Maybe she should have read the conditions?

[yo yo ma]

This lady should have read the conditions before sending her 2yo on a flight with her 14yo brother. She stuffed the booking up, so why not take responsibility for it? It is easier to blame Qantas, than it is to admit she made a mistake.

Qantas rule leaves toddler stranded - News - Travel - smh.com.au

 

[Batesy]

Foreget reading the conditions. Who sends their 14 year old son on an overseas trip and charges them with the care of a toddler. The conditions of carriage are clear and available. It seems common sense, logic and personal responsibility are not listed as part of the terms of booking a flight.

 

[milehighclub]

The flight was from Christchurch to Queenstown - not an international flight

There is video over at tv3.co.nz
3 News > Video > Campbell Live > Qantas rule leaves toddler stranded in Christchurch

 

[Batesy]

The flight was from Christchurch to Queenstown - not an international flight

There is video over at tv3.co.nz
3 News > Video > Campbell Live > Qantas rule leaves toddler stranded in Christchurch

Apologies, I forgot about QF doing domestic in the land of the sheep enjoyers. Still international flight or not he is a 14 year old kid, not a responsible adult.

 

[Travel Guru]

Whether its International or domestic, a 14yo child has no business acting as guardian on a flight for a 2yo, and this mother is obviously rather irresponsible for doing so.

Having worked in travel for years, im not surprised by her blaming Qantas, people in my experience will blame just about anyone short of themselves for stuffing things up, and this is just another case.

Perhaps next time she should think about either a. driving her kid to CHC, or b. chaperoning her like a responsible mother.

There, thats my rant and rave for the day!

TG

 

[BiziBB]

I wonder if NZ has a different policy? I read the SMH story and the woman's comments don't ring true - too many assumptions and not enough checking the policy on minors.
This is a time when a travel agent would have come in handy.

 

[Maca44]

he is a 14 year old kid, not a responsible adult.

I have previously used a 14 year old 'kid' as a babysitter to look after my two precious assets, something I would not have done if I did not think this 'kid' was responsible. However, this has nothing to do with whether or not the kid is responsible, the problem is the mother did not abide by the terms of carriage and/or not reading the appropriate T&C's.

 

[Travel Guru]

I have previously used a 14 year old 'kid' as a babysitter to look after my two precious assets, something I would not have done if I did not think this 'kid' was responsible. However, this has nothing to do with whether or not the kid is responsible, the problem is the mother did not abide by the terms of carriage and/or not reading the appropriate T&C's.

Babysitting in a home is one thing, having them chaperone the child on a flight is completely different in my view.

TG

 

[JohnK]

Oh no! I didn't think anyone would even consider expecting a 14 year old to take care of a 2 year old baby on a flight. Most times it is hard enough for parents to cope with young children....

 

[ric_melb]

How unsurprising to see the article is in the SMH! So well known for being critical of Qantas.

Agree the rules were there, they were not complied with, and I question the suitability of a 14 year old having custody of a 2 year old on a flight.

 

[acampbel]

Which conditions should she read .... the one that defines Adults as 12+ and Children as 2-11 years-old? Oh sorry - that's just for the airfare. The different definition for "Children travelling alone" is hidden behind a link that appears directly under the "Children (2-11 yrs)" selection box.

I can very easily understand her confusion and think she has grounds for complaint. At the very least Qantas needs to fix the anomoly on their webpage.

It is also very confusing that no one blinks to hear that the 14-year-old brother is trusted to babysit his younger siblings alone at home, but in a mode of public transport with numerous staff looking after their health and safety ..... well ... suddenly that's not on and what a terrible mother she is!


You cannot be serious!


Andrew

.

 

[Dave Noble]

Which conditions should she read .... the one that defines Adults as 12+ and Children as 2-11 years-old? Oh sorry - that's just for the airfare. The different definition for "Children travelling alone" is hidden behind a link that appears directly under the "Children (2-11 yrs)" selection box.

I have just read the article and I agree with you. The 14 year old is classed as an adult for fare purposes.

The QF representative stated "A 14-year-old is an unaccompanied minor and they can't accompany another unaccompanied minor." however a 14 year old does not have to travel as an unaccompanied minor on Qantas

If the parent had registered the 14 y/o as an unaccompanied minor, then I would agree that you could not expect the 14 y/o to be the accompanying passenger to the child

I can very easily understand her confusion and think she has grounds for complaint. At the very least Qantas needs to fix the anomoly on their webpage.

Indeed. people don't tend to pop off to read things which don't seem relevent; who here, for example, actually reads entire software licensing agreements when installing software?

Dave

 

[DJ737]

Hi there

What happens if the 14yo is the parent of a 1yo (It happens)

Cheers
DJ737

 

[JohnK]

Indeed. people don't tend to pop off to read things which don't seem relevent; who here, for example, actually reads entire software licensing agreements when installing software?

Going off-topic but does anyone actually read entire software licencing agreements? Most times the first few lines of the agreement is more than enough.

 

[NM]

I must be a terrible parent. My 14yo son regularly baby-sits my 3yo daughter. 14 is the age that we determined to be appropriate for the older kids to baby-sit their young sister. My 16yo son has been baby-sitting his siblings for a couple of years. They do receive a little financial compensation for their efforts.

Now I would not send them together on a flight because I know the rules and the risks involved. My main concern would be if the flight was diverted to a different destination and then they are stuck somewhere they didn't plan to be.

 

[tuapekastar]

I'm not a parent (I don't think :shock so leaving aside the question of appropriateness of 14yo chaperoning 2yo (though it was a <1 hour flight, not exactly CHC - OSL) I'd agree that the website is misleading.

The lady booked 1 x Adult and 1 x Child(2-11). It is disingenuous of them to say...

"A 14-year-old is an unaccompanied minor and they can't accompany another unaccompanied minor.
"It's all listed on the website."

...when the 14yo was clearly booked, within QF's own rules, as an adult.

If they consider a seat worth the same whether a 14yo or a 24yo is sitting in it and want to charge a 14yo as an adult then fair enough, they're occupying the same seatspace, but do not then try and have it both ways by redefining an adult for purposes other than fare elsewhere on the site.
I have had little to beef about with QF (FF enhancements excepted, and after expressing your disappointment you just learn to live with those and use whatever's left to your own best advantage, or move schemes) but this is one case where they need to be treated as a minor (accompanied or otherwise), and given a good smack!

PS. I don't know whether smacking is considered acceptable these days for minors...if not then QF should be sent to bed without dinner, not be allowed to watch Romper Room, or whatever punishment is PC today.

 

[medhead]

he is a 14 year old kid, not a responsible adult.

Yet if he was 15 it would have been fine according to the story. I'd say 15 isn't responsible either, yet QF allow it. Is it ok to have a go at QF for that?

Edit: And if we read the T&C we see:

"Children aged between 12 and 15 years can travel as Unaccompanied Minors only at the request of their parent or guardian. If no request is made, there will be no special arrangements."

Qantas must have broken their own T&C to let the 14 year old fly. The mother didn't know anything about unaccompanied minors, so she can't have made a request for the 14 year old. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stuffed up the 2 y.o. The grandparents dropping the kids at the airport are not legal guardians, they can't make the request under the T&C. So exactl how did QANTAS let this boy get on the flight??

 

[NM]

Qantas must have broken their own T&C to let the 14 year old fly.

Not at all. Qantas allows children aged between 12 and 15 to travel either as an individual passenger with no special services, or as a registered unaccompanied minor at the request of their guardian. If not registered as a UM, a 12 to 15 yo child can travel (on an adult fare) as an individual passenger. So the 14yo boy was quite properly permitted to travel alone on the flight. He was not old enough to be considered the supervising adult for a child aged under 12 years old.

 

[NM]

Yet if he was 15 it would have been fine according to the story. I'd say 15 isn't responsible either, yet QF allow it. Is it ok to have a go at QF for that?

Perhaps its different in New Zealand where a 15yo is considered responsible enough to be able to obtain a driving learners permit, and after 6 months of holding a learners permit may sit the test for a provisional drivers license. So a 15yo New Zealand "child" could well be able to drive himself to the airport unaccompanied, which implies a significant level of responsibility.

 

[Batesy]

I must be a terrible parent. My 14yo son regularly baby-sits my 3yo daughter. 14 is the age that we determined to be appropriate for the older kids to baby-sit their young sister. My 16yo son has been baby-sitting his siblings for a couple of years. They do receive a little financial compensation for their efforts.

Now I would not send them together on a flight because I know the rules and the risks involved. My main concern would be if the flight was diverted to a different destination and then they are stuck somewhere they didn't plan to be.

Hi NM, I dont think that anyone is calling you a bad parent. I do think that there is a significant difference for a 14 year old at home, with all of the normal conveniences and familiarities of home plus the ability to call mum & dad on the mobile. This young fella was on a plane that was going somewhere, without any of the standard things and comfort zone of baby sitting at home.