Unsure of Southwest's policy, new flyer.....

[meloneyb21]

Ok, so I'll be traveling with my DH and my DD1 (who will be 21 months by the time we go in April) an I'm not sure about the whole baby fare thing. If we were to sit her in one of our laps, then she'll be free right? She doesn't need a boarding pass does she? and we only have to pay for a ticket for her if she were to have her own seat? I'm unsure about this whole flying thing.

So far, my DH and I only purchased tickets for the two of us because children under two are free, right?

 

[Beca]

I am a former SWA flight attendant...don't stress about this. If the flight appears to be full, they will inform you that your dd needs to sit on your lap during the flight. If the flight is fairly empty, they will usually let you know this as well, so you can plan to have a seat for your dd as well.

I usually asked parents to go ahead and take an extra seat, and I would let them know later if we were going to need to take it.

Just an fyi...traveling with a nearly 2 yr old on your lap can be very uncomfortable. Also, FAA regulations will not allow her to be fastened in with you during take off and landing (it is very dangerous), so you will be fastened in, and she will be held in your arms. There is NO way you could safely hold her during a crash, so these children are at a much higher risk of injury/death if the plane were to be involved in an accident. The FAA is considering disallowing any "lap children" in flight. I am not trying to stress you...just tell you the facts. Planes have VERY few accidents, and SWA is a VERY safe airline.

Please remember to bring your birth certificate with you, as you will have to show that she is under 2 for her to get on free, and do NOT check your carseat until you get to the gate. If there is an available seat, she will be MUCH safer in the carseat. If there are no available seats for her, the ops agent can check the carseat for you as you board.



Beca

 

[HLAuburn]

If she sits on your lap, she is free. You will need to let SW know bwfore you fly that you will have a lap baby, and when you check in, they will attach a piece of paper to your boarding pass that gets the baby through security. Make sure you bring her birth certificate (or a copy) so you can prove her age, especially since she'll be so close to 2. We just flew to WDW with DD 18 months, and on the way back they asked for proof of age but didn't on the way there. Otherwise, SW will make you buy a seat at the last minute fare!
If you decide you would rather your DD be in her own seat, you can call SW and purchase her a ticket at the kid's rate. It really just depends on what you prefer. If you get her a seat, you can bring a carseat and that way she's secure for the flight. SW allows people with kids under 5 to preboard, and if you get there early, you can usually get a bulkhead seat that allows for more leg room and room for baby to move around if she's on your lap.

Again, it just depends on what you're comfortable with. I fly w/ DD a lot, and have never bought her a seat. My fear is that she'd scream to get out of a carseat and want to be held anyway, so why waste the $ on a seat if I don't have to.

HTH!

 

[CarolA]

Things may have changed on SW since Beca gave it up.

Recently on www.flyertalk.com there have been a couple of threads where folks posted that gate agents were requiring car seats to be gate checked regardless of if the plane was full or not. So be prepared to have to give up the car seat.

 

[tjmw2727]

Southwest.com has some great info on flying with baby as well as the policies and procedures tips and ideas.

HTH
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/infants.html
and
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/taking_the_kids1.html

TJ