14 Month-Old In Own Seat - Documentation Needed?
 

In a couple of weeks we are taking our 14 month-old on her first plane trip (Domestic, ISP-MCO.) To avoid any possible complication, we bought her her own WGA seat and will be using an infant carrier/seat (as well as signed her up for her own RR account). In preparing, what documentation/paperwork do I need to make sure we have with us? Since she won't be a lap infant, do we need to verify anything at the front counters or can we go directly towards the gates? Then what do we need to have ready for TSA and the gate? Lastly if the answer to the question is "birth certificate" does it need to be original, or is a copy acceptable? Unfortunately this didn't seem very clear of what's needed in exactly what cases and what forms they can take.

Not sure of your answer to what is required for a ticketed minor, but in regards to the Birth Certificate we asked the Ticket Counter on our last trip with a Lap Chid and they said a digital copy on the phone was acceptable and the parents did not need the actual certificate in hand. That was for Southwest verification, not TSA.

The WN website is your friend:

"If you are not traveling on a Infant, Child, or Senior Fare, you do not need to be age verified to request your boarding pass on Southwest.com or at an Self-Service kiosk."

Do make sure that your car seat is "FAA Approved". Should be a sticker in it. Don't need to show anything to anybody, but if asked, be ready to show the tag.

She will only need her boarding pass.

If you have TSA Precheck,she can also go through with you

Thanks all for the responses. Been dreading all of the specifics, but maybe this won't be so bad after all (other than behavior once on the plane...)

That must be on a different page than the one about babies I linked above. And yeah about the sticker (I've even read that for some reason some FA's insist that it had to be printed in red, which it is on the Cosco Scenera Next we're using)
Interesting; I had more or less written off PreCheck (myself and my wife have it, then it's luck of the draw to see if it shows up on my mother-in-law's BP). Even then, I had figured the baby stuff would slow the line down and wouldn't be allowed. Not as big of a deal at ISP, but MCO on the other hand....

Many folks will confuse things easily and some well meaning folks can easily give you conflicting information. Your process is the same as a 5 or 10 year old. Check in and get on plane.

Lap babies are a bit different because age is a factor.

If you have baby food or filled baby bottles, take them out of the carryon bag and run them separately before they go through the x-ray for TSA inspection. Otherwise, TSA will hold you up while they dig through and inspect and rerun your entire bag along with testing the "liquids".

This isn't entirely accurate.

- Original SWA 700s (737-7H4s built for WN) have the changing table in the front lav. Used 700s have them front or back depending on how they came from the previous carrier.
- Newer -800s and -8MAX have them in all three lavs. Some older -800s are only in one in the back.

Good reminders on the fluids.

If you have precheck you should definitely use it. Kids 12 and under are allowed to go thru with parents. Don't think they can deny you just because of fluids or a car seat. You will have new appreciation for having it!

OP, You may also be interested in other tips from the travel with children forum here on FT: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/travel-children-221/

But...if you have Global Entry, your baby is supposed to have their own GE when returning to the USA. If you apologize to the officer, they will usually let you use the GE process with your child. (as an aside, what meaningful question can they ask during the GE interview of an 18 month old?). Of course, your child must have their own passport.