Can i sue an airline if my 11 year old son did not make his connecting flight?

Question

My son was traveling from Richmond to Atlanta and he arrived in Atlanta on time. We paid the unnacompanied minor fee to the airline he was traveling with to take care of him. He missed is flight because he was never taken to the connecting flight even after arriving 1hr before that second flight was schedule. The situation was that I was never called to tell me what was going on an I only got a call from my Son which thank god he had a cellphone to let me know what was going on. I called the airline to ask what was going on and they did not know they left me on hold and after a while the desk person comesback and tells me that he missed his flight and he was going to get on to another plane but did not had an explanation as to why this happened. I called customer service today and they offered 50 dollars back out of what I paid for the fee but still did not know what happened. I told the guy that I wanted an explanation but he told me that he did not have one to take the 50 or leave it

Answer 1

yes id sue... $50 isnt going to cover a missing child.. duh!..

Answer 2

Yes, you can sue.  Whether it's worth suing over, however, is debatable -- if your son was put on the next flight and made it to his destination with no other troubles, a court may not find sufficient grounds to award damages significantly greater than the compensation already offered.

Personally, I'd take the $50 they've offered and send a letter to the executives of the airline to make sure that your incident doesn't fall through the cracks.  That, in my opinion, is more constructive than suing for damages you may never receive.

Answer 3

The person who said the airline has unlimited money is wrong. The airlines are actually struggling. But that's no excuse for them to lose track of your son. I'd seek legal advice, not using Yahoo Answers as the grounds for your final decision.

Answer 4

I would write a letter demanding what you want, like free tickets to somewhere in the U.S. - Mention that you had trusted them to take care of your child and they failed their obligation to do so.  

I would also threaten to find someone who would "advocate" your rights for you.  People tend to jump when they find there might be litigation involved.

Answer 5

Don't take legal advice from YA.

Example:

Nikki says you can't sue. You can sue, you may not win the case, but you certainly can sue.

You are better off discussing it with a lawyer to see how feasible it would be.

Answer 6

Absolutely you can sue. That is your right in America. That is how our legal system works. You can contact your local BAR association for recommendations of lawyers, or you can consider small claims court.

However, the right to sue has nothing to do with your likelihood of success which i suspect (i have no legal training) is low.

We all know that airlines are mostly doing a terrible job of customer service (except Southwest IMO). I suggest writing a formal letter stating the events and saying what you feel would be correct action to rectify it. I suggest being reasonable. Make it easy for them to say "yes" as the recipient is probably overwhelmed with complaints.

Good luck.

Answer 7

call a lawyer, you paid for a service and didn't get it and it put your son's life in danger.  

Another way to look at this is that the airline has an unlimited supply of money and time. contact news agencys, cnn and others to see if they will air your problem and do name the airline and any employee names that you have

Please call a lawyer they can give you the best advice!!!

Answer 8

i agree to contact media/agencies/news services w/ your story.

we had a horrible experience w/ American Airlines for a domestic flight to Las Vegas and submitted a formal letter of grievances to AA and the BBB, in addition to faxing in the letter to the The Department of Transportation and the Aviation Consumer Action Project.

We just want people to know what's going on and how terrible flying has become-

http://neverflyamerican.wordpress.com/20...

Answer 9

First things first - you're probably not going to get an explanation from the airline's customer service. They have no way to know what happened. You might, however, be able to get some answers by contacting the airport itself - http://atlanta-airport.com/Default.asp?u...

Check - and double check - the airline's policy for unaccompanied minors. Does it say that they assume full responsibility for children with this service? If so, you might be entitled to have the entire cost of the service refunded. If not, there's not much you can do.

Answer 10

You cannot sue. However you do have a more than valid greivance and I would ***** to everyone you can at the airline.  I'm sure if you complain enough and to the right people you will get some sort of compensation, most likey free vouchers or a refunded ticket.  Just keep calling and demandind to speak to someone higher and higher up.  It also helps to go into it as a negotiation.  Know what you want and tell them what you want out of it.  they offer you $50 but that doesn't mean that is all they CAN do for you.

On a personal note.  THAT IS FLIPPIN RIDCULOUS!!!!  I cannot believe an airline would be so careless with an 11 year old boy.

Answer 11

Is everything OK? Is your son suffering from PTSD? If not, then why sue? Mistakes happen, that's why unaccompanied minors are not the favorite passengers on the airlines. I imagine they have no good explanation for your son not making his connecting flight- I mean, really, what would a "good" explanation be? The bottom line is they messed up. I'd try a letter directly to the upper management of the airline- skip all the low and mid-level manager types. But personally? I don't know that they're gong to care all that much. The airline industry in is terrible shape right now they are struggling to keep afloat let alone provide perfect customer service. In the future- and as your son gets older, help him practice the things he can do while he is traveling to keep him on time.