Birth Certificate for 19 month old flying on lap?

[merlinmagic4]

Should I get a birth certificate for my 19 month old to fly? He is flying on my lap on the way down but he has a seat for the return. Thanks!

[prprincess]

When we flew on AirTran with DS#1, who was 18 months old at the time, we didn't need his BC. I would check with the individual airline, though, and even still, I'd take it along just in case.

[BigRedDad]

I recommend that you do. If the airline questions the age, they may require you to buy a seat. Purchasing a seat on the day of a flight is expensive, even for 1-way. You could wind up with a $300+ charge for a seat. A copy of the BC is quite inexpensive when you compare the two.

[MidnTPK]

Unequivocal YES...watch Airline reruns on the Biography channel.

Every couple episodes a family goes through the exercise of trying to prove that their child is under 2. Sometimes, on the show, it looks like a family running a scam....they call their 'friend' at the hospital that says " oh yes...little Tina was born 22 months ago".

Think of it this way...allowing children under 2 to travel on your lap is a courtesy that the airline extends to you....the least you can do to return the favor is have proof of the child's age. And you never know when you'll have an idiot that has no idea what a 9 month old looks like.....or a manager who is forcing an employee to do 100% age checks on lap children.

And I believe most airlines have buried in their policies that lap children must have proof of age, so you'd be violating that policy if you didn't have something.

[MNNHFLTX]

Yes, check with your airline or bring a birth certificate, to be safe. Some airlines do not check, but others (like Southwest) sometimes do.

[merlinmagic4]

Thanks! My son has been so sick, I haven't wanted to drag him out to town hall but it sound like I should do just that!

I'm surprised they didn't mention the birth certificate during one of the three phone conversations we had about infant seating.

I was thinking about bringing his carseat to the gate in case they had extra seats. I have read that you can use an extra seat if it is available. Is that true or would we have to purchase it? The website shows one or two available right now (there were none when I was looking). Do they block out some seats and release them closer to the date of the flight?

[Flower]

I don't know if they would give you a free seat or not, but just wanted to let you know about our experience last month with AirTran.

They were awesome! I had purchased seats both ways for my 10 month old - I did NOT take his car seat as we were not going to have the rental car on the other end. I was able to hold Ben during take off & landing and during the flight he sat very well and very comfortably in his seat.

We were able to take his stroller right to the gate, so we had it while we were at the airport, up until we got on the plane (You take it down the ramp with you), and it was right there on the ramp when we got off the plane - VERY convenient.

I did have to show both boys BC's at security but not at the gate. We are Canadian, but we flew Buffalo to Orlando and had to show their ID at both airports.

[prshell]

I just made our reservations with Continental and my grandson will be 15 months old. They told me to make sure to have a BC with us for proof of age.

[vamaggie]

1) I always travel with a copy of our kids birth certificates to prove age, ownership etc. I don't think you need to take him to city hall to get a copy, you can call and make sure, but I think you just need to go and prove you are you and get it(that is what my neighbor did when she needed her dtr's).
2) I would bring the car seat and see if you can get an extra seat for him. Not sure about the airline you are flying on but I know in the past they would let you use an empty seat for a lap child if there were any. If there is no extra seat, you can always check the car seat.

[Ohhohohhhh*ItsMagic]

We flew a couple of years ago on Champion Air when our daughter was not quite 2. And we purchased a seat for her...we figured we wanted the extra room anyway. The flight attendants did ask us to hold her during take offs and landings though. We were never questioned about her age nor were we asked for her b.c. Our friends who also went with us had a son that was almost 3 and they passed him off on their laps. Again, no one said a word about him either. So I suppose it wouldn't hurt you to bring it along. It sounds as if every airline has approach to it. If there are extra seats around you just ask the flight attendant if you can sprawl out. They usually don't mind. We didn't bring a car seat along which I wish we had. I hadn't traveled with a toddler before and I saw people bringing huge travel systems ie...car seat and stroller combos, onto the plane and the attendants just helped them with it. We brought an umbrella stroller along for the compact size of it and we were kinda sorry that we hadn't brought a bigger stroller along.

[KAT1811]

Unequivocal YES...watch Airline reruns on the Biography channel.

Every couple episodes a family goes through the exercise of trying to prove that their child is under 2. Sometimes, on the show, it looks like a family running a scam....they call their 'friend' at the hospital that says " oh yes...little Tina was born 22 months ago".

Think of it this way...allowing children under 2 to travel on your lap is a courtesy that the airline extends to you....the least you can do to return the favor is have proof of the child's age. And you never know when you'll have an idiot that has no idea what a 9 month old looks like.....or a manager who is forcing an employee to do 100% age checks on lap children.

And I believe most airlines have buried in their policies that lap children must have proof of age, so you'd be violating that policy if you didn't have something.


:ditto:

When we flew SW they asked me for my DDs b.c. and at the time she was only 10 months and obviously much younger than the 2 year benchmark. I didn't have it so I was lucky that she was so young but after that I will never fly without it. I always try to impart the "I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it" rule. Shame on me but it'll never happen again, I learned my lesson! She's the youngest of three and I've never been questioned traveling with the other two. I guess it depends on who you get at the counter.

[Disney Doll]

I'd definitely bring it. Also, check and see if you can download the request form online. I just recently tried to obtain a copy of my son's birth certificate and the Vital Records Office was packed. We're talking huge lines and long waits. I noticed that I could just take the form, fill it out at home, and mail it in. I just had to include a self addressed stamped envelope, the $10.00 processing fee, and a copy of my ID.

[jray21]

Definitely bring the birth certificate. Better safe than sorry. Also, most airlines will let you go online, or phone in and pick your seats. Some will even have seating maps that show how full it is. Just try to get an empty section, usually in the middle of the aisle towards the back of the plane, and you should be ok.

[merlinmagic4]

Thanks for all the feedback. We have gone and are back. I did bring the birth certificate but they didn't ask for it. He was 19 months old so I figured I'd be safer with it. We do choose our seats because we fly Delta but we always fly on full flights because we travel during school vacation/holiday periods. I didn't even bother to bring the carseat to the gate for the trip out (Friday of a long weekend) and the flight was full.


Great advice. Thanks again!