Crap! I actually agree with Rez on this one. If parents really gave a shiite about their kids they wouldn't ship them via air freight to Grandma's. They would pack a bag and escort little Jimmy themselves you have gotta be kidding, right. Pay a round trip ticket just to take a kid to see grandma. If someone does that they call it a visit. Same goes for invalid people that can't walk by themselves or people who can't figure out how to get through an airport.
This past winter we diverted because of WX (destination airport closed while we were enroute). After we landed at the alternate the WX at the alternate went to hell as well (blizzard). Long story short, we were stuck at an offline airport with no company personnel or equipment. We did have some ground handling contracts in place, but as you can imagine it was minimal and was only set up to facilitate a quick turn. After many hours the decision was jointly made by the crew and company to call it a day and get all the pax to a hotel.
When we departed we had 2 UMs (a 16 year girl and her 10 year old brother). As soon as we landed at the alternate we suddenly start to get pax handing us their cell phones saying, "My Dad wants to talk to you." Turns out we had FIVE other legal minors (ages 14-17) that were travelling unaccompanied. Granted, they were older kids and had nothing gone wrong would probably have been okay, but now that something out of the ordinary had happened suddenly mommy and daddy were oh so very concerned about their kids ya think they only care about their kids when something goes wrong? Geez, I hope you are kidding. They had booked the kids and let them travel alone just to save the $75 again, if they travel with them then it's called a visit and maybe they couldn't do it.
Besides the illicit UMs we also 'discovered' a mentally challenged young man (22) who was essentially in the same boat as the UMs. He could get on and off a normal flight okay, but if anything went wrong he was like a 12 year old and didn't know how to take care of himself. Again, some family members were shipping this guy by air instead of taking him there themselves.
You can not imagine the hassle, security concerns and legal implications that come into play when you find yourself in this situation. All of a sudden the crew is mommy, daddy, babysitter, nursing home staff and security guard. Just consider the following: B6 should have a plan in place in case this situation happens. Didn't you have a backup plan in the Corp for most missions flown?
1. You can't leave a 14 year old kid in a hotel room by himself in a strange city.
2. Who's responsible to make sure the kids get fed, get a shower/bath, get up in the morning in time for departure, gets their luggage to the airport, checks in, etc, etc.
3. Who's responsible for the mentally challenged guy? He's of age, but he can't cope with any situation beyond what a 12 year old kid can handle.
4. What about safety and security for these kids? Even though it would be safe, you can't put them in a room with crew memmbers or other adult pax. The legal liability would be off the chart.
We figured it out, but it took hours and an extraordinary effort by the crew (pilots and FAs) to get everybody taken care of. JetBlue paid for all the rooms (not just the kids), paid to feed all the pax and spent loads of cash getting the contract companies to go above and beyong to provide support. We paired the kids up by age and sex and put two to a room. We had an OAL jumpseater on board and we paid for his room too. BTW, the OAL guy (SWA) was a big help that's because SWA and your J/S understands what customer service is about during all of this and he really was an Additional Crew Member. We insisted the company pay for his room and to their credit they didn't balk. Each crewmember was responsible for one room with kids. We made sure they got fed and got up and ready to go in the morning. We hired off duty local cops to sit in the hallway outside the kid's rooms all night for security B6 conducted the right or responsible course of action. Did I mention the elderly couple from Germany that spoke about 6 words of English?
As you can see it was a mess. Because of the crew's efforts so you showed (maybe) an effort then but bitch (whine) about it now and JetBlue's open wallet both the company and the crew came out of this looking like heroes. All the pax were very satisfied with how we handled it and the thank you letters flowed in for weeks afterward. The wayward parents that essentially abandoned their kids bitching again to the airlines were the most grateful.
Now you know why I don't think anybody that can't take care of themslves should be allowed to travel alone. If someone can't legallly, mentally or physically take care of themselves if they find themselves somewhere other than their original destination then they shouldn't be travelling alone. Their family should pry open their wallet and travel with them just in case something like we experienced ever happens. We went way above and beyond to help our pax because we are responsible adults and would never abandon kids or adults that can't take care of themselves. It wasn't a customer service issue, it was a human issue, but it still pisses me off their inconsiderate family members put us in that position in the first place WOW!! You're a piece of work. Frankly, it's not my job to look after their kids. I will if I have too, but it just ain't right.
If I owned/operated an airline I would not accept UMs, wheelchair pax ever hear of the ADA (American Disabilities Act) or any other special case unless they were escorted by someone that could take care of them.
