Please explain procedure with a lap baby for SW

[alicenwonder99]

This is my first time flying with an infant. We are flying SW out of Midway (Chicago) in September. There will be 6 of us: 3 adults, 2 young children (6 and 7 years old), and 1 infant (6 months old). I didn't get a ticket for the baby. What do I do to get a boarding pass for the baby. Will I need her birth certificate? Will the whole family get to preboard? Do we bring the stroller to the gate?

Anything else I'll need to know?

Mary

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

You will not get a boarding pass for the infant. Being that young you will not need proof of age. I'm not certain that because you did not purchase a seat if you will be able to pre board. I think the cut off age is 5 for pre boarding.

I know you didn't ask this, but I highly reccomend purchasing a seat. It is so much safer if the infant can be in his/her carseat. Also makes for a more comfortable flight for all. All of my kids have been flying since they are 3 mos or so and I have never not purchased a seat. I would wait until I could afford seats before we would travel.

 

[Kerri]

Mary,

I have flown SW many times with my children (now ages 5 and 3) when they were infants (I have even flown pregnant with one with the other on my lap!). And seeing as there are 3 adults, you can all share "lap duty"!

I never purchased a seat for them at that age as I didn't want to bring the car seat with us.

Like MOMTOMOOTOO said, you will not get a boarding pass for the baby, nor will you have to provide any documentation for her.

You can check the stroller at the door of the plane and it will be waiting there for you when you exit, so you can put her in her stroller for the walk up the jetway.

Also, I have always been able to pre-board with an infant, but I'm not sure how many of you will be allowed to do so.

Remember to bring a bottle or pacifier for your little one to suck on during take-off and landing; it may help ease any pain in her ears.

 

[gw_lit]

You should bring proof of age for your child. Southwest requires proof that the child is under age 2 and thus is eligible for flying as a lap child. After you book your flights, I would call Southwest and have them put a note on your record that you will be having a lap baby, that may help speed things up at check-in.

 

[KJMAX1]

We flew recently with a baby and Im not sure every airline does this but they were told of the baby, and they requested her name for the manifest, and when we got there they gave us a paper that said it was a lap seat passenger that we had to give at the security gate and at the gate to the plane. I always roll my stroller up to the gate and let them check it there with a bag over it so it doesnt get thrown or crushed by bags. Might want to check online for something call Baby b'air......I know Ebay has a ton of them but its a belt that fits over the child riding on your lap so in case of turbulance they arent hurt.

 

[alicenwonder99]

Thanks everyone!

It seems rather silly to have a birth certificate to show the baby is under 2 when she is clearly an infant...lol. But it's better to have it than not.

On SW website, they have something on there that says you have to obtain a special boarding pass for a lap baby to get through security.

If you choose to travel with your infant on your lap (at no additional charge) the infant will not need a boarding pass; however, you will need to obtain a Boarding Verification Document (BVD) for the infant prior to proceeding to the security checkpoint. The BVD will allow the infant to proceed through security screening and to board the aircraft.

BVDs are available at the Southwest Airlines Ticket Counter on the day of travel. In order to complete your BVD, the Customer Service Agent will need to verify that your infant has not reached his or her second birthday, so be sure to bring along a copy of your baby’s birth certificate.

Also, I know about checking in from home 12 hours before flight time (or is it 24 hours?????), but once we get to the gate, do we line up right away? I would really like to keep the whole family together on the plane. And what about checking in on the way home? Is there a way to do this from the hotel at WDW? I don't want the children sitting by themselves on the way home!!

TIA.

Mary

 

[plutolovr]

When preboarding SW will board immediate family only. So if one of the adults on your trip is a grandparent, aunt, etc., they will not be able to preboard with you. But your immediate family would. Now this is also up to the gate agent, and how big the preboard line is. If it's not too bad, they may allow that third adult to board with you.

Since you would be preboarding, you won't need to stand in line.

You can checkin 24 hours prior now. For the return, you have a few options: You can have a family member or friend at home check you in, you can now print out your boarding passes at the kiosk in the airport; You can ask the hotel's front desk to do it for you, they will even print out passes for you in some cases; or if you have a web enabled cell phone you can check in that way, print out passes at the airport.

 

[Marseeya]

Also, I know about checking in from home 12 hours before flight time (or is it 24 hours?????), but once we get to the gate, do we line up right away? I would really like to keep the whole family together on the plane. And what about checking in on the way home? Is there a way to do this from the hotel at WDW? I don't want the children sitting by themselves on the way home!!

TIA.

Mary

Lining up probably depends on the airport. When we travelled from PIT, everyone sat around and relaxed until the gate agents called for pre-boarding, then everyone lined up. At MCO, it was a zoo. People started clamoring for spots in line as soon as they arrived. It was really crazy.

If you get A boarding passes, the kids won't be sitting alone.

 

[kathi29]

I would very seriously consider getting your infant his or her own seat. I will never understand why the airlines will make you stow your tray table and bags during turbulence yet let you hold a baby on your lap.
Did you know if there is extreme turbulence you will be told to place the baby on the floor of the plane and hold her there? Same with an emergency landing. Do a google search for an airline crash where several babies died - all of them lap babies. It's so sad and so very preventable.

 

[disneyldwjr]

I would very seriously consider getting your infant his or her own seat. I will never understand why the airlines will make you stow your tray table and bags during turbulence yet let you hold a baby on your lap.
Did you know if there is extreme turbulence you will be told to place the baby on the floor of the plane and hold her there? Same with an emergency landing. Do a google search for an airline crash where several babies died - all of them lap babies. It's so sad and so very preventable.

Excellent post!!!! They do have infant fares with SWA, but, you do have to call for them. IMHO, having your child as a lap child is a very dangerous and stupid thing to do. If you won't drive down the highway at 70 mph without your child being buckled in, why every would you consider flying at least 400mph with the child unbuckled? That is totally absurd, and the rational of NOT buying a seat because you did not want to bring a car seat is totally lazy and really does not show that the child is valued very highly.

 

[Lewisc]

Some children are big for their age and some parents try to avoid paying for a seat even if their child is older than 2. Having a copy of the birth certificate avoids problems. It's easier to ask all parents for a copy of the birth certificate rather than debating this issue with a parent who has a child that might be big for 2 but more likely is trying to beat the system.

Some parents bring a car seat and hope they can get a free seat on a flight that isn't sold out. That probably won't work not only are SW flights to MCO frequently sold out but there are often enough too many lap babies. The GA isn't going to try and decide which parent gets the free seats so unless the flight is so empty that all the lap babies can get free seats and still allow seats for last minute passengers they will probably not allow any lap baby to get a free seat for a car seat.

Thanks everyone!

It seems rather silly to have a birth certificate to show the baby is under 2 when she is clearly an infant...lol. But it's better to have it than not.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I just traveled SW with a lap baby last month, and yes they did require her birth certificate. It was super-easy... when you get to the counter to check your luggage, even if you already have everyone else's boarding passes, you just tell them your baby needs a lap ticket and they will ask for the birth certificate (a photocopy is fine) and have you fill out a small slip of paper which will be baby's boarding pass. You can check the stroller at the gate, but you will have to take baby out & fold up the stroller to go through security. In my experience, SW has always been very understanding of keeping families together so I doubt the extra adult should be a problem with preboarding, just get there early and stay in the preboarding area. I also asked at the gate if the flight was full and they told me "no, go ahead and sit your baby in a seat". (Please note that I was NOT expecting this!) I've also found that the bulkhead seats are not the most desirable with a lap baby, as they require you to store any carryon items in the overhead bins until the plane has leveled off, so you won't have easy access to your stuff, diaper bag included.

Hope this helped you!!

ETA: When I called to inquire about infant fares, they were nearly 5x what I paid for adult tickets!!! (over $550rt compared to the $120rt for adult seat.) The ticket agent admitted that it usually cheaper to just purchase an adult ticket for baby if you decide to buy a seat.

 

[NotUrsula]

Did you know if there is extreme turbulence you will be told to place the baby on the floor of the plane and hold her there? Same with an emergency landing.

Just FYI, but this is no longer true. The rule was changed about 2 yrs. ago, and the "brace position" for lap babies now has them held in the adult's lap, with the adult's body bent around the child as much as possible.

From FAA AIR CARRIER OPERATIONS BULLETIN NO. 1-94-17:

(6) Children which are occupying approved child restraint devices should be braced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Children in passenger seats should utilize the same brace position as adults. Adults holding infants should provide as uniform support as possible to the infant’s head, neck, and body, and lean over the infant to minimize the possibility of injury due to flailing.

Unfortunately that isn't a very good description, so here is a link to the same recommendation from the Canadian Aviation Authority; theirs has nice illustrations and step-by-step directions for the specifics: http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/commerce/circulars/AC0155_att.htm

FWIW: For both the child's safety and the parents' comfort, I always recommend buying a seat for the baby and using a carseat. However, if you want to lap-carry an eligible child you are within your rights to do so, and I don't think that anyone should flame you for that choice.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

We bought our son a seat for our flight in September. I have anxiety issues anyway, but he is also a big boy (18 mos old and wears almost a size 3T) so to hold him on our laps would probably not go very well. He sleeps in his car seat in the car, so we figured he may conk out in it on the plane, as well.

We were going to bring the seat and hope for an empty, but as Lewis said.....it is unlikely, especially from Buffalo, since flights are usually full from here. And if we brought the car seat and could not use it, they would have gate checked it.....I don't think I would want to risk having my car seat tossed into the hold.....especially when they say even if you are only in a fender bender to replace your seat. I think getting flung into a cargo hold is enough of a bump to worry about the integrity of my carseat.

So we bought him a seat. We are flying US Air and my big problem now is for some reason, the airline keeps putting him in a different row. I have tried to have it switched 3 times. they keep changing our seats, but they keep putting DH and I in 1 row and him in the row in front. Also, they keep giving him a "B" seat, when I know that the carseat has to be in the window seat, which is not B.

after the recent change, I checked the seating chart on expedia and the seat next to us is open for now, as are the 2 seats in the baby's row......I am wondering if I should give up the fight and just wait til we get on the plane and hopefully whoever is seated with the baby will switch with us.

I know I would.

About his boarding pass, do we just show his birth certificate as ID when we go through security (where they take your pass and your ID?)??

 

[Lewisc]

About his boarding pass, do we just show his birth certificate as ID when we go through security (where they take your pass and your ID?)??

Passengers under age 18 aren't required to show ID to the TSA but passengers with age related fares; lap babies, infant fares, youth fares and senior citizen fares might have to show proof of age to the airline.

Southwest does check proof of age for those fares other airlines might rely on the "honor system".

 

[NotUrsula]

As long as it is not an int'l flight, you won't need ID for a baby who has his own ticket. Just show his boarding pass.

 

[Lewisc]

As long as it is not an int'l flight, you won't need ID for a baby who has his own ticket. Just show his boarding pass.

The baby won't need ID to get through security but the airline might require proof of age if the baby has an infant fare. SW generally requires proof of age for passengers using an age based fare.

 

[Hannathy]

SW always asks for proof of age I was travelling with a 6 WEEK old infant on an emergency flight so left the house really fast and didn't bring the birth certificate and they had to call a supervisor to let me get my boarding pass. So bring a copy no matter how young. I have also flown alot with lap babies and was never told to put it on the floor in an emergency only the hold that described by the other poster.

 

[lovesdumbo]

In my experience, SW has always been very understanding of keeping families together so I doubt the extra adult should be a problem with preboarding, just get there early and stay in the preboarding area.

I have seen SW GA tell aunts, uncles, grandparents...that they can NOT preboard. Only parents and siblings can preboard with a child under 5. But I don't think OP will have any trouble sitting her family together. The extra adult can just join them on the plane when they board with their A/B/C group.

 

[Marseeya]

I have seen SW GA tell aunts, uncles, grandparents...that they can NOT preboard. Only parents and siblings can preboard with a child under 5. But I don't think OP will have any trouble sitting her family together. The extra adult can just join them on the plane when they board with their A/B/C group.

I noticed that too. They were only preboarding 3 and under and made a big point of saying immediate family only. But then they went on to say that you could save seats, which I've seen was a big no-no in other airports.