Delta Airlines BS Unaccompanied Minor fees not disclosed, Internet
I booked tix for 2 unaccompanied minors and paid for the tickets and not one word was mentioned about a $100.00 fee each way for this service!!!! That is ridiculous to not mention one word about this while I am booking my reservation!! My boys are going back to the state where we recently moved from to visit their friends. We found cheap tix and thought we should send them back over their break from school. Had we known it would be $100.00 each way in additional to the cost of the tickets, we would NOT have booked them as we are going back to MN over X-mas.
At this point, I can't cancel my reservations, as I will incur some kind of fee for doing that and I would also break my boys' hearts too, so I am just stuck paying this fee!!! This is a horrible way to do business. I went on US Airway's website that flys right out of PHX and a screen pops up right when you plug in the minor's ages that talks all about their fees and policies regarding unaccompanied minors. I have been flying Delta/NWA forever, being born and raised in MN and can't believe I got "bait and switched" on this deal when the airlines are so highly regulated and watched!! You guys are like a bunch of used car salesman!! You should be ashamed and I would expect to see a change on your website and also with your new reservations people on the phone. This is a disgrace!!!!
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Robert
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
How?
#3Consumer Comment
Mon, November 15, 2010
How did book your Delta flight? Because when you book through Delta at the Passenger Information Screen there is a box that you must check if your child is 14 or under. That box says you agree to the Unaccompanied Minor rules and fees. As soon as you check the box a window pops-up that states the rules and fees as well.
The other question is when, and how, did you become aware of this fee? Because if you did not see it at the time of booking, it seems strange that you would know about it before you got to the airport. If you did research after the purchase, the question becomes why didn't you do that before you bought the tickets?
One other possibility is that you mis-read the guidelines if your children are 15-17 years old. With Delta if your children are 14 or under the fee is mandatory, if they are 15-17 it is optional. That is you have the option of having them travel as an unaccompanied minor or not.
ANonnyMouse
USAIf kids are traveling, do your homework!
#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, November 15, 2010
Anyone who is sending kids alone on a plane should be diligent and do their homework.
http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/special_travel_needs/services_for_children/children_traveling_alone/index.jsp
The above link literally took me ten seconds to find on Delta's website. In the future, I suggest looking for the relevant information. If you have been flying Delta/NWA for years and have ever sent your children on a plane alone, then you already knew this fee existed, as it has for years. If you can't be bothered to look for the info, then you could always pick up the phone and ask reservations if there is a fee for unaccompanied minors.
My personal belief: don't book kids online that are traveling by themselves. NWA didn't permit it, and I think Delta shouldn't either.