How strict are Airlines on checking if child < 2yrs. old
 

Our daughter is 2 yrs. and 4 months old. We just flew on SWA on Thanksgiving and all the airline staff assumed she was on a free ride as a lap baby. However, I had purchased a ticket for her.

So has anyone has experience with this? Since we've flown with her no one has ever asked to see a birth certificate, etc. Are the airlines pretty lose on this as long as the child looks around 2 years old? Are there certain airlines more strict than others?

Thanks.

On CO and AA I've sat near kids on laps in the past couple of years who seemed closer to puberty than infancy. So, I'd have to guess they're not checking at all... at least for domestic flights. The passport might cause them to check for international flights.

You're doing the right thing. I suspect the airlines don't challenge parents on domestic flights because they have no way of verifying anything. If they start asking people to carry their kids' birth certificates, you know half the parents will forget- either through an honest mistake in the rush of getting to the airport, or because the child is over 2 years old.

The best-behaved small children I've seen on planes have been the ones with their own seat- preferably a familiar (FAA-approved) car seat. The worst have been oversized lap children- and it's got to be miserable for the parents, too.

My son turned 2 last week so my experience to this point is pre-2 flying. One trip, Southwest asked to see a birth certificate (I had it with me, it does say on their website that this is required for a lap child). On AA and another WN flight where I checked in curbside, I was not asked.

Even if we do bring our daughter's birth certificate along, unless they're Chinese they won't be able to read it. We adopted her from China.

While this is a bit OT, I would encourage you to keep buying a ticket for your daughter now that she is over 2. The reality is that she is much safer when she is in her own seat.

As others have posted, I'm sure you could get away with declaring her a lap child for a while longer. I know I've see some kids who were quite verbal and potty trained as lap kids, more along the developmental lines of a 3+ year old...

The same happened to my wife about two weeks before our daughter's second birthday.

Our daughter is quite precocious, though, so I don't blame WN for checking.

:D :D

We've always been asked for proof of our daughter's age on AA.

I have often seen WN ask to see the BC; DL and others do not seem nearly as strict. For my 12 month old, I generally do not purchase a seat for domestic flights, but did use miles to get her a separate seat when my wife took her to CGK (via ICN) a couple months ago.

I have seen on WN's Airline program people have to prove the age of lap children they agent's thought were older than 2. They have had to get birth certs faxed or hospital records. People that couldn't prove it had to buy a ticket and could get a refund after their flight providing age documentation.

I wouldn't mess with WN too much on this one.

I'm curious more about Delta, US Airways, and NWA.

Wow, thanks for the advice. Memo to self: WN enforces at least some of their policies; take care.