I am curious what you think about putting a nine year old on a non stop flight by himself these days? Of course a responsible aunt will be there to meet him upon arrival. Has anyone had a child fly alone on Southwest since 9/11?

My grandson, age 8m, just flew between Toledo and Atlanta over Thanksgiving.
It was not on Southwest, but Air Tran. I think we pay an extra fee for extra attention while in the air. My son usually gets a pass and walks with our grandson to the gate and sees that he is on the plane.
He had done that 3 or 4 times now and there has been no trouble.

My 8 yr old daughter flew before 9/11, but I had to check her bags; fill out forms and get a security pass at the ticket counter anyway. Then I had to walk her thru security to the gate (they actually let me put her in her seat in the airplane.) I don't think the current security measures would change any of that. So you should bre fine. By the way, when we flew yesterday (Sun of Thnksgvng weekend) they preboarded two little girls travelling alone on our flight. Don't worry.

I would worry more about the on-going problems of flights getting diverted because of bad weather, mechanical problems, etc., which can leave unattended children stranded.

Thanks for the comments. I will check how the airlines will handle a child if the flight is diverted.