Under 18 and flying alone?

Question

I booked my niece a flight to N.C. cause she's going to Europe for the olympics or something like that (she'll be connecting to another flight when she arrives at N.C.) everytime someone is going out of town they ask me to find them flights..ugh! i should charge..lol..anyway, she's 17 and flying alone, does her mom need to sign a consent letter that is giving her permission to fly alone? or is she old enough to not need one? I looked up the airlines policies but I want to hear it from someone who's let their underage child fly alone. We're from Houston,TX and she's flying with United Airlines and is her passport good enough or does she still need to show an I.D.?

Answer 1

Depending On the airline shes flying out of. If you go to the airliners website a lot of times under booking your flight it will say "unaccompanied" or something. shes old enough though she shouldnt have to

Answer 2

My son flies back and foward between Houston and Memphis a lot.  He is now 14 and I have never had to send a consent letter with him.  Different airlines have different policies so you would need to check witht that airline for their policy.  I would get her some Id.

Answer 3

No she doesnt need a consent form... A passport is a accepted form of Id... She doenst need the UM service... She is way to old its for like 11- year olds!

Answer 4

UA only recommends (rather than requires) their Unaccompanied Minors program for 17-year-olds.  

Her passport is all the ID she needs.