Unaccompanied Minors: Your Complete Guide to Each Airline’s Policies, Fees, & Rules

I have fond childhood memories of flying as an unaccompanied minor: boarding a plane with my little sister by ourselves, being driven in the beeping carts through the tunnels of ATL as we were rushed off to a connecting flight, and ultimately spending uninterrupted time with our grandparents on the other end of the trip.  In those days, our parents walked us to the gate and watched us board, and our grandparents were the first faces we saw as we deplaned.  The service was, for many years, free.

Things certainly have changed in air travel, particularly for unaccompanied minors.  In a world of strict TSA rules and increasing airline fees, it is harder (and more expensive) than ever to do the planning and preparation to allow your child to travel alone.  To make things more difficult, airline policies for unaccompanied minors are simply all over the map.  No two U.S. airlines have the same cutoff ages, rules, or fees, so you have to carefully research numerous options before even begin to look at flight schedules and prices.  One airline might have more expensive tickets, but a much cheaper unaccompanied minor fee, making that airline a better choice for your child’s travel.  Worse of all – there is no airline search booking engine that lets you do this kind of comparison.

Although it will probably be a few more years until we allow my daughter to fly as an unaccompanied minor, I’ve already done all the research so you don’t have to.  I’ve created a chart (below) summarizing the rules and fees for the major U.S. airlines so you can easily compare your options instead of spending hours on airline websites.

Hard to believe that this 5 year old is old enough to fly unaccompanied on some airlines now!

But first, there are a few general tips about unaccompanied minor air travel to keep in mind:

1) The definition of an “unaccompanied minor” differs from airline to airline.

Airline policies differ as to who an “unaccompanied minor” is.  For example, some airlines do not consider a child traveling with another passenger over the age of 12 as an unaccompanied minor.  This would mean that two siblings, one of whom is 12 and one who is 10, could travel together without needing to pay an UM fee.  On other airlines, an “unaccompanied minor” could be any child who is not traveling with someone who is at least age 18.  Other airlines set the cutoff age for an “adult” at age 15 or 16.  Confused yet?  The bottom line is that you need to check the fine print, with a consideration of all the ages of your children who will be traveling together, before you book.

2) Many flights are “off-limits” to unaccompanied minors.

Many airlines have pretty strict limitations on the flights on which they will accept unaccompanied minors.  Red eyes are often off limits, as is the last connecting flight of the day to your given destination.  Some airlines won’t accept unaccompanied minors on international flights or flights on partner airlines (including code-shares).  To make things harder, there are exceptions to these exceptions, such as when there is only one flight a day to a given destination.

3) Unaccompanied minor reservations are probably best made over the phone.

Many airlines won’t allow you to book a trip for an unaccompanied minor online, so you have to call anyway.  My advice is to do your research, and then to call to book no matter what.  Talking to a human being can serve as a double-check to make sure you understand the airline’s policies.  If the phone representative tells you something that is inconsistent with your research, you can escalate the matter right away so there is no confusion on the day of travel.

4) Unaccompanied minors traveling internationally may need notarized letters of consent.

In order to prevent child abduction, many countries have strict rules governing children traveling alone (or, for that matter, children traveling with only one parent).  If your child plans to fly as an unaccompanied minor internationally, it is a good idea to have a notarized letter of consent from both parents no matter what your destination.  Also, check the airline rules and the destination country’s specific rules as well, as they may be more restrictive.

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Now, on to the Unaccompanied Minor Airline Comparison Chart…

The following is a summary of the various unaccompanied minor policies of the US domestic airlines.  Of course, each airline has additional fine print that you should read in full on the airline’s web page (linked below for your convenience).

Airline	Age for nonstop flights	Age for connecting flights	UM Fee	Other information
Alaska	5-12(13-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	8-12(13-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	$25 each way for non-stop$50 each way for connecting	Travel not permitted on red eye flights (between 9 pm to 5 am).
Allegiant	No unaccompanied minor service.  Must be 15 years old to fly alone.  Children of any age may fly with another passenger who is at least 15 years old.
American	5-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	8-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	$150 each way	Travel not permitted on the last connecting flight of the day (some exceptions).Unaccompanied minors can only travel on flights operated by American, American Eagle, or American Connection (partner and code-share flights not permitted).
Delta	5-14(15-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	8-14(15-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	$100 each way	Travel not permitted on the last connecting flight of the day (some exceptions).Travel not permitted on red eye flights (between 9 pm to 5 am) (some exceptions).International flights are permitted, but unaccompanied minors can only connect to other Delta, Delta Connection (excluding American Eagle), Air France and KLM flights.   Only one fee is assessed for up to 4 children on same reservation.
Frontier	5-14(15-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	NOT ALLOWED	$100 each way	International travel permitted.Only one fee is assessed for multiple children on same reservation.
Hawaiian	5-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	5-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	$35 for within state of Hawaii$100 between continental US and Hawaii	Travel not permitted on the last connecting flight of the day.Travel not permitted on red eye flights (between 9 pm to 5 am), unless travel is on flights operating out of Honolulu, which are the only flight of the day.Service available only on Hawaiian Airlines operated flights (not other carriers or on code-share flights).
JetBlue	5-13	NOT ALLOWED(Note: UMs are also NOT allowed on direct flights –flights with stops but no plane change)	$100 each way	Must complete Unaccompanied Minor form available on JetBlue website and print 3 copies to bring to airport.UMs will be seated near back of aircraft.
Southwest	5-11	NOT ALLOWED(Note: 5-11 year olds are NOT permitted on connecting flights, but ARE allowed on direct flights –flights with stops but no plane change)	$50 each way	No unaccompanied minor service on international flights.
Spirit	5-14(15-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	NOT ALLOWED(Note: 5-14 year olds are NOT permitted on connecting flights, but ARE allowed on direct flights –flights with stops but no plane change)	$100 each way	No unaccompanied minor service on international flights.
United	5-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	NOT ALLOWED	$150 each way	Unaccompanied minors can only travel on flights operated by United or United Express (partner and code-share flights not permitted).
US Airways	5-11(12-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	NOT ALLOWED	$150 each way
Virgin America	5-14(15-17 year olds may use the service for a fee or choose to travel unaccompanied as adults)	NOT ALLOWED	$75 for short-haul flights (<2 hours)$100 for long & medium-haul flights (> 2 hours)$125 for International flights on Virgin America (arriving/departing Mexico).