Websites wont allow me to buy tickets for underage flyers????

Question

Im trying to buy 2 tickets using the online sites (i.e. expedia, travelocity, orbitz). My sisters are 14 and 9. I want to fly them out to washington dc to visit with me for the rest of the summer. When I search for the flights Im told that I cant because they are underage, and I have to buy an adult ticket. What else can I do?

Answer 1

Since neither is over 15, they will have to travel as unaccompanied minors (there is an extra fee).  UM tickets cannot be booked online, they have special requirements and must be booked direct.  Use orbitz, kayak, etc to find the flight you want then call the airline's rez number (there will be a fee for that too).

Also, be aware that if you are not the custodial adult, they will need notarized authorization to fly...

Answer 2

You have to be 18 or older to buy a ticket for yourself.

If you need a ticket, as your parents to buy it for yu

Answer 3

There are no airline discounts for children.  They take up as much room as an adult in the seat, so they pay the same fare as everyone else.

Answer 4

gromit is right about price. In fact, depending on airline you may have to pay an extra fee

As to how to book, pick up the phone. And yes, there may be an extra fee for that as well

Answer 5

One thing you can do is find the flight that works for your situation on orbitz, etc. and then try booking that flight directly from the airline's website.  Some airlines' websites will handle booking minors, some don't.  I was a website developer for ATA Airlines (which went out of business earlier this year) and our website could handle minors.

Also, different airlines will have different rules as far as what age counts as an adult.  I'm guessing most will still consider both of your sisters to be minors, so you'd have to pay the unaccompanied minor fee (basically a babysitting fee) for both of them.  But you might be able to find one that would consider the 14-year-old to be an adult and thus old enough to escort the 9-year-old, so you wouldn't have to pay that fee at all.  Then again, doing that might be a bad idea unless they're really experienced travellers, especially if they have to change planes somewhere.  What if the flight is diverted, canceled, etc and they have to stay overnight in some strange city by themselves?