Children flying unattended is frightening for them as well as their guardians. But such situations don’t arise when you choose good air transport as your travel companion, and American Airlines is widely known for offering unaccompanied minor services. Moreover, airlines acknowledge the fact that parents may be caught in unavoidable circumstances that may force them to let their children travel alone. This is why American Airlines offers special services to minors traveling alone and hands them over safely to their parents at the end of the trip. But to avail of the American Airlines Unaccompanied Minor service, various factors need to be considered, and they are explained under the headings below.
American Airlines has put certain sanctions on the utilization of their unaccompanied minor services. However, these restrictions were applied according to age, and you can see them below:
0-4 year
Children within this age cannot travel alone.
It required assistance from one adult above 16 years or older.
5-7 year
Booking can be performed by using “unaccompanied minor” services.
Sharing of contact details of guardians is necessary, and they would have to be escorted to the gate.
Bookings can be made for nonstop flights only.
8-14 year
Can use “unaccompanied minor” services.
An escort to the gate by a guardian could be required and their contact information.
Only board nonstop flights and connecting flights to certain destinations.
15-17 year
Choosing “unaccompanied minor” is not mandatory, but a service fee could apply.
Accompany from the guardian is required with their contact details.
Connecting flight to certain permitted destinations. Besides, only non-stop flights.
Note: children between the ages of 2 years to 14 years can travel with an accompanying minor with an adult of age 16 years or above.
Traveling children alone on American Airlines flights could be possible by acknowledging certain rules and regulations. However, you can acknowledge those facts under American Airlines unaccompanied minor policy, and their provisions have been explained in the bullet points:
An unaccompanied minor service could be available for children between 5 years to 17 years.
Children traveling solo could only choose nonstop flights except to 8 years or above. These age groups can fly on connecting flights but only to some permitted destinations.
An early boarding facility is provided for the children, and they can also access lounges at a few airports.
American Airlines unaccompanied minor services could not be availed for the Oneworld partner and codeshare flights.
A connecting flight departing at night could not allow children to travel with these services.
If a booked flight gets delayed, which results in missing the connecting flight, then the airline could arrange alternate options and give a call to the shared contact details.
An adult has to be at the gate until the flight is airborne and the receiving adult has to arrive at least 30 minutes before arrival time.
A child younger than 18 years traveling from/to Mexico could require a travel authorization letter. This letter should be in Spanish, Notarized, and signed by at least one parent.
An unaccompanied minor service is only for children up to a certain age. This is why American Airlines verifies the eligibility of children whether they can travel or not. So the documents that you need to present are as such:
Age proof, either by a passport or birth certificate.
Guardian identification proof with their current residing address.
Contact number of guardian.
Details of the person receiving children at the destination's address, name, address, and phone number.
An unaccompanied minor is an add-on service of American Airlines, so including those in reservations is going to cost extra. However, the American Airlines unaccompanied minor fee is around $150 each way. Further, the flight departing from Canada could cost C$180 – C$258.
When you are competent to travel alone with the flight of American Airlines, then a flight can be booked on certain methods only. Further, you can get information on the same by going through the bottom:
Flying with the services of an unaccompanied minor of American Airlines could be complicated because of all its terms and conditions. So, for any simplifications, you can make a call to American Airlines customer service. Here, you could get in touch with a live person, and your reservations could be conducted by them, but they needed correct information. For that, you can dial an american airline reservations phone number, 1 (800) 433-7300.
American Airlines operates in many regions, and they have an office in most of the region to resolve matters physically. So, when you are having a hard time connecting with the airline, then you can make face-to-face contact by visiting their office. In this way, a complete resolution for every issue could be secured and booking can be prepared conveniently.
Furthermore, it can be said that after reading this, you could have complete acknowledgment of the American Airlines minor policy with several other concerning factors. If there is something bothering you afterward, then you can reach out to the airline customer service team and get a resolution.