Thank You Southwest!

I don’t find Air Travel very enjoyable.  This is mostly because of the airport experience, rather than the airplane experience, but either way… it’s overwhelming.  ESPECIALLY with kids!  I did a TON of pre-planning, trying to prepare my kids in advance (as much as you can prepare a 1 and a 3 year old) and I was feeling fairly prepared…

That is, until I realized that I had never ordered a Birth Certificate for my daughter.  This was only an issue because she was to be flying as a lap child… my son already had a ticket for his own seat.  I flew right into panic mode.  (Get it?  Flew?)  I nearly got sick.  I nearly cried!  I immediately called the hospital to see how I was supposed to get one.  I called the Vital Records Office… and Finally, I called Southwest Airlines.

I’m sure that the representative could feel the panic in my voice and she calmly informed me that a copy of her shot records would suffice.  A few hours later, I was in panic mode again, wondering if I had just gotten that information as a fluke.  What if I got there and it didn’t count after all?  I emailed Southwest to get it in writing and wondered if there was any way that they would respond, let alone respond in time.  I had already checked in to my flight online.  I already had my boarding place… Eeeeeeek!

Then, I called.  Again.  I know, I’m crazy.  I called and I asked all over again.  And the representative, again, was very kind and calm and confirmed that the information I had was correct.  And… she answered a ton of other questions…

Like… “Can my husband get an escort pass to help me through security and to my gate?”  The answer:  YES!  Absolutely.  He just needed to show ID and go through security with us and we were good to go.

And… “If I choose to have my son in a carseat on the flight, since hubby can’t board with us, will a Southwest rep be able to assist us in boarding?”  The answer:  YES!  Absolutely! Just let them know in advance and they will help.  They can also gate check it if I change my mind.

And… ” We got our boarding places, but are there any early boarding options for families?”  The answer:  Sort of.  Families with children 3 and under board immediately after A group boards, so you get a little head start.

Just for the record, the original question was “I just realized I don’t have a birth certificate for my lap child!!!  What can I do?”  And the answer was:  A copy of her shot record will suffice.

Once my stresses were relieved, I also recieved an email from Southwest in response to my emailed question.

The email read as follows,

“Dear Melanie,

Thanks for contacting us. We appreciate the opportunity to respond.

At Southwest, we LUV our Customers, and our youngest travelers are very near and dear to our hearts. We currently allow children who are between the ages of 14 days and who have not reached his/her second birthday to travel in the lap of an adult at no charge (at the discretion of their parent/guardian).

Only one lap child is permitted per accompanying adult, and a birth certificate, shot record, or passport will need to be presented for age-verification. If you are traveling with a lap child, please contact us at 1-800-I-FLY-SWA (1-800-435-9792) in order to document your reservation. Don’t forget to stop by the Southwest ticket counter on the day of travel so that we can issue your child a Boarding Verification Document, which is required to pass through security and board the plane. Happy travels!

Sincerely,

James, Southwest Airlines”

And I couldn’t have been happier.  Getting an escort pass was a breeze, we got to go through the short security line because of the kids, we got to watch a TSA K9 training exercise at our gate and the staff were plenty kind.  Long story short, we all slept during almost the entire flight.  Success!

Some folks don’t like flying Southwest because they don’t get assigned seats, but overall, we fly Southwest because of the service, not the seats.  I’ve never had an issue finding good seats for my little family and I’ve never been treated better than by Southwest’s Staff.

Thank You Southwest! www.southwest.com