US

United Airlines Under Fire for ‘Losing’ Unaccompanied Minor in Chicago, Stonewalling Parents Efforts to Find Her

United Airlines Under Fire From Klebahn Family After Allegedly Losing Track of 10 Year Old Daughter in Chicago

(Photo: AP)

Annie and Perry Klebahn lived every parent’s worst nightmare after dropping their ten-year-old off at the San Fransisco airport on June 30.  Going first to Chicago for a camp in Grand Rapids, Phoebe was flying as an unaccompanied minor, and was scheduled to meet an airline representative for her transfer in Chicago.

The only problem?  10-year-old Phoebe never made her flight, and the Klebahns only found out after receiving a “frantic call” from the camp.

Here is an excerpt from the Klebahn’s heated letter to United’s CEO, detailing what happened next:

I proceeded to call United and was put on hold for 20 minutes (imagine if you are a parent waiting 20 minutes not knowing where your 10 year old is).  When someone (from India) finally took the call they first told me that she had indeed arrived in Traverse City and that I was mistaken.  Then (only when I started to panic on the phone) she put me on hold again for 10 more minutes only to come back and tell me Phoebe was still in Chicago and had missed her connection.  When I asked how she could have missed it given everything was 100% on time she said, “it does not matter” she is still in Chicago and “I am sure she is fine”.  When I asked why no one called the camp or us she could not tell me.  When I asked her to please confirm where Phoebe was in Chicago and who she was with she could not tell me.  When I asked to speak with her to be sure she was fine she said that was not possible.  When I asked frantically to talk to her supervisor she put me on hold for 40 minutes.  [Emphasis added]

Chicago is, without question, one of the nation’s most dangerous cities, with a June murder rate worse than Kabul’s.

According to the Klebahns, Phoebe was alone in the city’s airport for two hours before her desperate parents were able to track her down.

United Airlines Under Fire From Klebahn Family After Allegedly Losing Track of 10 Year Old Daughter in Chicago

(Photo: Getty Images)

The 10-year-old reportedly asked various United flight staff three times if she could call her parents, but they told her to wait.  When she missed her flight and asked if someone had the called camp to make sure they knew, they allegedly told her “yes—we will take care of it.”

“But no one did,” her parents remarked. “She was sad and scared and no one helped.”

Apparently United hires a third party to take care of the unaccompanied minors, and the individual had simply decided not to show up.

To top it all off, it took three days for Phoebe’s bags to arrive– though United “confirmed” that the bags were en route a number of times.  The Klebahns had to pay each time the camp sent a representative to the airport, but were more upset that their daughter had nothing to wear in the summer heat.

“We have never in all our collective years had such an unbelievably terrible customer service experience…[It's] hard to imagine how you run a business this way, how you get away with things so close to child endangerment, and how you sleep at night training your service employees how to not be of service,” Annie Klebahn wrote.

Since the story made national news, thanks in part to Stanford professor Bob Sutton’s article, “United Airlines Lost My Friend‘s 10 Year Old Daughter and Didn’t Care,” United has been effusively apologetic.

“What the Klebahns describe is not the service we aim to deliver to our customers,” the airline told HuffPo Travel. “We are redepositing the miles used to purchase the ticket back into Mr. Klebahn’s account in addition to refunding the unaccompanied minor charge. We certainly appreciate their business and would like the opportunity to provide them a better travel experience in the future.”

USA Today Travel asks: “Do you think United is singularly at fault here? Or, do you think the parents bear some responsibility?”

(H/T: Gawker)

Comments (67)

1 2
  • grayling646
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 2:04am

    First of all I blame the parents for placing the safety of their child in the hands of strangers. Secondly, I blame the parents for placing the safety of their child in the hands of strangers.

    Report Post »  
    • pavepaws
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 5:10pm

      The air travel industry is in a sorry state of affairs. Everything is done with the bottom line in mind. It is scary to know how much responsibility is placed on airport workers and yet how little they are paid. Using third party contractors is nothing unusual. The rule is to do it as cheap as possible. Unfortunately, one gets what they pay for.

      Report Post »  
    • Trance
      Posted on August 16, 2012 at 5:16pm

      I especially blame the parents for entrusting the safety of their child to the WORST airline in the United States. I worked for them for many years, and boy could I tell you some stories. I will never fly United Airlines if I can help it just because of the things they do with the safety of their aircraft.

      Report Post » Trance  
  • zoro51
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:06am

    clearly united needs to BE SHUT DOWN.. this IS ******** they know they messed up now time to sue n bank rput the company since THEY cared LESS abot ONE little child.. n had malice a forethought to hinder the investigating n find this this chaild n reuniting the wiht the parents.. NOT CORPORATE GREED ONLY TP PROTECT CORPORATE GREEEED

    Report Post » zoro51  
  • normalmom
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 11:42pm

    Trusting a ten year old with strangers bad, but united is also at fault due to the fact the parents paid money for them to get the kid from flight to flight. Both are wrong, but united needs to compensate a bit more for the stress.

    Report Post »  
    • Walkabout
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:38am

      No cell phone for the kid? Both parties are at fault.

      Report Post »  
  • hudstim
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 11:36pm

    Let’s see…. United is based in Chicago, the kid was lost in Chicago,

    Chicago has one of the top murder rates in the US and the world.

    Oblamer’s Chief of Staff, Dead Fish, is Mayor of Chicago.

    President Urkel’s political career is based in Chicago Hmmmmm….

    Report Post »  
  • ConservaTEA
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 11:27pm

    What responsible parent puts a 10 y/o on a plane by themselves????????

    By law in my state they can’t even be left at home alone until age 11. . .

    How much you wanna bet, these same idiot parents sue for millions and win??

    Report Post » ConservaTEA  
    • mastice
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 11:39pm

      My thoughts exactly!

      Report Post » mastice  
    • Suzanne D
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 1:10am

      You’ve obviously never had a child who had to travel by air before. The parents PAY EXTRA for the airline to watch the child … on the plane, between planes and off the plane until picked up by the designated party. The airline is entirely at fault here. I‘m amazed you’d imply otherwise.

      Report Post » Suzanne D  
    • davidj2k
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:45am

      I have…I am divorced…my kids live in Texas with their mother…and I live in Maryland…however…my ex-wife takes them to the airport gets a Security Pass and sits with them at the gate until they are on the plane…sticks around until the plane takes off…then when they get to me I get a Security Pass meet them at the gate…and the return trip is exactly the same…I am not sure what adult was responsible in Chicago for this, but it is their fault….however in the event that something goes wrong with everything…and lets say their aircraft gets diverted for some reason the airline MUST contact the parents it is in the agreement that you get…and on top of that you have to pay 100 dollars per child for that service.

      Report Post »  
    • termyt
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 10:05am

      Apparently the 10 year old handled herself very well. She engaged United staff, requested they call the camp and her parents. This is exactly what she should do. “Unaccompanied” minors are not alone. The parents paid United to take care of her, much as you might pay a babysitter should you need/want to go some place your child would not be welcomed.

      This is rather like paying a baby sitter to watch your child and the sitter lets the child run around the neighborhood naked.

      Report Post »  
  • BobHar777
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:56pm

    I thought everyone on Earth had seen the “United Breaks Guitars” video and someone trusts these people with their CHILD?

    United is what it is. The parents on the other hand are too stupid to breed.

    Report Post »  
  • smokey40
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:52pm

    Sounds like nothing new for United. As far as airlines go..Continental screwed up when they let United take over. Crediting a flight? They owe more than that. At least lifetime flights for free to start with. However, both me and my wife would never let our daughter fly alone. Ever. We cherish her life over our own. And certainly don’t trust anyone else with it.

    Report Post »  
  • GodWillPrevail
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:41pm

    Can not believe some of the snobs posting here.

    Many children are in daycare how is this that different. The air line charged $99 to provide a service much like day care. They failed miserably. But there was no way the parents should have thought that they would do so. This is a multi-million dollar company far bigger than almost any daycare.

    This is totally United Airlines fault. If you charge for a service involving children and fail to provide it in my opinion jail is a proper remedy. United acted in a criminal manor as far as I am concerned. If a daycare lost my child I would call 911. Perhaps the parent should have done that when United failed to answer any questions or connect her to her daughter. But that is the only thing the parent could have done and did not. I doubt that would have worked either though.

    Thankfully this hit the news.

    Report Post »  
    • Palmer1943
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 12:36am

      Agreed. It is a service that United and most airlines provide. They guarantee to be responsible. There are situations in life where a child a senior citizen or a disabled person needs to be transported safely that is why they offer the service and charge extra accordingly. They contracted with the parents to accept that responsibility. The remarks slamming the parents show a complete and utter misunderstanding of what occurred.

      Report Post »  
    • Kathleen
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 5:47am

      I would be absoltely LIVID!!! I would want ALL of the staff who so negligently and heartlessly dealt with this family FIRED!!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • lordamercy
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 7:10am

      What I cannot believe is that parents would trust their child’s safety to total strangers! I want to check out who’s watching my kid-at least those in charge. These parents wouldn’t trust their purse or wallet to total strangers–why trust their child with them?

      Report Post »  
  • bdandsl
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:16pm

    When my son was 12 he flew unaccompanied and since he had to change planes in SF I paid $35.00 to have the airline escort him for the plane change. They even escorted him to the plane from me, for the plane tranfer and delivered him to his brother waiting at Las Vegas airport.

    I’m not a sue-happy person but, concidering the air lines attitude and lack of concern, I would sue.

    Report Post » bdandsl  
    • normalmom
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 11:29pm

      I agree with you, united did not compensate anywhere near enough for such a potentionally dangerous mistake. So many things could have happened to that little girl.

      Report Post »  
  • yiddishlion
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:09pm

    The way I see it I would never, NEVER entrust anyone with my ten year old daughter except God. Period.

    Report Post » yiddishlion  
  • karenm
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:55pm

    This happens more than you think. I worked in Charlotte and I remember a boy being lost and then molested in the bathroom. I wouldn’t let the airlines take care of my dog.

    Report Post » karenm  
    • ManThong
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:06pm

      1. The murder rate in Chicago has nothing to do with the safety in the secured terminal areas at O’Hare.
      2. There is little left of United Airlines except a name and a bunch of stressed out employees.—it is Continental Airlines systems and management now.. just ask them.
      3. No doubt they screwed up.. a lot of that is happening nowadays.

      Report Post » ManThong  
    • woodyb
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:27pm

      @ M anthong –”1. The murder rate in Chicago has nothing to do with the safety in the secured terminal areas at O’Hare.”
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Is that like the security at JFK, where a jet-skier got through SEVERAL layers of security?????????????

      Report Post »  
    • Rock Knutne ND
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 10:57pm

      #MANTHONG
      “1. The murder rate in Chicago has nothing to do with the safety in the secured terminal areas at O’Hare.
      2. There is little left of United Airlines except a name and a bunch of stressed out employees.—it is Continental Airlines systems and management now.. just ask them.
      3. No doubt they screwed up.. a lot of that is happening nowadays.”
      Correct on 2 of 3 points. You’re totally wrong on point #2.
      O’Hare airport has been a hub for years for United and merely a small line station for Continental. (3 or 4 gates). Although Continental Administration is in the process of merging their philosophy with United‘s it’s most definitely still run under United’s methodology and likely to be for at least a year or more. This is what you get when you have a Union mentality. If it’s not in your contracted job description nobody feels the need to take responsibility. This is the problem the Continental Administration is battling right now at ORD and may be the reason something like this happened.
      Had this happened where the former (non-union) Continental employees still operate their 3 gates… B1, B2 or B3 I can pretty much guarantee someone would have called that girls parents and handled that situation in a matter of minutes.

      Report Post » Rock Knutne ND  
    • ManThong
      Posted on August 15, 2012 at 1:46am

      Woody.. You are safer on the security side of Terminal 1 at O’Hare than in church or any ordinary public space, although nowadays that is probably not saying much.

      Rock… .. There is no “merging” occurring.. it is an assimilation. Continental management and policy is being implemented across the board. Significantly, the newer United computer ticket and reservations system was replaced by the old Continental system which is a continuing source of problems.. it may be part of this one.

      I am no fan of unions and not to absolve anyone from not following through for the little girl and her family, but the management and systems imposed issues there exacerbate any union attitudinal ones.

      And FYI: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/iteam&id=8155099

      Report Post » ManThong  
  • apgar1010
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:48pm

    United Airlines is 100% at fault. They did the same thing to my daughter when she was 13. After they took $100 and dumped her after the first leg of the flight, they claimed that they don’t do unaccompanied minor service on certain flights. Problem is, their website says if they don’t offer it, then you won’t be able to purchase it in those conditions. I was assured it was available on all 3 flights. And i asked multiple times just to confirm it. And the customer service is really as bad as described. They do not even pretend to care. Fortunately, we’ve been through enough airports that my daughter was able to get where she was going with some guidance from us and a couple of great iPhone apps offering real time flight info, gates, and maps of airports, AND the grace of God. My advice: role play what would happen in worse case scenarios and don’t let them travel without a cell phone.

    Report Post »  
  • iwillnotbequiet
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:40pm

    United offers a service and the parents paid for that service. The parents did only one thing wrong..trusting United. I do wish the child would have had a phone even a temp one. My daughter travled alone many many years ago when people cared and thank God all went well. Now I will tell you I would NOT have been put on hold a second time..I would have reached through that phone and chocked that B–ch. United owns these parents and their daughter a lot more than a refund. I’m glad this got out so others can learn from it. Thank God she’s ok.

    Report Post »  
  • TAXEVERYONE
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:23pm

    The attendants all must of been on a union authorized break.

    Report Post » TAXEVERYONE  
  • chips1
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:04pm

    I can’t believe that any parent would allow their child to be alone with so many TSA perverts around.

    Report Post »  
  • Detroit paperboy
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:04pm

    They actually lost a child……..they need a government bailout…..

    Report Post »  
  • pissantno.10
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:02pm

    if any body puts a kid on a flight by themselves in this day and age there should not be allowed to keep there kids. airlines are just about the same as truck full of cattle going down the highway. these people do not care about anybody

    Report Post »  
  • blazingaway
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:52pm

    Any parent who puts a 10 year old on a plane without a cell phone and without 24/7 adult supervision is an idiot. Nature doesn’t deal kindly with idiots.

    Report Post » blazingaway  
    • TAXEVERYONE
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:24pm

      Who are you to judge?

      Report Post » TAXEVERYONE  
    • Realman30
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:36pm

      This is 100% on the stupid parents. They should have NEVER allowed the child to travel alone.

      Report Post » Realman30  
    • hidden_lion
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:56pm

      Realman-
      I guess you are not divorced with kids. There is no other option when the ex hag moves across the country with your kids, unless of course you are a rich guy with a private jet or something.

      Report Post » hidden_lion  
  • PoochieGirl
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:49pm

    United really dropped the ball, but there are some things I wouldn’t leave up to others to take care of. Not in this world. My 10 year olds safety being right at the top of the list.

    Report Post »  
    • inblack
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:26pm

      From United Web Site (This covers ALL children through age 11)

      “How will my child’s connection/arrival be handled?”

      “An airline representative will meet your child upon landing and escort your child to his or her connecting gate, if applicable, or to the arrivals area to meet the person designated to pick up your child. Explain to your child in advance the importance of waiting for a uniformed airline representative to escort him or her between connecting gates and/or to the arrivals area. Older children may feel capable of navigating through an airport alone, but failure to follow United’s unaccompanied minor policies can cause unnecessary anxiety for both the child and those responsible for the child and may place your child at risk.”

      “Children traveling unaccompanied pay a full adult fare.
      An additional service charge is collected to cover extra handling required when an unaccompanied child travels. Please confirm this charge when placing your reservation.
      There is a $99.00 service fee required for all unaccompanied children traveling alone on all flights to any destination.”

      Report Post »  
  • Goldi
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:48pm

    How in the world is it the parent’s fault? The child could’ve been kidnapped, hurt, unbelievably scared and they should pay a lot more than the ticket!

    Report Post »  
    • AnAmericanToo
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:14pm

      How is it the parents’ fault? They allowed a minor to travel across country without either one of them. I think that is crazy! They apparently did not provide the child with a cell phone. They opted for a summer camp half way across the country — they could have found a camp closer to home. They did not teach the child how to use a pay phone (if they exist at the Chicago airport).

      I think any parent who willingly places such a minor on a airplane to travel alone is nuts and can‘t blame others for when their child isn’t appropriately babysat by 100% strangers.

      One airline flight I had was some years back. My family member and I were at the tail of the plane and next to us was a mother. Her children — two bouncing boys — were in the row ahead of us. The mother asked the man in that row if he would change seats with her so she could sit by her boys. He said, “NO!” Realizing that the boys and the mother were going to be chatting back and forth through the flight, I suggested that if both boys were change seats with us that WE would swamp locations. OH BOY! am I glad we did! What a nightmare ride in the plane — rough, bouncing ride, and one of the worst descent experiences I have ever had. A white knuckle event. The boys were terrified! At the end of the flight, the mother thanked for switching seats.

      What if the plane had had problems with an unaccompanied minor? What if the plane got its travel destination changed?

      Report Post »  
  • Evil Bert
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:46pm

    I find it hard ti put blame on the parents who were thousands of miles away. Parent put children on planes all the time. Obviously this is an exception and not the rule. UA bears ultimate responsibility here. If I were UA’s CEO, I would offer the family free airfare for life. When parents hand their child off to an airline, that airline becomes the temporary guardian and bears all responsibility. The parent put their child in the hands of the airline under good faith here.

    If I were the UA, I would immediately cancel the contract between UA and the third party company hired. I presume that UA and the other company had some sort of process put in place with which the person who is to accompany the minor would need to arrive by a certain time prior to the child’s arrival. AT which point, if that person fails to arrive, then a UA employee would need to step up and take the responsibility.

    UA is undoubtedly the primary responsible party here.

    Report Post »  
    • pissantno.10
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:55pm

      in this day and age are you kidding i would never put a kid on a flight by themselves . this is a nasty world. and i see some many parents just dont care.

      Report Post »  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:01pm

      Shoot, my wife barely lets me fly alone anymore. She doesn’t like strangers feeling my junk, she says that‘s her job and she isn’t about to be outsourced by the Govt.

      Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
    • TAXEVERYONE
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:27pm

      Pissanto, maybe you should have paid more attention when they taught grammar in school.

      Report Post » TAXEVERYONE  
    • AnAmericanToo
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 9:32pm

      The child is not a piece of luggage that one can pass along one’s obligations.

      The parents 1) opted for a camp 1/2 way across the country for a TEN YEAR OLD.
      The parents 2) opted to neither one of them accompany the child to the camp.
      The parents 3) decided that it was a good decision to send a 10 year old on a plane across country and entrust their daughter to strangers to have her make a plane connection;
      The parents 4) opted to not provide the child with a cell phone (if they had money for plane trip and summer camp 1/2 way across the country — they could have covered the cost of a cell phone)
      The parents 5) did not bother to page their child in the airport — they still do paging don’t they?
      WHO cares about the lost luggage?

      You cannot in good parenting pass your child off to complete strangers and then blame strangers for failing to do your parental duties. These parents passed their child to 100% stranger who didn’t bother to show up for work to babysit their child. Are they surprised? If they use local babysitters do they not check out the background of the sitter? Reliable, judgement, etc? These parents didn’t even know the name of the person who would be babysitting their 10 year old. (Age, reliability (clearly zero), judgment (clearly zero))

      100% parents fault for expecting a corporation to do that which they should have been doing and they STILL didn’t go out to see their daughter after this mess….

      Report Post »  
  • grayling646
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:44pm

    Somebody would be sporting an asswhipping for a few days. It might be me. But somebody would.

    Report Post »  
    • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
      Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:58pm

      Joe Biden usually has to pay extra for that. Dirty talk is still free, but Nancy charges for the S&M, just ask Harry Reid.

      Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:42pm

    They did bring out an Asian kid, a Black kid, and Two Hispanic girls before they finally found their missing kid. But on a good note, if any child is not claimed, united does have a policy that the children becomes property of United, and work in baggage handling. Some lucky ones actually get to be Pilots. So, the next time you see someone slinging your bag across the tarmac, just remember, that isn’t a disrespectful employee damaging your goods, it is a poor child, who is damaged goods themselves, lost and then enslaved by United Airlines.
    Their motto should be:
    United Airlines, We Appologize……

    Report Post » Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra  
  • Dr_Nil
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:42pm

    United why do you break quitars?

     
  • scrudge
    Posted on August 14, 2012 at 8:41pm

    Ah Yes…. nothing new at uNITED…. same O… same O

    Report Post »  
  • grayling646
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 2:02am

    It‘s always someone else’s relative. You freaking idiot. Why don’t you do it?

    Report Post »  
  • bigdaddyt46
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 5:41am

    The comment has been reported. Thank you

    Report Post » bigdaddyt46  
  • stogieguy7
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 9:09am

    Is that where hookers like you are plying their trade now? On the laptop?

    Nice job “Paza” – hope you burn in spammer’s hell, you fool!

    Report Post » stogieguy7  
  • bigdaddyt46
    Posted on August 15, 2012 at 5:43am

    The comment has been reported. Thank you.

    Report Post » bigdaddyt46  
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