Airlines - United Airlines young child travelling alone was not treated properly

Child Traveling Alone

United Airlines

From: Randy Rieken Email User

Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2001 11:44 AM Sent To: Email User 2/27/01 11:42:32 AM

_____________________ As a Territory Manager, I travel every single week, but never have I seen something so uncompassionate! I was on a United flight recently where a young girl (probably 7-8 years old) was traveling alone. The flight attendant did not have the least amount of compassion for this little girl. It was very evident that the little girl was frightened getting on the plane as the flight attendant showed her to her seat.

The flight attendant with a very cold voice told the little girl to show her how her seat belt worked. After the girl buckled up, the flight attendant walked away with out saying a word. Later in the flight, the girl started crying. A customer across the row hit the call button.

The same flight attendant answered the call, and again very cold told the girl that everything was OK and walked away. A passenger across the row saw the way that the little girl was treated and asked the girl to come sit by her. The flight attendant did not even know the girl had moved until close to the end of the flight. Do you blame the rude flight attendant or do you blame United for not having a clear and proven procedure for children flying without parents? My advice to parents is to require, whichever airline they choose to have their children fly on, to provide a clear safety and in-flight procedure. I was pretty disappointed with United (until recently, my preferred airline).