Who needs the service, and what it costs
American's own age bands. Confirm current details at aa.com.
There's no unaccompanied-minor option below age 5. A child this young has to travel with a qualifying adult.
Every child in this range flying without an adult must be booked into American's unaccompanied-minor program. It isn't optional, and it isn't something you can skip to save the fee.
A teenager in this range can fly as a regular passenger. You can still request the service for peace of mind, and if you do, American charges the same fee as it would for a younger child.
The service is a per-direction fee on top of each ticket, recently $150 plus tax. One fee covers siblings traveling together on the same flight. American doesn't publish a maximum number of children that one fee covers, so ask us to confirm it against your family's exact booking. Amounts change; confirm the current figure at aa.com or we'll quote it exactly on the call.
Connections: the 10 hubs, and nothing else
This is the rule that trips families up more than any other.
A child from 5 to 7 can only fly a nonstop or same-plane flight. It doesn't matter how short or simple a connection looks, it isn't permitted at this age, and if there's no nonstop on the route, this age group can't fly it unaccompanied.
Charlotte (CLT), Washington National (DCA), Dallas Fort Worth (DFW), New York. JFK, New York. LaGuardia (LGA), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Philadelphia (PHL), and Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX). A connection routed through any other airport isn't allowed for an unaccompanied minor, even if it's a major American hub for regular passengers.
Search engines and third-party sites don't know or enforce this rule, they'll happily sell a connection through an airport that isn't on the list. American will refuse the itinerary at check-in, so the routing has to be checked before you pay, not after.
The four refusal triggers, read this before you book
Any one of these stops the trip, even on an itinerary that otherwise looks fine.
The whole itinerary has to stay on American or American Eagle. A connection onto a different carrier, including a codeshare flight or a oneworld partner, isn't allowed for an unaccompanied minor.
A connection that requires changing airports, for example between two airports serving the same city, isn't permitted, even if the ground transfer is short.
If that final departure cancels or is delayed past the day, there's no later flight to protect the child on, so American won't book an unaccompanied minor onto it in the first place.
The itinerary can't require the child to stay overnight between flights, the whole trip has to complete same-day.
These four rules are exactly the kind of thing a fare-search site won't flag, it'll sell you the itinerary, and American will refuse it at the counter. Tell us the routing and we'll check it against all four before you pay.
Traveling with an older sibling? The "accompanied minor" option
A different category that can skip the unaccompanied-minor service entirely.
A child age 2 to 14 traveling with someone at least 16 years old can fly as an accompanied minor instead of an unaccompanied minor, meaning the unaccompanied-minor service, its routing restrictions, and its fee don't apply, because an adult (or qualifying older sibling) is physically traveling with the child the whole way. If your child is going with an older sibling or relative who's at least 16, this is worth checking before you assume you need the unaccompanied-minor service at all.
Why it's a phone call, not a website
American confirms this directly, it can't be booked online.
The unaccompanied-minor service can't be added through aa.com or a kiosk. It has to be arranged by phone with a live agent who checks the child's age against the routing, confirms the connection (if any) runs through one of the 10 allowed hubs, rules out the four refusal triggers, and records exactly who is dropping off and picking up. That's why we do this with you on a call: we build the itinerary so it's actually allowed, quote the exact fee before anything is charged, and make sure nothing about the routing gets refused at the counter.
At the airport, drop-off, pickup, and REAL ID
The handover rules that stop a mismatched pickup cold.
The adult dropping the child off checks them in at the counter, walks them to the gate, and has to stay until the flight is airborne, not just until boarding closes. At the arrival end, only the adult named at booking can collect the child, and that adult must show REAL ID matching the details on file. If your pickup plans change, a different relative, a schedule shift, update it with American before travel day, because a mismatched ID at pickup is exactly the kind of thing that stalls a handover.
Before you book, the checklist
Two minutes now prevents a child being turned away at the gate.
- The child's exact age on the travel date, it decides nonstop-only vs. hub-connection eligible
- If connecting, is it through one of the 10 hubs? Any other airport isn't allowed
- Check all four refusal triggers, other airline, ground connection, last flight of day, overnight
- Who drops off and who picks up, full names, and REAL ID ready for both
Book the nonstop when you can, even if it costs a little more. A nonstop erases the connection-age rule, all four refusal triggers, and the risk of a young child alone at an unfamiliar airport. When you're sending a child, the simpler routing is usually the safer one in every way that matters.
Frequently asked
What age can a child fly alone on American Airlines?+
How much is American's unaccompanied minor fee?+
Can my child connect on American, or does it have to be nonstop?+
What connections will American refuse even if I can book them online?+
Can I book the unaccompanied minor service online?+
Contact options
Reach American directly, or let us book the unaccompanied minor for you.
Contact American Airlines directly
The airline's own official channels, free.
These are American's own channels; confirm current unaccompanied-minor rules at aa.com.
More American Airlines help
Related guides.