Can i lie about my kid's age for an unaccompanied minor flight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
It's not going to work because she has to fly American (it's the only airline with direct flights to this destination) and she's flown with them in the past. I can't imagine I can book a new ticket for the same name and same billing address but change the birth date without raising some sort of flag.

If it wasn't for this I would just have her change her birth date by a month for the booking.

This is the unavoidable logistics problem, I think. Unless she can fly a different airline. (Ethics aside ... and I am a rule-follower, as is my child, but given the airlines' attachment to outrageous fees I can understand the temptation). United, for example, definitely has my kid's birthdate in their system if we log into my account and/or use her frequent flyer number. I might be tempted to try purchasing as a "guest" without using her frequent flyer number and see if you can buy a ticket without the system automatically applying the fee.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fly southwest. Fees are based on birthdate entered when you purchase ticket. My dd has never been asked to show id but the tsa agent asked her what her birthday is. I also think it is unfair to be charged for a 14 year old unless you specifically request the service.

How is it unfair? It seems that the fee is being assessed on all minors under 15.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

So you'd send your kid in to a lie-based situation w/o even giving them a heads up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.
It's not going to work because she has to fly American (it's the only airline with direct flights to this destination) and she's flown with them in the past. I can't imagine I can book a new ticket for the same name and same billing address but change the birth date without raising some sort of flag.

If it wasn't for this I would just have her change her birth date by a month for the booking.

This is the unavoidable logistics problem, I think. Unless she can fly a different airline. (Ethics aside ... and I am a rule-follower, as is my child, but given the airlines' attachment to outrageous fees I can understand the temptation). United, for example, definitely has my kid's birthdate in their system if we log into my account and/or use her frequent flyer number. I might be tempted to try purchasing as a "guest" without using her frequent flyer number and see if you can buy a ticket without the system automatically applying the fee.

OP here. I wouldn't use her frequent flier number but even so her name and our home (billing) address are in their system with her correct age because we have purchased tickets for her before on this airline. They would identify her real age fairly easily in this way. If it was an airline we never used before I could get away with fudging the birth date but as it is, I don't think I can.

[Anonymous]

You are sending your 14 year old to the funeral of her friend by herself?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You are sending your 14 year old to the funeral of her friend by herself?

No, the child is going to the funeral of a friend with a parent. Read the thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

But they ask the child's age at TSA. So, the child would need to be told to lie.

[Anonymous]

Please lie and tell us how that works out for you

[Anonymous]

Do you want them to lie about whether they took your child to the right airport? idk. I would think you'd want this relationship built on trust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

So you'd send your kid in to a lie-based situation w/o even giving them a heads up?

I wouldn't, because I can afford not to. But yes, if i was OP and could not swing it financially, I would.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter needs to fly solo--one hour each way, direct fights.
The major carriers won't let her fly unaccompanied until age 15. There is a $300 fee for flying her as an unaccompanied minor (age 14 and under).

She'll be a week shy of her 15th birthday at the time of the flights.

Is there any way to lie about her age?
We could check her in and then she'd just have to present the boarding pass at the gate. Would they require an ID at the gate to get on the plane if she looks like a teenager?
She could have a passport to make it through security.

Any idea how this could work?
Is it a really bad idea?

She is an independent kid who takes the bus and Metro around town and has flown dozens of times. She could totally find her way through the process and would be allowed to a week later.

I'm just curious what the chances are that we would be caught if we just lied about her age. I.e. what the check-in process would be like



No, do not lie. Your kid will be embarrassed. And you will get fined

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

So you'd send your kid in to a lie-based situation w/o even giving them a heads up?

I wouldn't, because I can afford not to. But yes, if i was OP and could not swing it financially, I would.

I'm a parent who might do this, if I thought it would work. But I'd absolutely give my kid a heads up.

[Anonymous]

If there’s a parent on the other end, can your dd just stay an additional week? That way you legitimately would not owe the fee for the return flight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

So you'd send your kid in to a lie-based situation w/o even giving them a heads up?

I wouldn't, because I can afford not to. But yes, if i was OP and could not swing it financially, I would.

So rules don't matter if you can't afford it. Got it.

This is why our country sucks. Everyone has an excuse as to why rules don't apply to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rule breakers usually get away with it, so I'm sure s/he'll be fine.

But I would ask myself if it's worth teaching your child they can pick and choose which rules apply.

My kid would have no idea what I paid for the ticket or what fees were or were not involved.

But they ask the child's age at TSA. So, the child would need to be told to lie.

My children have taken no less than 14 UM flights. They have never been asked their age. Ever. When in the process do you envision this happening? The TSA agent has no idea if a fee was paid on the ticket or not. The TSA agent is not charged with enforcing (and knowing!) each airlines age policy.