Southwest with lap child

[sbpebbles]

So my trip isn't until November but this has been on my mind so I figured I should try to get an answer..

We are a family of 4 flying, well technically only 3 paying passengers, with one lap child..I've never flown with SW before but with the rate they offered at the end of June ($35 per way to your choice of destinations) we couldn't pass up the offer..I understand at the 24 hour mark you can check in online which we plan to do..but my son will be 14 months old so he's the lap child I understand we need to get a Boarding Verification Document from the ticket counter..Does that in anyway affect the boarding that we sign up for 24 hrs in advance? Any tips for us flying on SW? This will be my daughter's first flight, she's 7...my son has already flown internationally but he was younger so I am hoping this trip goes as smoothly as the last one..

Also I know on Orbitz you can check the seating on your plane, well for assigned seating planes anyways, can you also do this with SW planes?

And Finally, since my son will be 14 months should we try to get bulkhead seating so he can move around on the floor or not? he's only 11.5 months now and can't sit still very long..and we can't afford a ticket for him now--trust me i have considered it but this is a TIGHT budget trip to visit my sister down there so no extra money this time

Thanks so much for all the help!

 

[jennyleettu]

I'm trying to remember but I am pretty sure when I checked in at the counter they gave me a new boarding pass with a different number than what I had when I checked in online. On our return flight we checked DH and everyone else we were traveling with on line and they just grabbed an extra seat for DD and I.

Have a great trip!!

 

[Hannathy]

I would suggest NOT getting a bulklhead seat with a baby because you can not keep anything within reach, it all has to go into the overhead compartment. This means no diaper bag! If you are on a flight that keeps the seat belt sign on the whole flight you won't be able to access anything for the baby the whole flight, ie no bottle, diaper, toys, wipes, etc.

 

[Hannathy]

I forgot make sure you bring your child's birth certificate to the airport. southwest is extremely strict on needing this and without it you will be forced to pay for a seat or not fly.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Does that in anyway affect the boarding that we sign up for 24 hrs in advance?

Yes. You cannot check in online for the lap child. You will have to check in at the airport.

 

[sbpebbles]

When I asked them about this on the phone when we made the Reservation they said yeah we could go ahead, check in online for the 3 of us, and just make sure we go to the ticket counter and get a boarding verification card for my son..I was want to know if that will move us to a different boarding group since we have to do that? we plan on checking in online right at 24 hrs prior..thanks

Does that in anyway affect the boarding that we sign up for 24 hrs in advance?

Yes. You cannot check in online for the lap child. You will have to check in at the airport.

 

[alyssa810]

No, you'll still have the same boarding pass #, they just attach the lap baby info to your boarding pass. Think of it as a boarding pass for your lap baby.

 

[waltskids]

Does that in anyway affect the boarding that we sign up for 24 hrs in advance?

Yes. You cannot check in online for the lap child. You will have to check in at the airport.

We were able to check in online 24 hours ahead despite having our DD (age 9 and 10 weeks at travel) fly as a lap child. This was just in August. When we got to the airport (both Philly and Orlando), we simply stated we had a lap baby and they gave us boarding verification document for DD and a new boarding pass for me which still had the same boarding number as my old pass. They do ask for the birth certificate, even for young babies so make sure you take a copy. Hope this helps!

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I understand at the 24 hour mark you can check in online which we plan to do
. . . no on-line check-in with a lap child

Any tips for us flying on SW?
. . . pay for the early-board privilege

Also I know on Orbitz you can check the seating on your plane, well for assigned seating planes anyways, can you also do this with SW planes?
. . . no

And Finally, since my son will be 14 months should we try to get bulkhead
. . . no
. . . not good legroom
. . . bedsides, passengers should be buckled at all times, not roaming
. . . what if you hit an air pocket?
. . . also, why lt a kid play on such a dirty and soiled carpet?

 

[Nennie]

Just an FYI:

If the flight isn't full, SW will let a lap baby sit in carseat. You may wish to check the night before your flight to see how full the flight is, and bring a carseat. If for some reason the flights fills up at the last minute, then you can just gate check the carseat.

I agree with the PPs about avoiding the bulkhead for storage reasons.

Good luck!!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I forgot make sure you bring your child's birth certificate to the airport. southwest is extremely strict on needing this and without it you will be forced to pay for a seat or not fly.

The certificate is a must. If you don't have one, they will make you buy a ticket and will possibly refund it once you submit proof after the flight. Once I landed in Baltimore and realized we lost DD's certificate sometime after check-in. I called SWA and they said I could use a fax of her immunization record for the return flight, luckily I had a release on file with her doctor and DH has an efax account. DH and I were in shock, 2 weeks later there was an envelope in the mail from Southwest... containing the lost certificate!

Another FYI on Southwest... are you bringing the car seat? If the flight is not full they will let you bring on the car seat and then your child sit in their own seat for free. Maybe things have changed, but this was the case in 2006 and 2007! I would just bring the seat to the gate and check with the gate attendant. If the flight was full, then I gate checked the car seat. Only once I didn't get DD a free seat on Southwest (was a Friday night Providence to MCO).

 

[waltskids]

I understand at the 24 hour mark you can check in online which we plan to do
. . . no on-line check-in with a lap child

I guess I should have added in my last post that we didn't mention a lap child in our original reservation when I booked the tickets online. We simply bought 3 tickets and then said we had a lap child when we checked our bags. I assume this is why we were able to check in online 24 hours ahead.

 

[ccgirl]

When I flew last year I could not check in 24 hours in advance with a lap baby. My DH and DD did check in first though. However, with SW families with children under 4 (sometimes under 2) can preboard between the A and B group so your family can still sit together. I have never had a problem with my family sitting together. That is a great price for a great airline. No worries. Just make sure you remember the birth certificate as others mentioned. Unless you have a rental car, I would not bring the car seat as it cannot be used on any Disney transportation and would just end up taking extra room in the hotel room. If you had purchased a seat for the baby, I would say to bring it.

We didn't mention the lap child on our ride down to MCO but on the ride back, they were smart enough to keep the child attached to me so we could not do 24 hour check in on the way back. Again...no problem though since you can preboard. I would stay away from the bulkhead seats, if they are even available (many business class people choose them anyway) since you have to stow all carry-ons in the overhead compartment (including diaper bag).

 

[big_red_s]

We flew with our daughter when she was around that age and my only recommendation is to suck it up and pay for a seat. Keeping the child on your lap will cause him, you and everyone around you misery.

Bring the car seat so your son will be "comfortable" in the seat on the plane and save you money if you need to rent a car.

By the way, a $60 protable DVD is a life saver

 

[sbpebbles]

The certificate is a must. If you don't have one, they will make you buy a ticket and will possibly refund it once you submit proof after the flight. Once I landed in Baltimore and realized we lost DD's certificate sometime after check-in. I called SWA and they said I could use a fax of her immunization record for the return flight, luckily I had a release on file with her doctor and DH has an efax account. DH and I were in shock, 2 weeks later there was an envelope in the mail from Southwest... containing the lost certificate!

Another FYI on Southwest... are you bringing the car seat? If the flight is not full they will let you bring on the car seat and then your child sit in their own seat for free. Maybe things have changed, but this was the case in 2006 and 2007! I would just bring the seat to the gate and check with the gate attendant. If the flight was full, then I gate checked the car seat. Only once I didn't get DD a free seat on Southwest (was a Friday night Providence to MCO).

Yes we are bringing his carseat..we are not staying at Disney, the purpose of our trip is to visit my sister and disney is just a side trip for us...So I can call the night before and just ask if the flight is full? DS and i got lucky on our international flight since it was just the two of us we got a whole row to ourselves..which was nice since he slept..but this time it will be my mother, my daughter, my son and I so that's why we did him as a lap child..but if we have an open seat next to 2 others then I'll sit with the baby and my mom can sit with my daughter..but thanks for the tip...

yeah i've changed my mind about bulkhead..and we will most def have his birth certificate so that won't be an issue..

Thanks so much everyone!

 

[Charitycase20]

I just had to post my experience too. The last time we flew on SW, DD was 2 and DS was 5 months. He was a lap baby, DD was in her car seat. It was a full flight both ways. We checked in at the airport. It was a tight flight but we did it, snacks toys and passing baby back and forth between mommy and daddy.

The time before that, DD was the baby. She was sqiggly but still a lapbaby. When we checked in to come home, the attendant at the ticket desk, blocked out a seat for her and her carseat. You'll still get prefered boarding after the group A's and be able to find seats. But you might get lucky when you get to airport to find out that your lap baby has their own seat too!!

 

[SarahD]

Enjoy the lap-child-flies-free while you can - don't waste money on a seat. At 14 months, they'll end up in your lap the whole trip anyway. It's only a few hours - any mom can do squirmy for a few hours!

 

[sbpebbles]

Enjoy the lap-child-flies-free while you can - don't waste money on a seat. At 14 months, they'll end up in your lap the whole trip anyway. It's only a few hours - any mom can do squirmy for a few hours!

lol yea that's another reason why we choose not to buy him one..he hates being in his carseat more than he has to be lol..

I did call SW today after reading the thread about the earlybird check in..She said right now our flight still has over 90 seats to sell so she didn't think we needed to worry about paying $10 to have advance seating since all it is they basically just set aside more A boarding passes..and I asked again if my mother, DD7, and I could check in online ahead of time and again was told yes and just make sure to stop by the ticket counter to get DS boarding verification document..I guess because Milwaukee is a new hub for them they aren't sure what to expect lol..well welcome to Wisconsin Southwest LOL

 

[kpgriswold]

We flew with our daughter when she was around that age and my only recommendation is to suck it up and pay for a seat. Keeping the child on your lap will cause him, you and everyone around you misery.

Bring the car seat so your son will be "comfortable" in the seat on the plane and save you money if you need to rent a car.

By the way, a $60 protable DVD is a life saver

I know you are not looking for opions on the "lap baby" issue, but I have to agree with this poster. Baby will happier and more comfortable in his car seat, but more importantly he will be SAFE. I was on a flight a few years ago where we hit turbulence -- rare, I know -- and the lap baby in front of me was the only one injured. I've put my kids in a seat ever since. Your baby is worth way more than a $150 ticket!

 

[LWatson]

I was traveling alone w/ my 2 kids and got 24hr check in back in June/July this year. Now when we got to the counter to check bags that is when we got the boarding document.