Any tips for carrying carseat through airport?(no pre-bought bag)

[hallesrymat]

Hello! I was wondering if anyone out there had any good ideas for carrying a carseat in the airport. Friends who are travelling with us are considering not taking theirs at the last minute. I feel strongly that they should for safety reasons and to make him more comfortable in his own seat.(plus I can't trust the seats provided by the transportation companies b/c I don't know the history-how old,been in any accidents,etc)
So, I thought I'd try to help them figure out the easiest way to lug it around. It's too late at this point to get them a bag to carry it in. Anyone concocted something that works? Thanks!

 

[quiltymom]

I do this all the time, since I also use the seat for DD(4) on the airplane. I'm a stickler for transportation safety. It's much safer for the kids if the plane hits serious turbulence. And since I usually travel with out DH since the poor guy has to work, it's the only way to go.

First, get a good heavy-duty set of luggage wheels. Make sure they're sturdy and not something that will break the first use. I place the seat down, then strap it in.

Next, I place a small carryon on the seat of the carseat (which usually happens to be DD's Disney princess wheeled tote), which is then held in by the bungee cords.

After that, I hang anything else on it that I can WITHOUT it falling over! (If it does go over, everything comes off and you have to start from square one. Not fun.) My purse or backpack gets hung over the handle. You can also stuff any jackets or sweaters in the cords if you want. (I've also been known to drape the folded stroller on the handle, too!)

If you have a system in place before you go through security, it's easier to place everything back on once you gather your belongings together. Practice it before your trip.

I keep it all together until it's time to board the plane. If possible, the kids take everything they can hold and I carry the rest, & check the carrier at the gate (leave it at the bottom of the jetway). It's one less thing to bring on the plane, and then you don't have to take everything off on the jetway and hold up the boarding process.

I'm so used to doing this solo that when I do fly with DH, I feel like I'm on vacation!!!

I hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions if I didn't cover anything. And enjoy your trip!!!

 

[Gymbomom]

I always propped mine on my stroller, then gate checked the stroller once we got there. The stroller was then waiting usually by the time i got off the plane and I would put the car seat back on top of it again.

 

[cepmom]

will they also have a stroller in the airport? Last time we flew with our own car seat, we just put on the stroller and rolled it through the airport to our gate. We had a sit & stand stroller, so my youngest DD (2) sat in the front seat and the car seat sat in the back. I could also fit a couple of carry on bags on there too. It was so much easier than carrying it. Or how about one of those rolling luggage carriers? They could strap it on to the carrier and pull it along. We used to have one of those before we got rolling luggage. I totally agree with you about taking your own car seat ~ much safer (and cleaner ) than renting.

ETA: Gymbomom and quiltymom type faster than me! you both beat me to it!

 

[robinb]

I bungeed mine on a regular luggage cart. Like quiltymom we would add other things to the pile too .

 

[Colinsmom]

DH often throws it over his shoulder. Or we set it in the stroller.

If they plan to rely on a rental seat when they arrive, let them know that car rental companies do NOT guarantee that they will have a seat for you!! So they could arrive there and have a rental car with no car seat at all (or, say, an infant seat only for a 25lb child).

 

[NotUrsula]

If they will be taking a wheeled carryon, they can flip the seat upside down and bungee it tightly to the bag. The cord should run vertically around the bag and the seat, around under the wheels and through the handle. You have to get it really tight, so that it doesn't veer sideways on you.

 

[JulieEdelman]

I either hang the straps from the stroller handles or wear it like a backpack from the straps.

 

[Brina]

I just pull the straps out really long and throw it over one shoulder like a backpack.

 

[robinb]

I don't think I would want to carry the carseat on my back. I usually carrying other things. Also, isn't it a pain to reset all the straps back to the correct position?

We no longer take a baby carset. We have a small booster seat (bottom only) that will fit in a small bag. But we still take our old-fashioned foldable luggage cart. We pile all our carry-on bags, jackets, laptop, etc onto the cart, bungee them down and drag it all behind us. It's amazing how much crap we end up as "carry-ons" between on-flight entertainment for my 5 year old (her own bag), the electronics bag (camera, DVD player, GRMS radios, power cords for everything), my husband's laptop and our day bag. If your friends plan on travelling a couple times a year, the luggage cart at about $20 will be a good investment.

 

[saberry]

What transportation company are you using? There are plenty of reviews out there on the various companies. The one we are using is Quicksilver Tours. The reviews on them were very good including the condition of their car seats. As long as you are using a reputable company, I'm sure you could call and specify that you need a car seat in like new condition. Of course, that won't help in the plane, so it's really just a matter of what you are comfortable with.

 

[tbelfonti]

We throw ours in the stroller.

 

[golfgal]

You could get one of those collapable luggage carts at any of the marts and hook it onto the carseat. They fold up pretty small and you can toss it in the overhead bin for the flight.

 

[HillPete]

Our airline had huge plastic bags to put the carseats in when we checked them with our luggage. I'd bet they'd be willing to give you a couple if you wanted to sling the bags over your shoulder Santa-style.

--H

 

[Laurajeremy]

We just bought a bag that is made for the car seat with wheels-- it was less thatn $25 and is at every major baby store (Babies Rus Buy buy baby, burlington, etc)

 

[all4fun]

If they are taking their stroller and don't want to buy a luggage cart (also a great idea), they can place the stroller and seat back-to-back, hooking the bottom/back of the car seat onto the basket, or cross-bar, of the stroller and place a bungee cord thru the back of the car seat (like where you put the seat belt thru if it were being install forward facing) to hold it on the back of the stroller. I did this on our last trip and it worked great - I just wore my backpack, ds sat in his stroller seat and we didn't have to carry the car seat through the airport. I used a short bungee - just long enough I didn't have to stretch it much to hook it on either side of the stroller (those things can hurt if you lose you grip and it snaps back, lol). I hope that makes sense.

hth,
Cheryl

 

[long4disney]

We just put our Britax Marathon in the stoller and push it to the gate. Then we gate check the stroller. It is the easiest way to deal with the car seat. My husband or I just carries our dd to the gate. We also have one of those back pack bags for the car seat, but that was such a pain, so this is the way we do it now!