Did you fly on a plane by yourself? I did...

Today I woke up to read the story of 2 young children who were put on the wrong airplanes. I would love to hear from any former or present flight attendants or other crew members from any airline to let me know what provision are made for children flying alone.

Read the story here if you don't know the case I'm speaking about. http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Lost_Girls_Continental.html

This is how I feel about it.

It's really not uncommon for children to travel on planes alone. I think a lot less people do it since 9/11. I was sent to Florida from New England on People's Express Airlines (which ironically is now Continental) back in the early 1980's. I was 8 years old. My parents walked me up to the gate and Martha, the flight attendant shook my hand and knew my name. She told me who she was and that she was going to make sure I got to granny in Florida. I boarded the plane hand in hand with Martha, who was called a stewardess back then. She put me in my seat, buckled me in and sat right next to me. When we landed in FL she held my hand and walked me to my relatives who were waiting at the gate for me. It was a very pleasant experience. I think I was the first person on the plane. The crew knew that I would be traveling alone, I was expected and was warmly welcomed aboard. Provision had been made for my travel. Yes times have changed greatly since then. With all the high technology and security I'm shocked this happened. When reservations are made and a child is traveling alone a memo needs to be sent to the crew of the flight the child will be on. The ticket agents also need a copy so when they are checking in they are looking for the child. Maybe this is a practice that happens now, but the system is flawed for this to happen. Better, safer measures were taking in the early 1980's for me than what was done for these children. I'm glad the children were found and safe. Please don't judge the parents, everyone can't drive somewhere. Everyone can't take vacation time to travel. In a lot of cases it's cheaper to fly with gas prices soaring daily. Airlines know that children will travel alone, that is why you pay an extra fee called an unaccompanied minor fee. It is a inconvenient at times, but better measure should have been in place to protect this kids. Let hope that this never happens again.