Devil's advocate would say: "At LEAST he/she did not end up on the WRONG flight/destination....."

You do have a point in the revenue that the UM ticket/charges brings to a carrier vs the liability that goes along with making everything work smoothly (especially when connecting flights/layovers are involved). I realize that it's an extreme example, but the same case of liability can be cited when an air carrier sells a ticket to an "Average Joe". He/she walks down the jet way, cross into the threshold of the aircraft entry door and God forbid falls....only to break his leg....viola!! I'm sure there would be some sort of law suit/or settlement that would be made to that passenger. The simple idea of liability is there, and a lot more common in that light than that of UM travel.

In today's world "liability" has become all more encompassing with every passing year. I've said it before....."The best way to limit your liability, is to mitigate your exposure"......kind of a tough mantra for airlines to do when their in the market to make $$ in providing a service of airtravel....even if that involves UM travel.

In the end, I do sympathize with the children who are caught in the middle/become a product of "divorcee shuffle" with UM travel. Summer time is the season, and we see it all too often. That's the sad part.

Well.... It is. The parents didn't leave that kid in a mini torture chamber for 8 hrs. UAL offers the service so it's on them. The status of his parents marriage doesn't really matter. You can't fault them for this. I applaud them for giving the kid a pre-paid cellphone. Most UM's we fly never have that.

Is it just possible that one of the parents got a better paying job that required a move from the old city to another? And hence the shuttling of Junior back and forth? Have any of you actually thought of that?????????:)

So the money is more important than the kid? Sorry, I can't buy that one. I DIDN'T move for 16 years so that I would be near my kids, and when she talked about moving six hours away, I looked for a job there. It's the parents fault.

This + a billion...

Adults suck.

Not my kids
 

No way I let my 9 yr old fly solo transcon with a stop in ord.
Idiot parents passing the buck of responsibility.

We had a 5 year old UM on a flight not long ago... what are these people thinking?

I always make sure the UM's are sitting next to a woman on the flight. Never next to a man. I taught my kid to that if he is ever lost go to a woman. When's the last time you saw a firefighter or cop? When's the last time you saw a woman. The kid will get frustrated and scared looking for a uniform.

Do you allow your 9 yr old to attend public schools?
Do you allow your 9 yr old to ride the school bus unattended?
Have you ever dropped your 9 yr old off at Little League practice and them run errands?
Would you allow your 9 yr old to go to a friend's birthday party at the Mini-golf with the Friend's parents in charge?
Would you allow a 9 yr old to go to a G rated movie with his friends?

The fact is that we leave our children under other's supervision all the time with the reasonable expectation that they will exercise due care. These parents PAID for a service and the service was not rendered. End of story.

I realize there is an inherent bias on this board in that no one believes that an airline employee could ever possibly make a mistake....but it happens. I know I'll be branded a heretic, but Pilots make them too. In this particular case, the airline failed to perform it's duty. Stop blaming the victim.

If you really believe that the parents are idiots because they trusted an airline employee to perform the simple task of guiding a child from one plane and on to another, then why in the world would you expect any of your customers to trust the other airline employees to safely maintain, dispatch and fly an airplane. Seriously, how can you safely work with fellow employees that you hold to such low standards.

BTW, I'm still with wife #1 after 21 years and I've never sent my kids as UMs, but I still think the airline should be held accountable to provide a service when even naughty divorced parents pay for it.