help with carseat

[PottersMom]

Can anyone give a good recommendation on a carseat for airline travel? (As in dragging through airports and getting in and out of taxis/ rental cars) We have an infant that is ready to move to a convertable seat, but I want to make sure the seat we pick is user friendly for this. Also we are on a tight budget. We can not spend $200 on a car seat. I would like to keep it under $100 if possible. (we need 2 seats). Ithought this would be a good place to ask b/c lots of disers travel by plane. THanks!

 

[luvmy2babies]

Lots of people use the Cosco Scenera. It is lightweight, has great safety ratings and is only around $40.

I used it on our first trip. My ds was 10 months old. He was happy with it. It was slightly awkward to carry, but that was likely because of everything else I was carrying. I recommend a bag with wheels if that will work for you or some people work out a way to carry the seat as a backpack or connecting it to the stroller. As I said, it's really lightweight. And I got it installed in about a minute on the plane.

Here he is.

 

[tms295psu]

Also recommend the Cosco.... we use ours for travel and occasional use at home. Britax Marathons ($$) are our daily use carseats (super comfy). The Cosco has minimal cushion, but are definately lightweight, no frill seats great for travel.

 

[PottersMom]

I was hoping to hear this. I looked at the scenera, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good value, even though the price is great. She is still rear facing in the car, and it does need to go into a compact car. Would we need to push the seat all the way forward to accomadate that? It cant go in the center seat. (no tethers or shoulder straps).
WHen we travel by plane next spring, she will be a lap infant. But we are bringing it to use when we get to Europe. I will probably put our older daughter in it on the plane. I don't think she will be 40 lbs by then. Otherwise we will have to gate check it.

 

[maggs1035]

Make sure the seats have the airline approved sticker on them for the airlines to see, or they can deny you travel!

 

[linzbear]

I was hoping to hear this. I looked at the scenera, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good value, even though the price is great. She is still rear facing in the car, and it does need to go into a compact car. Would we need to push the seat all the way forward to accomadate that? It cant go in the center seat. (no tethers or shoulder straps).
WHen we travel by plane next spring, she will be a lap infant. But we are bringing it to use when we get to Europe. I will probably put our older daughter in it on the plane. I don't think she will be 40 lbs by then. Otherwise we will have to gate check it.

Should be fine - most convertible seats take up less room than bucket seats (because there's no base). I would agree that the scenera is your best bet! If you want something to compare it to, the Britax Roundabout 55 easily fits in compact cars RF and is also a great seat for the money.

 

[billdob62]

A couple of good suggestions, in which either will be fine and safe for your child.

 

[DopeyDame]

We loved our Britax Roundabout for both airplane and car travel. It's probably more than you want to spend, but there are occasionally some good deals online.

I know this is controversial here, but I'd just urge you to consider buying a ticket for your baby. The FAA, AAP, and NTSB all recommend that ALL passengers, including babies, be appropriately secured (ie, in a carseat for kids under 2) during takeoff, landing, and turbulance.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Another +1 for the Cosco Scenera *it's a fantastic 2nd/travel seat, it was DD's for a few years, her regular *in my car* seats have always been Britax *still in a Fronteir @ close to 9* I would dread hauling any Britax through an airport!

 

[dhardawa]

I was hoping to hear this. I looked at the scenera, but I wasn't sure if it would be a good value, even though the price is great. She is still rear facing in the car, and it does need to go into a compact car. Would we need to push the seat all the way forward to accomadate that? It cant go in the center seat. (no tethers or shoulder straps).WHen we travel by plane next spring, she will be a lap infant. But we are bringing it to use when we get to Europe. I will probably put our older daughter in it on the plane. I don't think she will be 40 lbs by then. Otherwise we will have to gate check it.

If she is still rear facing (which she should be) you can't tether anyway. There are only a handful of seats on the market that allow tethering rear facing. Also, it is perfectly fine to install a harnessed seat with only a lap belt. It is boosters that can't be used with only lap belts.

 

[dhardawa]

To answer the original question, the Scenera is a great travel seat. It is no frills, but is compact, lightweight, is highly compatible with different vehicles, and is fairly easy to use. Plus, you can get them for $39 at Wal Mart.

 

[Mouserbear]

Also look at the combi cocorro. Really lightweight and installation is easy.

 

[CaoilinnsMom]

Be aware that the seats on smaller planes are narrower. The only seat that I could find to fit on an American Eagle flight was a Sunshine Kids, they call them something else now. They are not cheap, but neither is wasting your money on a less expensive "approved" seat that won't fit anyway. Just thought I would throw that put there.

 

[twinboysmom]

Another vote for the cosco scenera. It will indeed fit on an American eagle flight. No need to spend almost $300 on the radian seats (what the PP was talking about).

 

[DopeyDame]

Be aware that the seats on smaller planes are narrower. The only seat that I could find to fit on an American Eagle flight was a Sunshine Kids, they call them something else now. They are not cheap, but neither is wasting your money on a less expensive "approved" seat that won't fit anyway. Just thought I would throw that put there.

I took my roundabout on multiple regional jets, and it fit just fine.

The Radian Sunshine Kids is, indeed, the skinniest seat on the market, and because of that it was actually the very first carseat I bought. I HATE that seat, especially for airplane travel. I found it to be heavy, bulky, and miserable to travel with. I'd really recommend against it for airplane travel. (DS3 now uses it in my car, and it's fine, but not great, for car travel.)

 

[kisaacs]

We have Radians and Sceneras and always travel with the Scenera. My almost-4 yo DD and my 2.5 yo DS both travelled in them to Iceland, and will be using them to go to WDW this summer. We've used them rearfacing and forward facing on the plane and they always fit well. We use them at home too, so we're used to installing them and have always had them fit easily (both ff and rf) in any small rental car we've had.

Kristen

 

[luvmy2babies]

I did travel with a Radian (65SL I think) when my son was 21 months. I used the Cosco Scenera at 10 months. The Radian was easier for me to carry because it folded and fit in a bag I could wear on my back. I travel alone with 2 children and I needed my hands. I couldn’t wear ds through the airport at 21 months as I did at 10 months when I traveled with the Scenera, so that prompted the change. It was expensive, but the plan was to install it into my mom’s car after the vacation. The Godparents have the Scenera. I would not buy the Radian just to use for travel due to the price unless my son was going to be piling up frequent flyer miles. It was much heavier than the Scenera but ds could not kick the seat in front of him because of how flat it was to his airplane seat. It was helpful to be able to wear it as a backpack due to me being the only adult, carrying all of the luggage (dd pushed ds in the stroller) and us taking several taxi rides while we were on vacation. I did get several looks and questions from airport personnel because it wasn’t obvious it was a car seat bag.

I much prefer the Scenera if I have a hand free to lug it around. Thankfully, my son is now over 2 and we are going to Disney and using Magical Express and the buses. CARES Harness here we come. My shoulders are happy and so is dd. She’ll get to sit by the window.