[PHXFlyer]

Originally Posted by Texas Jacks

US Airways told me that they could not be put into a hotel, due to the fact that "you need to be over 18 and have a credit card to put a deposit on the room to get a hotel room" (seems US AIRWAYS should be the one doing this) then I was told by their 'escort' that regulations state they 'may not leave the airport as they are under 18 and US AIRWAYS is reliable'.

I can understand, to an extent, their position on liability. We live in a litigious society and you can't really blame them for "covering their *****" especially when minors are concerned. Something could happen which is completely out of their control but they would still be sued handsomely for it. Suppose the hotel shuttle van taking them to/from the hotel is involved in an accident or there's a fire in the hotel during the night.

If US Airways does, as a matter of policy, keep stranded unaccompanied minors at the airport they should, at the very least, have more comfortable bedding. An AeroBed inflatable mattress is about $75 at Costco and real linens and pillows aren't very expensive either. To have several on hand wouldn't cost the airline very much and would make things much more comfortable for the kids.

Originally Posted by Texas Jacks

But my kids and another 17 yr old girl (on her way to NY-windsheild cracked on her plane as well) were all 3 in the office of US Airways overnight. They gave them 3 airline pillows and 3 blankets on a hard tile floor. none of them slept all night.

If US Airways does, as a matter of policy, keep stranded unaccompanied minors at the airport they should, at the very least, have more comfortable bedding. An AeroBed inflatable mattress is about $75 at Costco and real linens and pillows aren't very expensive either. To have several on hand wouldn't cost the airline very much and would make things much more comfortable for the kids.

Originally Posted by Texas Jacks

but what are the chances of all these flights having mechanical problems to the same kids? within 2 weeks? luckily they are still young enough and don't have the fears an adult would have with these problems. They were more annoyed with the hours and hours of waiting in the airports then anything.

I still feel the airline should compensate something more then "Flight certificates"

Were the certificates in an amount that would cover a future round-trip to the same destination? If so then that's probably all you should expect. If not I would try for more but would focus more on the lack of proper sleeping accommodations than the mechanical issues that stranded them. It may indeed be that the hotels that US Airways contracts with do not allow minors to stay by themselves (another liability issue) but they should have a better contingency plan for unaccompanied minors when things go wrong.