Southwest with lap child ?

[Gabe's Mom]

Hi All,
Flying to WDW in May with southwest. This is our first flight with our little guy who is 18 mos. We booked our flight online and never found a place to indicate we were traveling with a lap child. I read about having to present the child with birth certificate, but not sure if there was anything else we needed to do. Also, does this mean we can't do online chek in or just still have to get the boarding pass for baby when we get there?
TIA,
Michelle

 

[goofy4tink]

This is from SW's official site......



Requirements for Online Checkin
To proceed through Security Checkpoint, you will need a government-issued photo ID and either a Boarding Pass or Security Document. Customers under 18 years of age are not required to show government-issued photo ID.

To use Online Checkin @ southwest.com and print your Boarding Pass, you must:

Be age verified if traveling on Senior, Youth or Child, or Infant* fares.
Check in beginning 24 hours prior to your scheduled departure


Check in at least one hour prior to your scheduled departure
Have a Ticketless reservation
Be checking in for flights that have not already departed
Have purchased an eligible fare type (Customers holding reservations for group or military fares, and those requiring an additional seat must proceed to the airport for checkin)
*This only applies to infants traveling on an Infant fare. If you are traveling with an unticketed child younger than two years old, you must provide proof of age and receive a Boarding Verification Document at the ticket counter prior to proceeding to Security Checkpoint.
If your reservation does not qualify for Online Checkin, you may still be able to print a Security Document.

Additional information regarding Online Checkin @ southwest.com


Hope it helps a bit.

 

[helenk]

When we went in 2007 we took my neice as a lap baby. I called Southwest and was told that she needed to do was add the child on her reservation. In other words the passenger name had to read...Mary Smith & Infant Smith.
If you did not do this when you booked your trip I would call Southwest and see if they will add the child. When you get to the airport and check in they will give you a special boarding verification for her.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

Personally, I would purchase a seat and put my 18 month old in his car seat. Not only is it safer, it will be a much more comfortable flight for both you and your son. Your child is used to sitting in his car seat in the car, so he will know that he needs to sit while the plane is moving as well.

If you purchase a seat, you can get a boarding pass like any other passenger and you will not need to bring a birth certificate to prove age.

 

[Lucky St. Louis]

I'm not sure that you can check in 24 hours in advance but you will be able to do the family boarding after the "A" group. My in-laws flew on senior fares last year and they couldn't do the on-line check-in because they needed to be age verified.

That said, I would purchase a seat if possible for your child. The last 4 flights I have been on (the most recent being yesterday) have been completely booked w/o a single extra seat. A mom was travelling w/ her newborn baby and the FA asked her to move the baby's diaper bag off of the seat next to her so that someone could sit down. It just might be more comfortable for you.

 

[pixie2416]

We had the same situation. Just call and let them know you'll be traveling with an infant and they'll add him to the reservation - but do it now, don't wait until just before you travel. They'll need to send you new conf docs.

I can't remember whether we did online check-in or not -- I think we did, but still needed to check-in w/ the baby (they need to see the age docs). The baggage check guy at Philly was able to do this for us.