2 year 2 month old lap child?

[BellePrincessBelle]

Don't you think you should have researched this before you purchased tickets? It has always been 2 & under by that they mean 24 months or less not 2 but under 3. Anyhow on another note it just isn't safe for you, your child, or other passengers to have a lap child. I really wish the FAA would get out of the dark ages and make EVERYONE have their own seat. People who hold lap children are putting other passengers at risk should they become a flying object in turbulence and yes turbulence does occur. I've been on a few flights where paramedics had to remove injured passengers before we could deplane due to head injuries from not being seat belted in and unexpected turbulence.

 

[CarolA]

Don't you think you should have researched this before you purchased tickets? It has always been 2 & under by that they mean 24 months or less not 2 but under 3. Anyhow on another note it just isn't safe for you, your child, or other passengers to have a lap child. I really wish the FAA would get out of the dark ages and make EVERYONE have their own seat. People who hold lap children are putting other passengers at risk should they become a flying object in turbulence and yes turbulence does occur. I've been on a few flights where paramedics had to remove injured passengers before we could deplane due to head injuries from not being seat belted in and unexpected turbulence.

It's not safe, but the FAA has "caved" to the pressure from the airlines who are afraid of "losing" the revenue.

You can't drive around town at 55 MPH with your child in your arms because you can't protect him/her in an accident, but you can hold them in your arms while going several hundred MPH or landing at over 100 MHP. Just makes no sense at all! Sadly I think it will take several more tragedies for the FAA to do the right thing!

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

It's not safe, but the FAA has "caved" to the pressure from the airlines who are afraid of "losing" the revenue.

You can't drive around town at 55 MPH with your child in your arms because you can't protect him/her in an accident, but you can hold them in your arms while going several hundred MPH or landing at over 100 MHP. Just makes no sense at all! Sadly I think it will take several more tragedies for the FAA to do the right thing!

And the FAA is going to wait until they get sued big time by some parent who's child is killed due to turbulence and they don't take the responsibility themselves but say "the FAA said it was ok" so I did it and now my baby is dead but it's not my fault it's theirs for allowing it.
My feeling is if you can't or won't buy your child a ticket then don't fly!!!! My children are worth more to me than a few hundred dollars.

 

[Alexander]

In theory, you could. But I don't know that it would be worth the effort just to save yourself from purchasing a ticket. Unless the birth certificate was for a child of your own who isn't travelling with you, I'm pretty sure airline personnel will ask for documentation from the parents listed on the certificate verifying that you have permission to travel with their child. At the very least you'd have to have all the info memorized. I'm sure some people do it, just wouldn't be worth it to me. Especially if you got caught trying to pull it off.

You've taken this out of context....Someone indicated they thought all children should have identification before boarding a plane, and I was responding that shy of a child having a passport, they would unlikely have photo identification. A birth certificate would not be valid identification because you can't prove the child with you is the same one on the birth certificate because there is no photo.

 

[Alexander]

I guess but you'd have to make sure your entire family knows the "new name" and "new date of birth" of your child. I'm not sure I'd like to get caught trying this strategy. I don't think it's that usual for an infant to by flying without either parent listed on the birth certificate. I'd be afraid of red flags going up. I'm not sure how you'd go about asking a friend for a copy of a birth certificate of their child.

Spirit is starting to charge a fee for lap babies. Combine that with the luggage allowance paying for a baby gets and famlies may be better off just paying for a ticket.

Again, please refer to the quote I was responding to. I was talking about the child flying with identification....That's it....Not using a birth certificate to have a lap child. What other identification do people have for their children other than a passport or a birth certificate? And a birth certificate is not necessarily proof of who the child is.

 

[Alexander]

Every time I think I have seen it all a new one appears!!!



Let's get some stranger's BC and have our child IMPERSONATE him/her!



I mean those rules aren't REALLY there to protect your child from a dangerous situaton are they????


I have a friend who adopted two children from China. She was so worried that someone would challenage her on her right to travel with these kids (whose Birth Certifcate is in CHINESE LOL!) that the VERY first thing she did upon arrival in the US was send off all her stuff to the US Passport agency to get a new passport with child's new name etc. on it.

(And she had to FIGHT with the adoption agency because she and her DH were willing to PAY for seats for the kids on the flight HOME from China. The agency said "you can hold them in your laps they are under two" She said "It's not safe. I didn't do it with my first two children and I am not endangering these either")

OMG for crying out loud! Everyone please read the quote I was referring to! Geesh! Someone talked about all children having identification for flying! All I said was that they would have to have a passport to totally prove who the child was. Someone could use ANY birth certificate, but without photo ID it proves nothing!

 

[tjmw2727]

ID is not required for passengers under 18. The exception is for a child between 14 days and 24 months when not occuping a seat when ID is required to prove eligibility.

Having flown often as the solo adult with my dd's they have never, ever been asked for ID. I have also flown a few times as the only adult with not only my dd's but also my neices who have a different last name and look nothing like me and still - none of the kids have ever been asked for ID. (Yes, I do have a letter of permission and authorization for medical treatment but that's OT )

The rules for lap children are not up to the airlines and they can face a steep fine if they are caught with a child over 24 months onboard without a ticket. SWA requires a BC for every lap child and most other airlines will check a child that looks over 1yo.

Every passenger needs a document to clear security, ticketed passengers use a boarding pass and lap children use a "BVD" or boarding verification document. The airlines can require proof of eligibility for the child before issuing the document. So you need to check in at the desk with the baby prior to going through security to get the BVD, even if you check in online. If the child appears close to 2 and you don't have proof they can deny boarding and require you to buy a full fare ticket. If your flight is full you will have to wait for one that isn't and possibly occur change fees for the rest of the travelers tickets as well.

Sorry OP but as you said the rules are clear and your child needs a ticket to fly. Hopefully you can still get a decent airfare, good luck!

TJ

 

[Lewisc]

Again, please refer to the quote I was responding to. I was talking about the child flying with identification....That's it....Not using a birth certificate to have a lap child. What other identification do people have for their children other than a passport or a birth certificate? And a birth certificate is not necessarily proof of who the child is.

I'm not the only one who interperted your post the way I did. This entire thread is in the context of a poster that wants to get away with having an overage child sit in their lap. I'm glad to read you're not a proponent of borrowing a BC. The only reason an infant needs ID is if they're going to travel as a lap baby. So that's the only reason to borrow a BC.

 

[maxiesmom]

Am I the only one wondering what happened to the OP?

I hope she believes what she has been told and gets her child a ticket asap. I wouldn't want to get to the gate only to be told I need to buy another ticket, and by the way the flight is sold out so you are stuck sitting in the airport for goodness knows how long. Not a good way to start a vacation!

 

[cbrfan]

You've taken this out of context....Someone indicated they thought all children should have identification before boarding a plane, and I was responding that shy of a child having a passport, they would unlikely have photo identification. A birth certificate would not be valid identification because you can't prove the child with you is the same one on the birth certificate because there is no photo.

So sorry. Didn't mean to take your post out of context. The subject of the thread was passing off a child over 2 as being under 2. The airlines are only interested in how old the the child is, not who the child is. I thought you were suggesting a way to get around the rules. My mistake.