Airplane and Carseat for Son

[heatherj]

Hi everyone!

Here it goes . . .will be flying in Oct with our 4 kids. Our 6 year old still rides in a carseat/booster-type seat with a 5 point harness as he isn't able to hold himself upright in a seat. He has outgrown a regular carseat. What do we take on the plane with us for him to sit in? We are in the midst of getting a new special needs carseat but haven't yet. I also didn't see it listed as FAA approved? Is this a concern? Or what are our options? And if you don't mind we'd love your ideas on how we can possibly drag such a big seat as well as all the kids, wheelchair, stroller, etc through the airport. YIKES! If you are looking for a good laugh I bet watching our family at the airport the day we leave could be quite entertaining, LOL. I can almost picture it now!

Thanks in advance for your thoughts! You've all been so helpful already!

Heather

 

[special-angel]

i too have an 11 yr old, because of cp ,cannot sit w/o support.we flew from phila to orlando in march for her wish trip.she uses a britax traveler seat but is not faa approved.i was afraid airline would not allow her to fly w/o being in seat so i used her old faa approved uncomfortable gorilla car seat.BIG MISTAKE!she had the worst 2 1/2 hr flight.On our return flight,i checked the carseat,put my daughter in the plane seat,propped her 1 side with a pillow & used her rolled blanket on other & kept seatbelt on entire flight .PERFECT!she stayed in an upright position & was very comfortable.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You will not be allowed to use a car or booster seat on a commercial aircraft unless it has a clear indication that it meets the FAA standards.

 

[canadianmom2three]

Depending on how large your son is, have you looked into the Sunshine Kids Radian? It is actually not a special needs seat, but a regular seat meant to accommodate kids up to 65lbs and about 52" tall (actually even a bit over that, since as per the manual, you can use it even past the top shoulder slot as long as ears are below the seatback top) . My 8 year old fit into it just fine until very recently. It is an AMAZING travel seat because it is super narrow, and actually folds flat to make it easy to carry. It doesn't have a lot of lateral support, but the 5pt harness may be enough to support your son?? We travelled with this seat just in March, and the only drawback is it's weight (30ish lbs due to its sturdy steel frame) other than that, it was a dream to install on the plane, and in the rental. Hope that helps.

 

[heatherj]

Thanks for the advice everyone! I am definitely going to check into some of these suggestions!

Look forward to more suggestions if anyone else has any.

 

[MisMikiNikiLynne]

I have a pillow booster that is originally intended to be used with a booster seat. The pillow will allow for the child to sleep without hunching over or falling from side to side. Well... I take the pillow with when we fly and use it to keep DD propped up as she has no ability to keep herself upright without help. I use a rolled blanket and pillow under her seat to help her to 'sit back' into the seat, as she is usually reclined when in the car. I also use the booster pillow in the rental and then just recline the seat. It works great. She is nearly 10 and has outgrown most car seats due to her height.

 

[canadianmom2three]

I totally forgot about this, it is a 4pt harness that attaches to the plane belt and provides support for the upper body, for children up to 44lbs only though....anyway here it is http://www.kidsflysafe.com/ this would be GREAT to travel with as it is basically just the harness, but if you will need a carseat upon arrival, wouldn't work, since it is only for plane use.

 

[jamesmommy]

I think the Graco Nautilus is FAA approved too, and goes to 65 lbs. We love ours.

 

[SNFamily]

We were having the same problem about finding an appropriate seat for one of my sons until I found the Columbia car seat at columbiamedical.com. It's pretty pricey but I'm sure if you shop around you can find one at a better rate. They have two different sizes one from 20-102lbs and the other for up to 150lbs. The smaller car seat is airline approved and you can buy a stroller base for it. You basically snap the car seat into the base and it makes a wheelchair like stroller. You can also buy accessories like a sunshade, lateral inserts, wedges, etc. It is pricey for everything, but i think adaptivemall.com had the most reasonable rate for the combo.