Another car seat on plane, question..

[Minnesota!]

Would we be ok using this? Like I said earlier, my son is 34+ inches and is 34 pounds (but will only be 23 months when we go)...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...4?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0002TEAA0

Would this be ok for the plane? I wouldn't mind dropping $20 on it for the use on the planes...

Thanks!

 

[graygables]

Nope, no boosters on the plane, only FAA approved car seats.

 

[Minnesota!]

Anyone suggest anything light, cheap, etc?

Why no boosters, any clue?

Thanks!

 

[graygables]

# Aircraft seats are different from motor vehicle seats, so some auto products work differently and fit differently in them.
# Crash tests have shown that car safety vests and booster seats with shields may not protect a child in an aircraft seat. Therefore, they are not allowed during take-off and landing, even though some have labels saying they are certified for aircraft use.
# Some aircraft seats have backs that fold forward. In a crash, a child in a shield-booster could be crushed against the shield.
# A belt-positioning booster seat that uses a lap and shoulder belt in a car cannot be used. There is no shoulder belt for upper-body restraint. If the booster seat has an internal harness and your child weighs less than 40 pounds, you can use it that way on aircraft. For a heavier child, use the lap belt alone.

Is there a reason you aren't taking your regular car seat? Most children fly better in their "own" seat, since they are familiar with it. I have 4 DDs and have flown with them all since they were 2 weeks old, so I understand it's no fun and sometimes a pain, but is a necessary part of air travel with children. I used a rolling luggage carrier with the seat strapped to it (when DD1 was little, I actually strapped her into the seat and pulled her through the airport that way). Push the stroller with one hand and pull the seat with the other. There are also shoulder bags/straps that can be attached to carry the seat. Having flown more times than I can count and seeing children injured or simply so uncomfortable that they scream for 8 hours, I can easily say that taking your own carseat is worth the hassle for you and those travelling with you.

 

[Minnesota!]

I am all new to this, so I had no idea. What we have, currently, for a car seat is this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...4?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000A3YIOG

How hard would it be to lug it through the airport and all that? I mean...you said something about a luggage cart. Could you direct me to a link (I am clueless..I freely admit this!!). Also - can you tell by looking at this whether it's an FAA approved seat? And how do I go about strapping the seat in?

Sorry for all the questions - I just want this to be as smooth a vaca as possible!

Thanks!

 

[all4fun]

Hi, I answered you on the other thread but basically I suggest you take your current car seat. Like the pp said a backless booster (or any booster that doesn't have an internal harness) is not airline approved. Also, you need a regular car seat if you end up renting a car. It's not recommended you use BPB's until your child is at least four years old and 40 or more lbs. This is a NHTSA recommendation. There are a couple of reasons - children under four & 40 still have a larger head to body ratio, and a 3-pt seatbelt might not hold them properly in an accident. Also kids (typically under age 5) have a harder time staying seated properly in a 3-pt seatbelt. A harness is just so much safer. There are also few injuries in harnessed car seats because the harness will help distribute the weight of the child's body more evenly in a collision than a 3-pt seatbelt will. (Can you tell I've done a little reading on this subject?)

Here's the FAA's guidelines for using carseats on airplanes:
FAA Tips for parents using a CRS on an airplane
and a site that has installation tips for using car seats on airplanes .

hth!

 

[all4fun]

I am all new to this, so I had no idea. What we have, currently, for a car seat is this:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.htm...4?_encoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000A3YIOG

How hard would it be to lug it through the airport and all that? I mean...you said something about a luggage cart. Could you direct me to a link (I am clueless..I freely admit this!!). Also - can you tell by looking at this whether it's an FAA approved seat? And how do I go about strapping the seat in?

Sorry for all the questions - I just want this to be as smooth a vaca as possible!

Thanks!

We bought a regular $15 luggage cart at Wal*Mart for our last trip so we could tote our laptop bag and the car seat on it. You can also purchase for $25 the Samsonite Micromover which is even more lightweight and compact than the one I have.

In the past we have also just used a bungie cord and put the car seat and stroller back to back, then threaded the bungie cord through the back of the car seat to the sides of the stroller and wheeled it through the airport that way.

hth!

 

[Minnesota!]

Thank you, again! I will look into the luggage rack (that's what I was thinking it was, but wasn't sure). Now, I can wheel this all the way to the gate, right? If my son is in the stroller, DH pushing, and then I am wheeling this thing with the car seat, they will check the stroller at the gate, right? And the luggate rack? then I just need to install the car seat on the plane? Do these count as carryons?

 

[graygables]

Your carseat should be fine (there should be an FAA sticker on it somewhere). I got my luggage cart thingy at Staples, BTW. It helps to practice strapping it on a few times and it was nice b/c I could put the diaper bag in the seat and other carryons that couldn't stay on the stroller. The luggage cart folds up and goes in the overhead. The carseat/cart should not count towards your carry on allowance. When you get to the gate, they will give you a tag for the stroller, then you take it down the jet bridge to the door, fold it and leave it there. It will be waiting on the jet bridge for you when you arrive. I just wheeled the carseat down the aisle, unhooked it at our row and installed it. Bear in mind, though, that installation itself can be an olympic event, so be dressed comfortably! I also wait/ed until the plane pretty much cleared before undoing everything. There's nothing worse than feeling pushed and harried b/c some passenger behind you thinks their time is more important than anyone else's!

 

[all4fun]

Yes, make sure your seat still has the white sticker on it that says in RED print:
"This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft"
They might ask to see that to verify it's an airline approved car seat.

You're correct you can gate check the stroller. Ask the gate agent prior to boarding for a gate check tag. Fold it, lock it closed, and leave it by the airplane door when boarding. (You don't want the employee who doesn't know how the folding mechanism on your stroller works to break it).

I usually take the car seat & stroller and board first, get the seat installed and dh waits for about 5mins or so before boarding. Gives ds a few minutes to run off energy in the concourse and give me a few minutes to install the seat.

I found the easiest way to install the seat was by reclining the airline seat as far as possible, pull the seatbelt out all the way, place car seat in seat, thread seatbelt through the belt path on the car seat, (you might also want to flip the female end of the buckle around so it's facing the airline seatback so it's easier to undo when you're getting off the plane), tighten seatbelt. Put the airline seat back upright and this should snug everything right up. Reverse process to uninstall. hth.

 

[justhat]

I just wanted to agree about reversing the female end cause one the 1 flight that we didn't do that it was a pain to unbuckle the seat when the flight ended.

 

[melag]

One Step Ahead has some great stuff for travel as well including having a chair that connects to the luggage so the kids could sit in it. They also have a contraption that will allow you to carry your carseat on your back. We bought the carseat that folds out to a carriage and love it (worth the money - we fly at least 2x a year - $300).