Family Alleges Alaska Airlines
Deserted Teen Daughter at SFO
MSN Lifestyle,
by
Rich Thomaselli
Original Article
Posted By: NorthernDog,
8/25/2019 7:04:43 PM
A North Carolina family is seeking a full refund from Alaska Airlines after it claims the carrier “abandoned” their unaccompanied 13-year old daughter, who was traveling alone from Raleigh, N.C. to Spokane, Wash. Douglas Davila says he received a frantic call from his teenager during a layover at San Francisco International Airport, saying she was left alone. The teen borrowed a cellphone from a sympathetic fellow passenger. (Snip) “Our investigation, which includes specific records that tracked the movement of our young guest, indicates employees did meet her when her flight arrived and escorted her to our Service Center at San
Reply 1 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/25/2019 7:10:05 PM (No. 162070)
We don’t know if she wandered, left the Service Center, etc. And is she the only teenager in America without a cellphone of her own?
14 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/25/2019 7:13:50 PM (No. 162071)
Upon reflection, it sounds as though they thought they were paying $75 for a companion to stay with their daughter throughout the flight…?
9 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/25/2019 7:18:34 PM (No. 162074)
Here is quite a different Alaska Airlines story about a frightened young girl traveling alone. Her parents think it is a great airline for having taken such good care of her when another passenger was just too creepy-acting…
https://mustreadalaska.com/stranger-danger-teenage-girl-does-all-the-right-things-after-being-followed/
2 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Rumblehog 8/25/2019 7:22:48 PM (No. 162078)
I didn't know airlines were responsible for teenagers. Sounds more like the parents didn't train up their kid to handle solo travel.
6 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
MFM 8/25/2019 7:44:24 PM (No. 162101)
I have flown well over a million miles on Alaska, a terrific airline with great employees, sounds like the parents need to teach their young traveler responsibility and listening to directions..
9 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
vinegrower 8/25/2019 7:44:33 PM (No. 162102)
Who sends a kid on a trip like that without a cell phone. Sounds to me the child was not mature enough to handle traveling alone.
9 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
watashiyo 8/25/2019 7:47:21 PM (No. 162107)
My daughter at age 5 did the international flight alone to be with her grandparents. Got lots of flaks from neighbors, parents, and in-laws. The airline allowed me to escort her to the seats. Introduced me to the flight attendant who will be responsible for my daughter. During the flight, the pilot came out to have her try their uniform and took a couple of pics. After landing, the flight attendant escorted her and properly made sure she was handed over to the I.D.ed grandparents safely. Airline promptly called me to inform me that my daughter was with her grandparents. At the time(pre 9/11), it was called JAL Family Service. Not too sure if they still have the same service. Would I let her do it again? Nope! However, I did it again by sending both son and daughter, at 5 & 7 years old.
6 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
red1066 8/25/2019 8:03:30 PM (No. 162120)
A rare sight was spotted at SFO. A teenager without a cell phone. Authorities are calling this a hoax.
10 people like this.
Reply 9 - Posted by:
Bur Oak 8/25/2019 8:28:30 PM (No. 162129)
I don't believe Alaska Airlines flies out of RDU.
2 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
earlybird 8/25/2019 8:36:19 PM (No. 162133)
Re #9, out of Terminal 2...
2 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
RenoVet68 8/25/2019 8:47:34 PM (No. 162141)
#5 Except for that little problem of flight 261 going down in the Santa Barbara channel 01-31-2000 with 88 souls. I lost a good friend on that flight. Wish you many more happy and safe miles.
2 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
Jerseyden 8/25/2019 9:10:18 PM (No. 162153)
To me this doesn’t pass the smell test. What young person doesn’t have access to a cell phone when traveling alone.
4 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
mc squared 8/25/2019 9:46:30 PM (No. 162183)
13 is old enough to know there'll be another flight or a connection soon enough. And she's cellphone-less? I don't buy it
3 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
thewarden 8/25/2019 11:15:05 PM (No. 162217)
I flew PSA in 1976 at the age of 12, alone, San Diego to Sacramento (with stops) to visit family. I was mature and responsible for my age so my parents were fine with it. Obviously pre-cellphone era when you carried a dime for a payphone, a phone # scribbled on a scrap of paper in your pocket and relatives were set up to pick me up at their end. No issues. This child sounds too immature to fly alone.
1 person likes this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
msjena 8/25/2019 11:32:07 PM (No. 162220)
The parents paid for her to be escorted and for someone to be with her. It sounds like the airline just sat her down somewhere and forgot about her. What good would a cell phone have done? She was able to call her parents but they couldn’t come and get her. 13 is still a child. The airline did act irresponsibly here,
1 person likes this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
chumley 8/25/2019 11:50:52 PM (No. 162229)
My parents never let us fly alone as kids. The closest we ever came was when we moved to Europe for a few years. Dad took half of us on one flight and Mom took the other half on another flight. That way, in case a plane went down half the family would survive.
Sending a kid alone seems cruel and risky.
2 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
ZeldaFitzg 8/26/2019 12:10:51 AM (No. 162235)
This brings back a memory for me. In 1960, at the age of 12, I took the train from Dallas to El Paso. My mother put me on the train and said goodbye----no special care given. In Fort Worth, I had to change trains. This was unexpected, but I asked a man in a uniform which train to go to, he pointed the way, and I said thank you before walking across a couple of sets of tracks to the connecting train. The rest of the ride, part of it overnight, was uneventful, and I had no idea I was doing anything unusual. When I got to El Paso, I put my white Sunday hat back on, smoothed my navy and white travel dress, and disembarked to be met by my uncle and aunt. Was I ready to be traveling by myself without personal oversight? Apparently I was.
5 people like this.
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Comments:
There was a flight delay and she freaked out. Adults sometimes freak out too. But airline did not (IMO) need to hold her hand while sitting at the gate. The kid just wasn't ready to travel by herself - apparently being raised by helicopter parents.