Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
32
The Custody Trap
Because of concern about parental abductions, special requirements exist for
children flying to many foreign countries, including Mexico. If they're with one
parent, they must bring a notarized consent document from the other parent—
even if the missing parent is the one waving goodbye at the airport! A decree of
sole custody or parental death certificate will also do. Minors traveling alone to
these countries must bring either two consent forms, a decree of sole custody
and one consent form, or applicable death certificates. Ask your airline what's
required when you book the ticket.
Children o ver 40 pounds should sit in a
regular seat and wear a seat belt.
All child seats manufactured after 1985
are certified for airline use, but make sur e
your chair will fit in an airline seat—it
must be less than 16 inches wide. You may
not use booster seats or seatless v ests or
harness systems. S afety seats must be
you is most likely to be empty . The reser-
vationist should also be able to r ecom-
mend the best (meaning the least busy)
time for you to fly.
Children Traveling Solo
Although individual airline policies differ
(check with the specific airline for details),
for the most part children ages 5 to 11 pay
the regular adult fare and can travel alone as
unaccompanied minors on domestic flights
only with an escor t fr om the airlines—a
flight attendant who seats the child, usually
near the galley , wher e the flight cr ew is
stationed; watches over the child during the
flight; and escorts the child to the appropri-
ate connecting gate or to the adult who will
be picking up the child. U naccompanied
minors typically board first and disembar k
last.
On domestic flights, the ser vice costs
between $30 and $75, depending on the
airline and whether the child will hav e to
change planes. O n all the major airlines,
several childr en trav eling together fr om
the same family will hav e to pay only one
fee.
Unaccompanied children are never left
alone; escorts stay with them until turning
them over to an escor t on the connecting
flight or to a designated guardian. Airlines
require attending adults to furnish a name,
address, and government-issued photo ID.
The adult who dr ops the child off at the
airport must then designate the name and
placed in windo w seats—ex cept in exit
rows, where they are prohibited, so as not
to block the passage of other trav elers in
the case of an emergency.
The airlines themselv es should carr y
child safety seats onboar d. Unfortunately,
most don't. To make matters worse, o ver-
zealous flight attendants have been known
to try to keep safety seats off planes. O ne
traveler r ecounts in the N ovember 2001
issue of
Consumer Reports Travel Letter
how
a Southwest attendant attempted to block
use of a seat because the r ed label cer tify-
ing it as safe for airline use had flaked off .
That traveler won her case by bringing the
owner's manual and appealing to the
2
pilot—you should do the same.
Getting safety seats on an international
flight may be ev en mor e difficult. Ask
to make sur e y ou can use y our safety
seat when y ou book a flight on a for eign
airline.
Until the ne w F AA r ule comes into
effect, if y ou can't afford the expense of a
separate ticket, book a ticket to ward the
back of the plane at a time when air trav el
is likely to be slowest—and the seat next to
