one who wants to enforce and track specific fare rules including order of ticket use etc, so it’s their job to be 100% accurate in their records, and if not they should be held accountable.

  • SirWired

    I could understand the pass not getting scanned (or getting “fat-fingered) when the scanner doesn’t work right. Happens all the time, and has nothing to do with the safety, (or lack thereof) of the unaccomp. minors program.

    But I agree it’s crazy for USAir to fight so hard on this one… getting it fixed should not have taken more than a single escalation to a res center supervisor.

  • Chicky

    You’re dang skippy they’d have canceled everyone’s return flights! And then, when the irate and frantic passengers showed up at the ticket counter, USAir would have soaked them for an additional $100 or so per head as a change fee.
    Call me a cynic, but I wouldn’t put it past them.

  • Ian

    Its a sad reflection on my opinion of the US airline industry when I read this and the first thing I thought of “meh, at least they didn’t put him on the wrong plane.”

  • Bob

    I can imagine a scenario where the ticket might not have gotten scanned: flight attendant escorts minor onto the plane during preboarding and forgets to scan the boarding pass.

    Anyhow, the airline practice of canceling the return ticket when the outbound flight isn’t taken really torques me off. If I pay for two flights, why is it the airline’s business how many of them I take?

    Does your newspaper cancel your subscription if you fail to read an issue? Does a restaurant cancel your 5 course meal if you don’t eat the salad?

    Then why is it OK if the airline does this?

  • http://blog.agrawals.org Rocky

    I once had a situation where after many hours of delays (due to East Coast thunderstorms), we finally boarded a flight at DCA. As we were getting ready to close the door, they decided to cancel the flight.

    When I called US Airways later to reticket, the reservation agent wanted to charge me a change fee saying that I’d been a no-show for the flight. They had no record of the fact that they’d canceled the flight!

    Fortunately, I expected US to screw up and the first thing I did when I got home was print the flight status from their Web site that showed it was canceled.

  • The Travelin’ Man

    The reason it didn’t turn out badly was because the family was PRO-ACTIVE in reconfirming the flight. That really should be the message here. When I travel alone, I am responsible for my own safe passage and know how to deal with little bumps when they arise. If I arranged for travel for an unaccompanied minor, different steps need to be taken to ensure smooth travel.

    Kudos to the Goplan family.

  • P.Rowsey

    Yes that could’ve been bad but mistakes happen. I would not doubt they were short staffed as the company likes to do & the boarding pass was not scanned.

  • Michael

    I think it’s pretty naive to say “Make sure your tickets get scanned before you board.”

    I’ve often boarded flights where the gate agent doesn’t scan the tickets, but merely does it like they did before in “the old days”… where they tear apart the boarding pass and retained their part, leaving you with the stub. Do you really think they’d take kindly to you telling them “Hey, I insist you scan my ticket!” in such a situation?

  • Marilyn D

    I have been through the Philly airport many times and I must say that I have observed several occasions when the US Airways staff and ground crews were more involved in social contact with each other than they were in processing travelers through the jetways. It is in situations like these that boarding passes can get missed or not scanned at all. And then sometimes if the passes are scanned too quickly, they do not register on the machine. I have been line to board when that has happened and they have had to call passengers back from the jetway. The industry needs to monitor gate attendants to make sure there is less ‘visitin’ and more attention to task. BTW, one morning when I had a very early layover in Philly, I observed a group of about 8 US Air employees having a delightful ‘visit’ in the middle of the concourse; this went on for almost an hour. Visiting on company time. No wonder the company is struggling.

  • Bunny

    Traveling from FL to El Paso with my 5 yr old daughter, we changed planes in Albuquerque. After sitting on the runway for an hour,the flight was cancelled due to mechanical problems. The only assistance the airline (don’t remember which one) offered was to announce the flight cancellation at the El Paso airport so those waiting for us would know why we weren’t there (this was pre-cell phone, the dark ages!). We had to rent a car and drive to El Paso. Turns out they did NOT announce the cancellation and it took 3 hours to reflect the flight status as cancelled, so there were many worried people waiting in El Paso. When we boarded and took our assigned seats for the return flight home, a very well-dressed business woman came up to us and told us we were in her seat. I showed her my boarding pass which had the same seat number as hers. She went and got the flight attendant who told us our tickets had been cancelled since we didn’t take the last leg of our outward flight – the one that the airline cancelled for mechanical problems. Fortunately, the flight wasn’t filled so we all got seats but it sure made me wonder about the screwy system the airline used to track passengers. Thought it might have gotten better with advances in technology, but it seems it’s the same old same old.

  • Jane

    Hmmm…If his ticket/boarding pass wasn’t scanned on the outbound flight according to US Airways, then how did he get on that flight from Philadelphia to SF? BIG Security flaw here.

  • Carrie Charney

    I usually get excellent service on Continental, but in 2003, I was meeting my daughter and family in Newark for a flight to Paris. They were originating in Baltimore and I met their plane. At our connecting gate, we tried to check in, but the agent brusquely told us we didn’t need to.

    There was no preboarding for families with kids (in our case, aged 3 with a seat and 10 months, a lap child,) so we just got on line when our row was called, last, because it was at the front of the economy section. That’s when they told us that my son-in-law and my granddaughter (not my daughter) had not flown the first leg, and therefore their seats had been cancelled.

    With the plane literally waiting for the outcome of our dilemma to close its doors, we argued back and forth. Presenting the used boarding passes didn’t seem to be doing the trick. In the end, they relented and allowed us on, but our good seats had been given away and we were each given a middle seat away from the others, including the 3-year old. Luckily, some kind travelers moved so they could sit together. I kept the middle seat they had moved me to.

    As soon as we got to Paris, we had to haggle all over again for them to get return seats. It was the only nightmare I’ve ever had (knock on wood) with Continental, but it was a doozy!

  • Scott

    There are a few different issues going on here. The unaccompanied minor program and the reservation issue are SEPARATE. Chris, your summation is unnecessarily inflammatory. You asked how could an unaccompanied minor’s boarding pass not get scanned? In fact, the child was NOT unaccompanied at that time. I would surmise it — unfortunately — is more likely for an unaccompanied minor’s boarding pass to not get scanned accidentally since they are escorted down to the aircraft separately from the rest of the customers.

    @Sir Wired: exactly

    @Bob: It is their business because you entered into a contract. If you purchase a Saturday-night stay round trip, and ignore the outbound to fly a (more expensive) one-way flight, you have violated the agreed upon contract. Now, there are ways around certain things but some customers get stupid. If you want to buy the round-trip because you are only flying one-way and want to pay less, then make sure you are flying the OUTBOUND. And don’t then compound your problems by trying to use the return 6 months later. Use your brains, people!

    @Jane: HUH? A boarding pass not getting scanned has NOTHING to do with the person obviously going through security earlier. Talk about trying to incite b.s. security issues about nothing.

    To all: KEEP YOUR BOARDING STUBS until your itinerary is complete!!! This is your receipt. This is what verifies that you were on the flight, even if something in the automation went wrong. Sometimes there is problem with automation, tickets, reservation systems, etc. If you have that boarding stub, that allows you to prove to the airline that you traveled. If you throw it out? Well….don’t say you weren’t warned…

  • Jane

    @Scott: DUH!! Airline staff (not TSA security) scan your boarding pass and confirm with your picture ID that it is you and the same name on your boarding pass when you are AT the gate BEFORE being allowed to board the aircraft. They won’t let you on the aircraft if your boarding pass doesn’t get confirmation when it’s scanned. Use YOUR brain!

  • http://www.cockam.com ajaynejr

    Messing around with paid unaccompanied minors is not a good idea for the airlines. Once the problem was resolved they would have to put the UM on the flight even if somebody else had to be bumped. In any case, ompensation would also be in order if other expenses were incurred as a result of the airline’s mistake.

  • Andrea

    Jane…. In the last 6 times I have flown, ONLY TSA checks the IDs at security, the gate agent never does more than swipe the boarding pass over the laser reader and doesn’t look at photo ID at all.

  • DN

    I concur with the opinions that the Gopalan family was very fortunate that they reconfirmed with the airline and had enough time to fix the problem before the return flight. Trying to do this at the airport is at the very least, excruciatingly painful.

    @Jane: Where are you flying that airline staff verify your identity with a picture ID at the gate? The only time I am aware of this is when you are flying international and they need to verify your passport information, or if you are making some sort of change at the gate.

    @Michael: This is pretty common; about 25% of the time that I fly, the gate agent rips the end of the boarding pass and hands it to me without scanning the document. I think you are correct that the gate agent would be extremely offended that you were trying to tell them how to do their job.

    @Bob: Scott is correct; you can toss the second half of the ticket if you want, but the airline frowns upon it and it’s highly recommended NOT to use your frequent flyer number on this particular ticket so that it can’t be tracked-back to your account. I believe repeated offenses is cause to cancel your frequent flyer account and the automatic loss of accrued miles in said account.

    @John: I guess Chris will let us know, since ORD’s computers went offline on July 2nd and they weren’t able to check people in using the computer.

  • DN

    Actually, I forgot that this is a US Airways flight. If you check in and print your boarding pass away from the airport, they request that you tear the top portion of the boarding pass prior to boarding at the gate, present the top part of the boarding pass to the gate agent, and keep the bottom portion for your records. Extremely full flights where the plane needs to take off on-time (and US was very boastful of their on-time departure record from major hubs recently) mean that the gate agents are forced to board the plane faster and they don’t always scan the top portion immediately. PHL is a major hub for US, and I could see this happening on the outbound flight by accident. I am by no means condoning US’s actions, but as Josh mentioned, airlines are very quick to cancel regardless of whose fault it is.

    The fact that US reinstated without a fee means that Mr. Gopalan was very persuasive, US eventually realized that it was their fault and that they weren’t going to claim a substantial penalty fee.

  • Anonymous

    Why is everyone missing the fact that on his flight from Philadelphia to San Francisco the 11 year old wasn’t unaccompanied – his parents flew with him. He just flew back on his own. So this isn’t an issue of problems with unaccompanied minors (a friend just had their child on US Air and DID have problems but that’s another story), it’s an issue with a boarding pass not being scanned to register that they took the flight.

    As someone said, keep your boarding pass stub until the end of your trip (and if you are a member of the frequent flyer program, until after your miles have posted). Even if it looks like it scanned, computer errors, not to mention human errors, can happen especially if people aren’t paying attention.

  • Kathleen Pierz

    My son spent the summer in Panama with relatives. We took him there and returned after a week’s visit. At the end of the summer he called to confirm his flights and had none. This was a rare occasion where I’d actually used a travel agent to book the flights. I had my original printed itenerary from the travel agent showing his correct flights. The travel agent booked the wrong flights and booked one month too early. I was in a dead panic. I had to purchase a one way first class ticket a week LATER. I had to find a place for my son to stay and he was a week late starting high school(it was school break in Panama; all flights were booked and my relatives were going to California the next day). It was a nightmare and the travel agency never paid for the return flight and only after many letter agreed to return half the price of the original ticket. ALWAYS have a backup plan if kids are traveling alone.

  • Raja Gopalan

    If even one child and one family is saved a nightmare as a result of Mr Elliott’s story, that will be a blessing. I will certainly NEVER send my son unaccompanied again. As for US Airways, they can just join the long list of faceless corporate entities that will do anything to make an extra buck without bothering to understand that a human child may be at the other end of their business transaction.

  • Meredith Putvin

    Chris,

    I have to call bullshit on the Airline. The ticket did have to be scanned for the child to get his boarding passes to get THROUGH TSA.

    The Airline was caught with their pants down and made up an excuse to try and cover themselves.