Students from across the globe eagerly join Education Unlimited programs each summer. To ensure a smooth and stress-free experience, we offer the convenience of airport transportation assistance for a nominal fee. Below, we've compiled answers to the most frequently asked questions regarding this service. However, should you have any further inquiries, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. Additionally, our Frequently Asked Questions page covers general logistical queries about Education Unlimited programs.
Do you provide an airport pickup/dropoff service?
Yes, our staff will meet arriving students at the airport, greet them and ride with them back to campus. Similarly, we can ride with students back to the airport to make sure they are safely checked in for their flight. For an additional, fee we also offer full "unaccompanied minor services" which will meet students at their flight gate upon arrival and stay with them until their flight departs on departure day. Please see below for the airport that your camper must plan to arrive at if you wish to use our assistance service:
Stanford University transportation assistance: San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
Yale University transportation assistance: John F Kennedy International Airport (JFK)
UC Berkeley transportation assistance: Oakland International Airport (OAK) - Pickup/Dropoff at SFO may be available for an additional fee. Contact us to make special arrangements.
UCLA transportation assistance: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
UC San Diego transportation assistance: San Diego International Airport (SAN)
Tufts University transportation assistance - Boston Logan International Airport (BOS)
Georgetown University transportation assistance - Ronald Reagan (DCA) - Pickup drop off at Washington Dulles Airport (IAD) may be available for an additional fee - Contact us for special arrangements
Do you meet students upon arrival?
Our staff are at the airport helping meet campers and direct them, and are sent equipped with their flight details and cell phone numbers you provide on our forms to facilitate meeting up in the baggage claim area. On the return, our standard service has our staff drop students off with their baggage at the proper terminal, and additional staffing support as necessary if a student is stranded because of logistical problems at the airport or otherwise needs assistance.
If you wish to provide an even higher level of staff support for your camper, with our ‘Unaccompanied Minor Service’ we are able to accompany students beyond the security checkpoint if and as allowed by TSA staff. With Unaccompanied Minor Service our staff see students off to the furthest point allowed by the airline and airport security officials, up to and including to the gate of departure. If you elect to send your student with Unaccompanied Minor Service, you will need to notify us in advance through the parent portal, and the total cost of our assistance with unaccompanied minor service is $75 one-way assistance or $150 round-trip assistance (plus any additional fees charged by your airline for their unaccompanied minor service), as we must dedicate one staff member for each Unaccompanied Minor who arrives. This service is available first-come, first-served, and we do only have a limited amount of staff available. However, use of the service is fairly rare, so we usually can meet most or all requests. Unaccompanied minor policies vary by airline. A summary of policies as of Summer 2017 can be found here as well as links to the most commonly used airlines websites at that time. This information is shared only as a service and you should always check with the airline directly for the most up to date information.
When do the shuttles run?
We can only provide our transportation assistance service on the first and last actual day of each program. In order to use our service, please plan to arrive to your specified campus airport according to the times listed in the "Camp Session Information" section of the parent portal. In general flights should arrive between 12pm and 2pm on day of arrival and depart two or more hours after your camp checkout time. For longer domestic or international flights, it is advised that you book flights three or more hours after checkout time.
What is the cost of the airport transportation assistance service?
Airport Meet and Greet service is offered for $75 each way for high school students. An additional fee of $50 each way is charged for students who are registered with the airline as "unaccompanied minors".
Our goal with our fees for our airport transportation service is simply to defray some of the costs that we incur in providing a high degree of personal service, and we often collect less in fees than the basic cost of the staffing we provide and the transit that we contract for.
How do I sign up for the airport transportation assistance service?
You will be able to sign up for the airport transportation assistance service from the parent portal beginning April 15. We will send an email announcement when signups begin. Feel free to book your flights whenever it is convenient for you--adding the airport assistance service is simple and easy, and as long as your child's flights fall within the listed times, we will accommodate your needs. We will always accommodate any student who needs this service as long as you sign up at least 7 days in advance of the program start date.
Is there a deadline to signup for the airport transportation assistance service?
We ask that you sign up for the service at least 7 days before the start date of your child's camp to allow us time to arrange the appropriate number of seats. If you know that you plan to use the airport assistance service, please do sign up earlier to help us gauge demand. If it is less than 7 days from the start of your child's camp and you would like to use the service, please email or call to check for availability with our staff.
There is a really cheap flight the day before camp starts. Can you assist my child with transportation a day early?
Unfortunately, no. We are only able to offer the dedicated assistance service on the days that your camp starts and ends, as our staffing is the main component of the service, and our staff are busy before camp having pre-camp planning meetings in the days leading up to the program. If you’re planning to arrive or leave on a day other than the scheduled start or conclusion of our camp, and really are just looking for reasonably priced transportation, we recommend Super shuttle, a private shared-ride van service which has gotten generally good feedback from past attendees. We are happy to provide additional references for such services, though we have not carefully vetted any companies other than those that we actually contract for our own shuttle charters and do not in any way warranty any such service.
How will my child know who is supposed to pick them up? Where do they go?
On the Thursday before your child's flight, you will receive an email with the name, photo and phone number of the staff member who has been assigned to meet them. Staff members will be wearing Education Unlimited staff polos and will have a designated meeting point which will be shared in the email. Our staff will also have your student's flight information and cell phone number in case they have any trouble connecting at the airport. If your student has a cell phone with them during travel, they will be able to call or text with our staff upon arrival to make it easier for them to connect. Our office will be staffed during this timeframe as well, so your camper should feel free to call our office if they are having trouble finding the shuttle staff member.
Do you drive the students yourselves?
Since livery service is a unique form of transportation that must be specially licensed and permitted, Education Unlimited contracts professional drivers/vehicles to transport students and staff. We provide our teachers and staff to go to the airport and meet the students and ride with them back to campus in a professionally driven vehicle such as an airport shuttle, Lyft, bus or black car service depending on the number of students being transported. The cost of the vehicle is already included in the meet and greet service fee.
Many of our camps are in urban areas, and occasionally we may also use public transportation, if it is is more convenient based on the location and the time of day of student's arrival. In these cases we will cover all public transit costs and will provide a chaperone throughout the entire journey.
If all you want is simple transportation, there are a number of good services from most airports that can provide that to your family, and we are happy to provide references for possible companies that might be a good fit for your needs. Our service is primarily about us making our staff available to provide personal assistance to your children to make sure that students are looked out for at the airport, and have someone to turn to in the event additional help or direction is needed.