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Traveling with my children

cjacobfly
Explorer C

I'm flying with my children for the first time, they are ages 2 and 4. I know that Southwest has open seating, so I am worried that we are going to have to separate on the flight. Is there anyway Southwest can accommodate us and make sure that we can sit together? 

9 REPLIES 9

Re: Traveling with my children

ErichL
Explorer B
Solution

If one of your children is under 2, they're allowed to sit on your lap which may help trying to find an open space! 

Re: Traveling with my children

sarahsmith
Frequent Flyer C
Solution

I hope you get my reply before you've travelled. 

 

If your kids are 6 and under (which you mentioned they were) you get to board after the "A" boarding group with the Family Boarding process.

 

My kids are under 1, and 3yrs. We just stand near the ticket taker (Ops Agent), but off to the side and out of the way. The agent will board the pre-board folks, then the A group, and then families with young kids are allowed to board so you can sit together and get situated with car seats and whatnot.

 

A tip if you'll have another adult with you: my husband and I always sit "two and two." Meaning one of us sits with the infant in one row and the other sits with our three year old in the row right behind. This way we put the toddler behind the infant and if he ends up kicking the seat (which we are teaching him is impolite) he's just kicking the seat of our infant.

 

Another quick tip: you can get infant fares if you call Southwest directly; this is good if you would prefer to have your kids in a car seat,  and want a guaranteed seat. More here: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/family/baby-on-board-pol.html 

 

And here for kid travel: https://www.southwest.com/html/customer-service/family/children-pol.html

 

Happy traveling!

Re: Traveling with my children

jimmiesatx
Explorer C

In my experience with Southwest, I called about infsnt fares, and was told they are more expensive than purchasing an adult ticket. We did family boarding, and still got the seats we needed (in the back of the plane just in case our kiddo got fussy).

Re: Traveling with my children

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

@sarahsmith do you know if points can be used for the child fare? Ours is still only 9-months so we have a while as a lap baby, but I'm thinking ahead...

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Traveling with my children

sarahsmith
Frequent Flyer C

@DancingDavidE - I'm not totally positive, but I don't see why you wouldn't be able to. I'm not terribly familiar with points, however I'm sure @LindseyD can tell us 🙂

 

I also want to say that the infant fare is for children 2 or under, those that also qualify as lap babies. The advantage of this fare is that if you choose to travel with your car seat, there's a guaranteed seat so you're able to do so. 

 

Double check prices too because I think that there might be instances where other fares might be cheaper (such as the "Wanna Get Away" prices) than the infant fare. 

 

Good luck! If you have other family travel questions, I'm here to help!

Re: Traveling with my children

DancingDavidE
Aviator A

I see! Our little one is past her 20th leg already, but we had exclusively brought her on as a lap baby until this most recent flight.

 

The flight wasn't sold out so the gate agent told us it would be fine to bring the car seat on board which we tried...it was handy to have a secure seating for her, we may try that again.

 

I'll look into this and check back. Although we'll probably stick to lap baby for now, it will be good to know the options.

 

@LindseyD I had another idea for a dedicated board - "traveling with kids!"

Home airport MDW, frequent visitor to MCO to see the mouse.

Re: Traveling with my children

sarahsmith
Frequent Flyer C

@DancingDavidE Awesome! I hate lugging the car seat, but since I almost always need it on the other side and my younger one is easier to keep occupied if she's in her seat, I do it whenever possible. 

 

Id also like to recommend, for when your child is big enough (at 9 months you're not quite there yet) the CARES Harness. I use this with both kids if I don't need a car seat and it's AMAZING. And small enough to tote around without being a pain. 

 

Happy Travels!

Re: Traveling with my children

LindseyD
Retired Community Manager

Hi @DancingDavidE,

 

Thanks for posting your question in the Community! Infant fares can be booked with Rapid Rewards Points, but it has to be done over the phone (as opposed to online) with one of our Customer Support and Services Representatives. You can reach them at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA. 

 

Re: Traveling with my children

FamilyTraveler
Explorer C

You've got some great solutions already posted.  I just want to add that the SW passengers are among the most polite and gallant I've ever flown with. Even if you board late or don't have kids young enough to be accommodated by their family policy, in my experience, others are happy to change their seat to make everyone more comfortable.

 

Just remember to bring a new toy (or revive an old forgotten one) so if the flying gets boring, there's something new for baby to play with!