Southwest + Infants

[catrax]

I would love to start a thread that is exclusively about traveling with an infant without the discussion of whether or not one should travel with a lap baby. It is difficult for me to find the answers that I want because so many of the other threads are stuffed with opinions about traveling with children without getting down to the basics.

So, in the interest of finding the answers to specific questions and peaceful discussion , could people please share their recent Southwest Airlines infant or lap baby experiences? How was it checking in? Do you have a large family? Were you able to sit together or at least near each other? (No need to discuss whether it is right or not to ask people to move around to accommodate - I just want to know whether families have been successful).

Because we are traveling with 3 children, we are worried that even if we pay for early bird check in and if we pay for a seat for our DD1 that we will still be separated. Has this happend to others? We have a DS4 and DS6 who we worry about if we all get sprinkled around the plane.

How has the new seating assignment process worked for others with children? If you have chosen to travel with a lap infant, what was your check-in experience like? Were there special issues that you encountered because of it?

Thanks in advance for any advice and stories that people provide!

 

[goofy4tink]

First of all....stop worrying about the possibility of being seated apart from each other. The first people to board the plane will be medical preboards..not all that many people. Then, anyone who has paid the higher business class fares will be able to board..they usually get A1-15 boarding passes. Then the rest of the A group will board. Then, anyone flying with children under the age of 4 will board. I am assuming that you will be a mom, dad, and the three kids...1, 4, and 6. Worst case scenario would be that one parent and the 1 y/o would be allowed to board inbetween the A and B groups. But..that is 'worst case'...it just doesn't happen. I am going to imagine that all of you are going to be able to board together, inbetween the two groups. But....for obvious reasons you aren't going to be seated right next to each other. I would imagine that mom will take one seat, with the 1 y/o in her lap. Then the other two kids will sit next to her..middle and window seat. Dad would either sit across the aisle from them or in the row in front of them. I would suggest the seat across the aisle.
This is not going to be hard to do...even if you ended up boarding at the end of the B group. No, you aren't going to be seated in the first few rows, but there are going to be plenty of open rows available if you end boarding between the two groups.

Now...should you get EBCI? Up to you. You may be able to board before the rest of those families that are in the same situation you are in. It's up to you whether or not you want to spend the addtl $40 each way. I personally think it's a good idea simply because I hate having to worry about being near a computer at the 24 hr. mark. But, it wouldn't matter for you...even if you got a C42 bp, you would still be able to board right after the A group.

The one thing to remember is to bring proof of age for the lap baby. SW does need to see proof of age. But basically, that's going to be the only thing that's different. At least, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Were you able to sit together or at least near each other? (No need to discuss whether it is right or not to ask people to move around to accommodate - I just want to know whether families have been successful).

Respectfully, prior experiences are no indication of future results.

Also, simple reasoning combined with reading recent (i.e. within the last couple of days of this thread being started) display that (a) all EBCI boarding passes by simple nature will, or should, be assigned before any self-assigned - i.e. within 24 hours of departure - boarding passes are, therefore will be lower-numbered and (b) with a one-year-old, the OP's immediate family would be able to board between the "A"s and the "B"s, no matter what their boarding passes showed.

General information for flying with a lap child:
- The accompanying adult MUST carry and provide proof (read: birth certificate) of the child's age to prove eligibility.
- One lap child per seat section
- Child may not be placed in seemingly empty seat

 

[Hannathy]

General information for flying with a lap child:
- The accompanying adult MUST carry and provide proof (read: birth certificate) of the child's age to prove eligibility.
- One lap child per seat section
- Child may not be placed in seemingly empty seat

All the above plus

Do not sit in the bulkhead seats with an infant. You can not keep the diaper bag with you and will not be able to get anything you need easily or possibly at all if the seatbelt sign stays on.

 

[helenk]

I flew Southwest to Orlando with my brother and his family and they took my neice as a lap baby. There was a total of 6 of us flying and we were all able to sit together. We all checked in at the 24 hour mark, my daughter and I had A boarding passes and my brother his wife and nephew had Bs. My daughter and I just waited for the family boarding between A and B rather than go ahead of them and we all sat together with no problem.

 

[billsfan]

We flew Southwest this past October leaving PIT on a Saturday and returning to PIT on a Saturday. There was Me and DFi, her best friend and her husband and their two kids 18 months and 4. I checked us in at exactly 24 hours and got the last 5 numbers in the A section. We sat in the two rows right behind the two rows over the wing. On our way back we checked in at 24 hours and had the first 5 numbers in the B section. We boarded after all the families and we were still all together in 2 rows but were about 5 rows back from the wing rows.

 

[miprender]

We flew in 2006 with DH, DD3 and DS10mths. He was a lap baby and all we needed to show was the birth certificate to prove he was under 2. There was no problem checking in and my son slept most of the time on the 3 hour flight.

Last year we flew down again with everyone plus my other DS who was 1. I was thinking about doing a lap baby again but decided to use some SW credits and bought him a seat. He is such a squirmy little guy there was no way I would have been able to hold him all that time. It was worth every penny. DH sat with DD5 and DS3 and I sat with DD1 and we checked in at the 24hr mark and had A boarding passes.(but this was before EBCI)

We fly out in a few weeks and I did not purchase EBCI for our flight down. Since DS2 qualifies for boarding after the A's I am hoping we should be all set. Assuming I don't get the A boarding passes at the 24hr mark.

HTH

PS We also used strollers for both flights and were able to gate check them at the airport each time with no problem. We just had to fold them down at the door to the plane and they were waiting for us when we got off.

 

[manleykr]

Did you use a car seat on the plane for your one year old when he had his own seat. We will be flying with my grandson that will be 15 months old and from what I read it sounds like you need to take a car seat on the plane?

 

[catrax]

When I traveled with my just barely 2 year old a couple of years ago, I brought the car seat. It was good for him because he really did need to be restrained - he's just the kind of kid who would have wiggled out! The only thing is that annoying is trying to carry around that car seat on the way to and from the plane. I think it is a trade off - if you have a child that might sit still for a while if you are keeping him/her occupied and the flight isn't too long, maybe you could get away with just purchasing the seat.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Did you use a car seat on the plane for your one year old when he had his own seat. We will be flying with my grandson that will be 15 months old and from what I read it sounds like you need to take a car seat on the plane?

You don't NEED to bring a car seat for a child on a flight (and it's pointless to bring a booster seat, since they can't be used on the plane).

If you purchase a seat for the child, you certainly MAY bring a car seat, but if that's the only reason you're bringing it - i.e. no rental car at the other end - it seems to me to be too much trouble.

Of course, if you didn't purchase a seat for the child, please DON'T bring a car seat to the plane in the hopes that there'll be an empty seat for it/the child.

 

[Tara]

You don't NEED to bring a car seat for a child on a flight (and it's pointless to bring a booster seat, since they can't be used on the plane).

If you purchase a seat for the child, you certainly MAY bring a car seat, but if that's the only reason you're bringing it - i.e. no rental car at the other end - it seems to me to be too much trouble.

Of course, if you didn't purchase a seat for the child, please DON'T bring a car seat to the plane in the hopes that there'll be an empty seat for it/the child.

I was always told that if you purchase a ticket for a child under age two that they must be seated in an approved safety seat. Perhaps that has changed - it's been a while. After all, what would be the point of purchasing a seat for an infant if they can't use it? (They have to be restrained for take off and landing just like everyone else, and they can't use a lap belt.)

But...why not bring the seat just in case? If there's an empty seat and the gate agents are willing to give it to a family with a lap infant, what's the harm? Frankly, everyone is safer if a child is restrained. If there isn't an opportunity to use it, it's easily gate checked. No harm, no foul.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I was always told that if you purchase a ticket for a child under age two that they must be seated in an approved safety seat. Perhaps that has changed

Not exactly. IF you bring a car seat, it must be FAA-approved for use on the plane; there'll be a sticker on the car seat indicating this. As long as your child can sit up unassisted and will stay in the seat, you don't have to have a car seat. If you feel the need for additional restraint - and again, will not need the car seat at your destination - investigate the CARES harness. It's a five-point restraint system (harness) that keeps your small child securely in the airplane seat.

 

[SnootyBear]

Not exactly. IF you bring a car seat, it must be FAA-approved for use on the plane; there'll be a sticker on the car seat indicating this. As long as your child can sit up unassisted and will stay in the seat, you don't have to have a car seat. If you feel the need for additional restraint - and again, will not need the car seat at your destination - investigate the CARES harness. It's a five-point restraint system (harness) that keeps your small child securely in the airplane seat.

Unless you have a carseat from the 80's (and if you do it is too old and shouldnt be used in a car, let alone a plane) All carseats are FAA Approved.

 

[goofy4tink]

I was always told that if you purchase a ticket for a child under age two that they must be seated in an approved safety seat. Perhaps that has changed - it's been a while. After all, what would be the point of purchasing a seat for an infant if they can't use it? (They have to be restrained for take off and landing just like everyone else, and they can't use a lap belt.)

But...why not bring the seat just in case? If there's an empty seat and the gate agents are willing to give it to a family with a lap infant, what's the harm? Frankly, everyone is safer if a child is restrained. If there isn't an opportunity to use it, it's easily gate checked. No harm, no foul.

You're right..no harm, no foul. But.....there are some people who will bring that carseat, for their lap baby, assuming there will be an empty seat on the flight. But, most airlines are running as close to fully booked flights as they can. The problem is that if a parent brings that car seat, and then sees an empty seat someplace, then they are going to try to get people to move around in order to accomodate them. And then there are those people who have, lets say, 5 people plus the lap baby, traveling. So, they board and take up seats A,B,C, and D,F in row 6. They hope that no one is going to want seat E..that way they can put the lap baby there. But what happens when they find it's a full flight and that seat is going to be taken by a stranger??? Lots of shuffling is now going to happen, which is then going to hold the plane up. I've seen it happen on about 3 SW flights in recent memory.

If someone feels that they need that seat for the baby, then they need to book that seat, rather than hope it will be empty. If you choose to fly with a lap baby, then that's what you need to do.....fly with the baby on a lap.

 

[seashoreCM]

If you sit near the back (you don't have to take the very last, nonreclining, row) the chances of a middle seat between you being taken at the last minute are a little less.

Nothing forbids you to have a slightly older child sit by the window while you sit in the aisle seat with the squirming infant in your lap all the while, while this reduces the chance of a stranger's taking the empty middle seat by another tad.

 

[NotUrsula]

I've said it before, and I will say it again (and again and again): SWA is the airline LEAST likely to separate you from your children!!!

How can that be, you ask? Simple: YOU are in control of where you sit. If you pay attention and make the effort to check in when you should (ASAP), the odds of getting separated from your children is MUCH lower than it is if you are travelling with a discounted fare on a legacy carrier that assigns seats and gives the best ones to status passengers. In addition to that, SWA passengers tend to be less invested in their choice of seat position, so on the whole they tend to be more likely to be willing to move if an FA asks for volunteers.

I travel a LOT with my kids, and never once have we been separated on a SWA flight. We HAVE been separated on flights operated by American, Delta, United, USAir and Northwest, plus British Airways and BMI. The only US legacy carrier that has never done it to us is Continental.

 

[Lewisc]

The problem is with a connecting flight. Assume your first flight is delayed. You get to the gate after they started boarding. Maybe SW held the plane. You're the last passengers to board. Your "A" BP or eligibility for family mid-boarding will be meaningless.

The FA won't have time to ask for volunteers to change seats. You'll be asked to sit down so the plane can push back. The FA might be able to get a quick volunteer so you can sit next to an infant. Maybe some passengers will change seats after the plane takes off.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I've said it before, and I will say it again (and again and again): SWA is the airline LEAST likely to separate you from your children!!!

How can that be, you ask? Simple: YOU are in control of where you sit. If you pay attention and make the effort to check in when you should (ASAP), the odds of getting separated from your children is MUCH lower than it is if you are travelling with a discounted fare on a legacy carrier that assigns seats and gives the best ones to status passengers. In addition to that, SWA passengers tend to be less invested in their choice of seat position, so on the whole they tend to be more likely to be willing to move if an FA asks for volunteers.

I travel a LOT with my kids, and never once have we been separated on a SWA flight. We HAVE been separated on flights operated by American, Delta, United, USAir and Northwest, plus British Airways and BMI. The only US legacy carrier that has never done it to us is Continental.

Exactly!! With a little planning one should not be seperated from their party. I have been seperated on Airtran, United, American.

 

[manleykr]

Thanks. We have purchased a seat for him. We flew when he was 5 months old as a lap baby. We are going in June when he will be 15 months old, he is already 30 lbs and very tall and don't really want to hold him the whole trip and since would need car seat for car rental thought we would use on the plane. I have never seen anyone use a car seat so was not sure.

 

[catrax]

I really want to say thank you for all of the great information that's being tossed around here. Sharing your experiences has been very helpful to me, and I love the respectful tone of the posts. Much appreciated!