Education Unlimited Airport Transportation Assistance
Students from around the world attend Education Unlimited programs each summer, and for a modest additional fee we provide the services of our staff to aid students on their arrival and departure from a designated airport. We have attempted to answer the most common questions which we receive about our airport transportation assistance service below, but if you have additional questions, please contact us. We also have a Frequently Asked Questions page which addresses general logistical questions about Education Unlimited programs.
- Do you provide an airport pickup/dropoff service?
Our staff will meet the students at the airport to greet students, provide assistance and direction to them as needed, and ride with them a professionally driven vehicle to campus. Please see below 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)
- 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 - Washington Dulles Airport (IAD)
Since livery service is a unique form of transportation that usually must be specially licensed and permitted, we just want to be clear that Education Unlimited does not actually provide the drivers or vehicles. Instead, we provide the staff and administration to fully support all students who opt for this service to be safely transported, the actual personnel at the airport to meet and chaperon students, and rather than directly providing the transportation we contract with companies that specialize in airport transportation to assist us in safely transporting the students from the airport to campus, and back again at the end of camp.
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.
- 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-serve, and we do only have a limited number 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.
- What is the cost of the airport transportation assistance service?
We charge $50 for one-way airport transportation assistance, $85 round-trip for our service. Unaccompanied Minor service is also available, and raises the cost of the airport transportation assistance service to $75 one-way and $150 round-trip. Please note that the service for Yale University is $75 one-way and $150 round-trip due to the extended distance from JFK airport.
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 price 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.