Having become a recent addict of the television show Airline, I remember an episode when Southwest did require I.D. for a child that looked like she might have been two years old. Safety issues aside (which are extremely important), why take the chance of ruining your trip by trying to evade the rule? Not worth it IMHO.

If you have money for a vacation, you should have money for everyone to travel as safe as possible, otherwise stay home, or safe up a little longer.
I don't get these posts lap or no lap, it is YOUR child for gods sake, keep them safe whenever YOU can. If that means a few extra dollars for a seat so be it, better then the "if I only had..." if something should happen.
Just my humble opinion.
Safe travels to everyone

Snowrooster, no offense but you were pretty snotty to all of us who were trying to point out that even though you are not required to purchase a seat, the FAA and other professional organizations strongly recommend you do.

Your thinking that your child would be safer in your arms on an airplane than strapped in a seat go against the laws of gravity.

Maybe you thought we were questioning your parenting which was absolutely not the case.

Here's a link to that thread---->

http://fodors.com/forums/pgMessages....me=snowrooster

If you buy your child a seat at regular fare the airline will not ask for ID unless it is an intl. flight than requires a passport.

However, if you are attempting to carry her as a "free" lap child, you will almost always be asked for proof of age to insure that you are not taking advantage of a discount that you do not legally qualify for. Unless the child is so young as to obviously not be walking yet, you are VERY likely to be asked for ID to prove that she is eligible to fly at no cost.

Most US airlines will offer some sort of discount for a child under 2 who is occupying a seat. Most discounts disappear after the child reaches age 2; though they are more common on intl. flights, especially over-the-water flights.

Some people are seriously out of control - my gosh, it's a 30 minute flight - I don't think it's that difficult to hold a 2 year old for 30 minutes - or, that much of a safety risk! It's up to you but I really don't think you HAVE to spend the money on a seat for your child - some of the posts act like it's a life and death situation...if the plane is going down - no one will live, regardless if they have a seat or are sitting on someone's lap! Don't let people freak you out. Good luck.

Alvarki, if you read the post you will notice two things.

1) For the most part we are talking about turbulence not plane crashes. The fatality rate is high for infants in cases of severe turbulence. By holding your child in front of you, if you get slammed into the back of the seat in front of you, your infant or toddler turns into a human air bag.

2) There are documented cases of airplane crashes (United flight 232) where the only fatalities were lap babies. The rest of the passengers survivied the crash.

Is that really a chance you would like to take?

In cases of mild turbulence, gravity will multiply the weight of your child up to 20 times.

If you don't believe me, please cut and paste the links I have provided to your browser.

The flight crew must secure the coffee maker before take off but your infant doesn't have to be. Isn't there something odd there?

I urge everyone to write to your congressman and demand that the FAA require children to be secured.

Another possibility, though remote-- what if there's an explosive decompression? I'm thinking Aloha 243-- 18 feet of upper fuselage ripped off an elderly 737, and a flight attendant was swept out (she was standing under the initial separation point). Cabin objects not strapped down got sucked out as well. But everyone else survived.

United 232 was a crash where over 1/2 of the people onboard survived, with a large number walking away without a scratch. Several fatalities were indeed infants that were not secured properly.

And sure, flying through severe turbulence is a relatively remote possibility (pilots will fly around weather whenever possible), but say you do hit some hard chop-- do you want your first stop off the plane to be an emergency room, with your toddler suffering from a concussion or contusions or broken bones? Bear this in mind as well: Inter-island flights don't get up to full cruising altitude, so they fly through denser air, and these are choppier trips than a long flight at 36,000 feet. Is your kids' safety worth it? Spring for the seat.

Seriously, alvarki, why chill out?

These people are not in the minority in general, and would be very uncomfortable taking said risk with their child, for reasons already stated. The original poster of this thread was asking specifically for these types of opinions, so they were not out of place on this thread.

You don't have to agree with them, but what makes them need to chill out? I seriously don't get that.

Don't forget jlm, we are also out of control.

Maybe it's time for

just forget it - I just don't see the need to completely freak this poor lady out. I have traveled extensivley throughout the U.S., Europe and to Hawaii and I have never experienced turbulence so bad that they jarred anyone out of their seats, or hurt a child on a parents lap, or hurt anyone for that matter. It would have to be a seriously severe circumstance for any of that to happen - and I just think some people are trying to scare the wits out of this poor lady.

alvarki, safety aside, you're overlooking the ethics of trying to avoid the airline's requirement. situational ethics, i think it's called. extend the logic.... i hope you don't like where it takes you.

I've never seen an alligator eat a dog out of someone's back yard, but I know it can happen.

I've never seen Anna Nicole Smith completely sober (and I've met her a few times), but I know it can happen.

I've never witnessed an accident where people were thrown out through the windshield, but I know it can happen.

So what do I do? When in swampy Florida, I don't let my animals run around in the back yard. When around Anna Nicole, I provide a shoulder for her to prop herself on. And I wear a seatbelt when driving. Or riding in a car. And I put kids in appropriate seats and restraints. End of story. It's called preparedness. And if I have to spend a bit of money for peace of mind, so be it.

And there's still that nagging ethical issue: The kid's over 2 years old. Rules are rules: Full seat, full fare. Period. Sorry.