Help! United left my 13-year-old daughter in Syracuse

did she keep the proof of the flight delay notification? If she did, she might have something to work with.

but if not then this was just a case of someone arriving too late for their flight.

and the fact that she was with her dad , not stranded in a random layover makes me loose sympathy.

it took me a minute to understand this as well, but I’m guessing by the fact that she was a UM means that her dad was not with her on the plane. The story is a bit confusing I know, but maybe @elliottdotorg can help clarify this? Even the United website says that the UM fee is for when the child is not accompanied by a parent, so they wouldn’t have to pay it if she was traveling with her dad…

The $1600 sounds like a first class ticket which means she should have been in expedited line ups. Perhaps the UM fee only covers the transfer at Chicago or Newark. However, I wonder how come the other passengers got on board on time. Could her parents have misread the notification? Perhaps they should consider train travel. If you factor in check-in, security and transfer, the travel time is similar and the ticket a lot less pricey.

The major screwup on United’s part was the false notification of a flight delay. At the time that the OP arrived at the airport and paid the unaccompanied minor fee, wasn’t the actual departure time made clear?

And on the critically busiest days of the year, shouldn’t an agent be stationed near Security to check for passengers still stuck in the line, just as stores routinely hire extra personnel for the holidays?

Got on next flight out with no fee does not equal “stranded in Syracuse”

I think the father was just dropping the daughter off for her flight home to her mother and would have been allowed to accompany her through security. That’s the way I understand it.

This is why the parent or adult is told not to leave the gate or airport until the plane is in the air. You don’t “drop off” a UM and leave, the only time a UM is with a gate agent is to meet a connection or escorted to whomever is picking her up. Just saying.

That is ludicrous, as I checked and UA 4799 is a Bombardier Q200 (DH2) operated by CommutAir as UA Express, a turboprop. No first class.

As an Unaccompanied Minor, the child is escorted all the way to the gate by the parent, who is issued a gate pass by the check-in desk to get through security. The child then boards the plane and gets seated in the first row, or as close to the front as possible. He or she may or may not get special attention. My daughter has flown as a UM about five times, and the attention she’s been given on the plane has varied greatly. At the destination, she has disembarked on her own. No one has ever checked that the person meeting her is in fact authorized to do so.

TSA would be the agency that would need to have extra personnel on duty to expedite passengers. It would be a much bigger mess if every airline that shared the same security lines had an agent stationed there. If there was only 2 or 3 airlines maybe – but having 10+ airline reps all trying to get their people to the front of the line – would create much bigger problems! And for this example – everyone else on the plane managed to make it through security on time.

I didn’t see the email. Yes, it might have been a misunderstanding.

The alert also could have also been a text message or phone call. The flight status could have changed from evening until morning. Usually an evening flight delay alert indicates a late-arriving crew and required crew rest, if there is an aircraft there. They could have found a replacement crew, which would explain why the status changed to on time by morning. I agree it would be a good idea for Chris to investigate further, and I am curious why the father didn’t double-check the next morning. Or perhaps he did, and that’s why they arrived at 4:20 p.m.

Perhaps it was a last-minute ticket? It was definitely not first class, as the equipment operating the flight was a Bombardier Q200, a turboprop, operated as UA Express by CommutAir. However, as a travel agent, I have seen exorbitant fares for shorter hop flights like this one, and they are usually aimed at last-minute business travelers. This trip was also the day before Thanksgiving, Wednesday, one of the busiest travel days of the year.

I have little interest in having you mediate THIS SPECIFIC CASE. These people seem to have gotten through with little loss, and lots of inconvenience.
I want you to go after UN-TIED AIRLINES so that they will not do this to someone who lives 2-3 hours from the airport and can not really afford the extra fee, but pays it out of fear for what could happen . . . and has something really bad hapen.
United took responsability when the fee was accepted and the child checked in at the counter. Busy days happen and delays happen, they should have dealt with it a lot better.

Hmm. Couldn’t take sides. At ticket counter, father could have checked departure time and found it to be 6:05, as originally scheduled. At that point, he contacts roaming passenger service agent or goes to side of counter, and politely says he has an unaccompanied minor for a flight in less than an hour. They will expedite passenger given notice.

Likewise at security, I have seen many people put into expedited line when the TSA is informed of a “runner,” especially so when it is a child.

It appears no effort was made by father and child to overcome the delays at the airport. It is partly their responsibility to notify airline and TSA people so they can get the service they needed to make the flight. Please don’t attack me for that concept. It is the reality of how the system works.

As for expediting security for those running late, I guess it depends on the TSA agents. I was trying to check in to a flight using the electronic boarding pass (barcode on my phone) and the TSA’s scanner wasn’t working. I had already waited almost an hour in the line to get to that point. I was told that I would have to go get a printed boarding pass. After I got it, after another long wait at the only kiosk that was working that morning, I went back and the TSA agent told me I would have to wait in the line again, which by now was even longer. I had gotten to the airport with almost 3 hours before my flight but by the time I was 2/3 the way through waiting *AGAIN*, I had less than 30 minutes before my flight was leaving and probably more than 30 minutes before I would get to the security. The line snaked around where I was able to ask an airline agent about the problem. There was nothing they could do to get me to the front of the line (the agent mention the TSA person was basically the problem) but went and checked on availability of another flight. By the time I got through security, it was too late for the flight but the agent had already scheduled me on the next flight which left in about an hour and handed me the boarding passes.

Again, I knew exceptions would pop up, as they always do. The point is the father appeared to be in no rush, clearing security 15 minutes before stated departure time, while the gate typically closes 10 minutes beforehand “to ensure an on-time departure.” The passenger must make the effort. The father never mentions any such effort at United counter or at TSA.

Of course, certain people will be denied compassion now and then. However I have seen it given every time I have been close enough to overhear. Especially, in this instance, with a minor, I can see the vast majority of airport personnel giving her the courtesy of expedited service. Not every time, everywhere, which I never said of course.

That’s the way it worked when I was sending my son back home to his mother. I would get a special pass to get through security with him for him to board and another pass to meet him when he got off the plane.

That is too bad. Many TSA lines have VIP or “parents with children” lines where families are routed. Depends on the airport of course. These lines are appreciably shorter. Each airport is different.

As for the bar codes, I too found them “hit or miss”, so I learned to always have the “hard copy” from early on-line check-in in my pocket. Even the airline’s own scanner at the gate will not work! Nice concept, not ready for prime time.

Yes, United has 2 to 4 flights a day on that route. I looked forward and on most days days its a turbo prop with no F, occasionally its a Q400 with F. Some days its an ERJ-145 also with no F. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to see what equipment was used in the past without paying for a subscription.

United’s CoC states:

UA has the right to cancel reservations (whether or not confirmed), deny boarding and/or refuse the acceptance of checked baggage of any Passenger who fails to present himself/herself within the applicable check-in time limit for Passengers.

All Passengers must be present at the loading gate for boarding at least 15 minutes prior to scheduled departure.

The time limits provided by UA in this Rule are minimum time requirements. Passenger and baggage processing times may differ from airport to airport. It is the Passenger’s responsibility to arrive at the airport with enough time to complete check-in, baggage and security screening processes within these minimum time limits

So if they were not there at least 15 minutes prior to boarding, then they were not IDBd. In fact, the way I read it, United doesn’t even have to re-book them. They did it out of courtesy.

Notice it says “Scheduled Departure” Delay or not, they still need to be there 15 minutes before the scheduled time. I personally would arrive much sooner than they did on the busiest travel day of the year.

I voted no. United’s rules state that all passengers must be at the gate at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled departure or United can cancel their ticket. The delay is a red herring as they still need to arrive before the scheduled departure time. I have a feeling something was left out in regards to the delay anyway.

As someone who flies standby a lot, they are usually very strict about these rules, and page people by name before giving away their seat. In my experience, they usually wait until 10 minutes, even though in writing it says 15 minutes.

Dad arrived 1h 45min before the scheduled departure on the busiest travel day of the year, that is cutting it too close. I usually fly the day before thanksgiving and I arrive 2 hours early when I am not checking in at a counter on that day. When I have flown out of SYR around the holidays, there is usually a line at check in 50 to 100 people deep before they even open the check in counters.

I think they gambled by not arriving early enough and lost. United had every right to give away their seat, and United also did the right thing by putting them on the next available flight. They didn’t have to do that, but I am glad they did. I know I always grumble about how much I hate the new United, but in this case the passenger was simply not prepared and is now mad at United.

Why would the father be in a rush if he thought the flight was delayed by two hours? That seems to be the root cause of this issue, compounded by the other variables, like a heavy travel day, having to check in with an agent, waiting in line, the layout of the Syracuse airport as mentioned above, etc. If the daughter did arrive within the allowed boarding time, why did the gate agent page her and why did the gate agent give the seat away?

I said yes, primarily because United told the OP that the flight would be delayed, which was not true. So United’s screw-up was to blame in large part for this whole situation. I haven’t flown on United in over 10 years, and a story like this isn’t likely to make me change my attitude.

I am still curious why the $1600 fare and aircraft are relevant to the case. It seems to be more about the erroneous flight delay notification and what transpired from airport arrival to gate arrival.