Anyone flown with a child under 2 on Southwest?

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Wondering if I would need to provide a copy of her birth cert if she is a lap child?

 

[jlparedes]

I've never had to. I've flown wiht them several times and other carriers as well, and still never needed a BC and my DD is tall for her age too.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

The reason I am asking is she turns 2 on 11/30, we are flying on 12/7, she will be 2 by 1 week. I know this is totally wrong of me, but I don't want to buy her a ticket.

Do you think it will work?

If they ask I can just say I didn't know I would need her birth cert...

 

[JadeDarkstar]

i wouldnt think it matters just dont say anything

 

[McQueenofHrts]

In my experience, I would bring a copy of the birth certificate. I was questioned when my daughter was one year old! If you have a copy already, it wouldn't hurt to bring it. Better safe than sorry!

Good Luck!

 

[jlparedes]

I don't think it's an issue, you should be fine. When we went to Hawaii on Hawaiian, my daughter turned 2 2 weeks after our trip and many people think she's 3 or 4 sometimes. Nobody even asked.

 

[Winks At Tink]

I've flown numerous times on southwest and every time I have to show her birth certificate. So, If i were you I would bring it. You could alway ask them at the podium or call them.

 

[mommy2allyandaveri]

Dang, I don't know what to do...

Risk it and she may fly for free or if I risk it and they don't let us board without her birth cert we will have to buy a full price ticket, if one is even available...

 

[Wendi2000]

You need to bring it. If they think she might be old enough to ask for proof, they will and at that point you will need to purchase a seat for her. I would check prices now on buying that seat because it will be much cheaper to get her a seat now than on the day of your flight. What if the flight is sold out? You won't get anywhere at all. I wouldn't want to take a child of that age without a carseat on the plane anyway, but not everyone feels the same as I do about that.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

If you do not purchase a seat for your child, you will mostly likely be asked to show proof of age with a birth certificate. According to SWA, only children under 2 don't have to have a seat..

What Special Rules Apply to Infants and Children?
If you're traveling with an infant or small child, you should know that proper use of a child restraint device (CRD) enhances child safety on aircraft. For this reason, Southwest Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly recommend that infants and small children who weigh under 40 pounds be secured in an appropriate CRD when traveling by air. Full details.

Traveling with the infant on your lap:
One child over 14 days and under two (2) years of age, not occupying a seat, may be carried free when traveling with an adult (12 yrs of age or older).
Although a boarding pass is not required for the infant, you will need a Boarding Verification Document.
Traveling with the infant in an FAA approved car seat:
Affordable Infant Fares are available that enable a Customer to reserve a seat for an infant and use his/her FAA approved car seat.
A boarding pass is required.
Online checkin is available if the infant is traveling on an Infant Fare and is age verified.
A birth certificate is required to validate age of all infants under age two.
A medical release for travel is required for any infant under 14 days old.
Accompanied children ages two through 11 will be charged the applicable Child's Fare for the flight (does not apply to unaccompanied children ages five through 11). Proof of age may be required.

I would buy a seat and put her in her carseat.

http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/infants.html

 

[jakoky]

HI there, i dont know the answer to your question but just wanted to say something...i know the odds are pretty slim, but i worry about the lap part...this is due to our landing at LAX last september...we touched down, bounced twice, skidded to a stop, and we all lurched pretty hard forward...my 12 yr dd, slammed the seat in front of her, i watched her as it happened....i have no idea what was up with our landing, i HATE flying and this did nothing to calm my nerves...after the skid, we did a sharp turn...makes me think he overshot the runway, or we were on the wrong runway...all i could of is your daughter probably would have been somewhat hurt with our landing...Of course, my kids are older and need seats, and i probably would have done the same thing when mine were younger by putting them on my lap....this landing makes me think twice though and just wanted to give u a heads up...have an awesome trip...

sharon

me, dh, dd -17, ds -15, dd -13

DEC 04-WDW-9 nights at the POP.. .first disney experience for dh and all my kids...i had been to DL 8 or 9 times by the time i was 13 and finally after a long wait,at 35, i got my next disney experience...it was sooooo worth it

MAY 06-DL-10 nights at the CCI...

SEPT 07-DL-10 nights at the HOJO...

 

[ptlycloudy]

My kids are tall for their age and we were always asked when we flew with SW. I always carried a copy with me. Actually I was happy when they turned 2, they were just too big to sit comfortably on my lap. I also think the last time I bought tickets I was asked the birthday of the lap child. I believe they need to know in advance of your check in that there is a lap child. I always called after purchasing my tickets online to add that there was a lap child to our reservation.

 

[northshoremama]

i agree with the PPs who say that you should bring your dd's birth certificate...JUST IN CASE. i flew with my 11month old dd last year and from sea to phx, they asked for the birth certificate...and they asked for it again at phx on our way back to seattle.

 

[BramsKT]

I have flown on SWA with all 4 of my kids and have almost always been asked for a birth cert once they were above the obvious baby-stage (around 15 months and up). Even if you call customer service and they say you don't need it, the person in control that day, at that airport has the final call and can require it. Not worth the risk in my opinion.

 

[YellowMickeyPonchos]

Since all airlines require government identification documents to fly, it's best not to screw with that part of your vacation.

Secondly, you really don't want to not be able to afford the rest of your vacation by them making you pay for the seat the same day, or worse - being removed from your flight because there are no seats for you to purchase. That can cost you a couple hundred dollars more, plus time wasted than if you just go ahead and buy it now. I'd rather pay $150-$200 now than $350-$400 later.

I fly Southwest out of both LAX and Burbank and have always been asked for a birth certificate.

 

[koalababy]

Either buy her a ticket or fly before her birthday. There was an episode of Airline, where they did just this. The girl was almost two and they required a BC. The family of course didn't have it and ended up getting a copy faxed. No way would I risk having to buy a full fare or possibly being bumped from the flight.

 

[NicksMommy]

I would buy a ticket now... I have never been asked for BC but I have always bought a ticket for my ds even when he was an infant just because I wanted to be able to bring the car seat on board... Traveling with a child on your lap is not fun... Especially if the person in the seat in front you reclines back! (so I've heard from family)

 

[Sienna]

No, I don't think it will work. Every time I've flown with my children, I've needed a birth certificate, regardless if they're a lap child or not. Since your child will be 2, and you're attempting to fly him/her as a lap child, they will definitely want to verify age. I don't think you'll get around this one - you're better off buying a ticket.

 

[camouseketeer]

and they always do. My DD was 5 weeks old when we flew SWA. They asked for her birth certificate. I had not yet received her birth certificate in the mail. So they asked for a shots record. I told them she was too young for shots! I gave them a hard time for asking me to prove me 5 WEEK old was under 2 YEARS old. They told me it was airline policy. We got to board, of course, but I knew to always carry a birth certificate with me in the future.

OP, if you're on SWA, you will have a problem.

BTW, this was out of Sacramento, so I know they check.

 

[MomofM&M]

My oldest was an early walker at 9 months and I remember flying with her at 10 months and the Southwest agent asked me how old she was when she saw her walking. She told me that once they got close to a year or walking they want proof of her age. Then in 2005 wanted a birth certificate when I flew with my youngest when she was 6 weeks old. I remember thinking can't you tell by looking at her she's under two? But I know they were just following their rules.
My youngest is 3 so she hasn't qualified for the free ticket but I remember that they used to say a shot record that had the birthdate on it or a birth certficate would work. We fly Southwest a lot and I wouldn't even try to fly without some sort of proof of birthday. I would call and confirm if you were going to try the shot record method.