Anyones carseat lost by the airport?

[davisdenyel]

I will be checking in 2 carseats with our luggage. Has anyone ever had their carseat lost by the airport? I am so worried that we will not be able to leave the airport because I cant load the kids up in the car due to not having a carseat. If this has happend to anyone what was the outcome? Oh my gosh the time must be getting close for us to be leaving because I am starting to think of some crazy things lol. I am starting to stew and worry about every little thing.

 

[lmogs]

This has happened to me several times (we fly alot - with 2 little ones). Every carrier has extra car seats - they will lend you one until yours arrives! No worries!

 

[lmogs]

One more thought - if you're taking the Magical Express, you may not need them. It's been awhile, but I don't remember seat belts on those buses.

 

[bumbershoot]

Can you check them at the gate, rather than at the main luggage check-in area? Less area for them to get lost, and they should have them for you right after/as you get off the plane.

 

[jenlynn0808]

Okay, this might be a dumb question, but why are you checking both carseats? When I looked at your sig, it says you have a 3 y.o. and 1 y.o. Doesn't the 3 y.o. need the car seat to fly? I know you can hold the baby, but I thought most airlines required children over 2 to have their own seat.

I always put DS2 in his carseat on the plane, becasue he's to little to sit (and I doubt he would) in a plain seat by himself. Plus, honestly, I feel safer knowing he's safer.

I'm not trying to cause trouble, but we have a GG planned for Feb. and my SIL was upset she had to buy a seat foe my DNephew who will be a month shy of 3 when we fly. So I called the airline to double check and was told he had to have his own seat because of his age. You may want to check with your airline and see what their requirements are.

FYI- ME buses don't have seat belts. It is the same theory as to why school buses don't have them. They have high back seats that are suppose to keep teh passangers from launching forward. Plus who would be responsible to make sure everyone buckled up and then stayed that way for the duration of the ride?

 

[Stephres]

We checked two booster seats that didn't make it with our luggage. We were driving 2 hours away after the flight. The airline lent us 2 boosters for the week we were there and held our seats when they came in until it was time to fly out.

 

[grlpwrd]

Okay, this might be a dumb question, but why are you checking both carseats? When I looked at your sig, it says you have a 3 y.o. and 1 y.o. Doesn't the 3 y.o. need the car seat to fly? I know you can hold the baby, but I thought most airlines required children over 2 to have their own seat.

I always put DS2 in his carseat on the plane, becasue he's to little to sit (and I doubt he would) in a plain seat by himself. Plus, honestly, I feel safer knowing he's safer.

I'm not trying to cause trouble, but we have a GG planned for Feb. and my SIL was upset she had to buy a seat foe my DNephew who will be a month shy of 3 when we fly. So I called the airline to double check and was told he had to have his own seat because of his age. You may want to check with your airline and see what their requirements are.

FYI- ME buses don't have seat belts. It is the same theory as to why school buses don't have them. They have high back seats that are suppose to keep teh passangers from launching forward. Plus who would be responsible to make sure everyone buckled up and then stayed that way for the duration of the ride?

He had to have his own seat because he was over age 2. Children under 2 years of age are considered "lap children" because they are small enough to sit on the adult's lap. He was about age 2 y 11 months, right? So technically he didn't qualify.

 

[Colinsmom]

Southwest lost my infant car seat base that I luggage-checked, but it was okay because I knew how to install the bucket without a base (and that's how I had used it on the airplane). It showed up about 12 or so hours later.

American lost my gate-checked stroller on the way to Orlando. Took two days to show up. They gave us a piece-of-garbage loaner that wouldn't even push with my 30lb 2yo son in it. Fortunately the Disney hotel found a slightly better stroller that had been abandoned by a previous guest, and that got us around until our stroller showed up.

Yes, they will give you loaner seats, but there is no guarantee that it won't be disgusting (like the extra seats that American had in Orlando 3 years ago when they lost our stroller), expired or the right size/type for your child. They could present you with a seatbelt booster for your 1yo, or a backless booster for your 3yo, neither of which is a good idea at all.

Is there a reason that you don't want to use the seats on the airplane? If you won't use them on the plane, are you meeting someone at the other end who can just buy seats for your use on the trip? Or arrange transportation that doesn't require car seats?

 

[davisdenyel]

Thank you for all the replies. It has been a while since I have flew. But I used to fly all the time when I only had 2 children but when I had to start paying for a plane ticket for my second child I stopped flying. It became cheaper to drive. I know I never needed the carseat on the plane back then. It was always the parents choice if they wanted to use it. I always chose not to use it since I flew by myself with 2 young children. It would of been to hard for me to to have a baby 2 and under and a 5 year old along with having to lug a carseat around the airport by myself. I had my hands full as it was. I am sure tons of rules have changed since I flew. I have called Delta a couple of times for my questions and I keep getting different answers from them. My 1 year old will be sitting on my lap (I did not buy her a ticket) and my 3 year old has her own seat. It is good to know the airport will give you a rental carseat. I will check it out to check the carseats at the gate.

 

[davisdenyel]

Southwest lost my infant car seat base that I luggage-checked, but it was okay because I knew how to install the bucket without a base (and that's how I had used it on the airplane). It showed up about 12 or so hours later.

American lost my gate-checked stroller on the way to Orlando. Took two days to show up. They gave us a piece-of-garbage loaner that wouldn't even push with my 30lb 2yo son in it. Fortunately the Disney hotel found a slightly better stroller that had been abandoned by a previous guest, and that got us around until our stroller showed up.

Yes, they will give you loaner seats, but there is no guarantee that it won't be disgusting (like the extra seats that American had in Orlando 3 years ago when they lost our stroller), expired or the right size/type for your child. They could present you with a seatbelt booster for your 1yo, or a backless booster for your 3yo, neither of which is a good idea at all.

Is there a reason that you don't want to use the seats on the airplane? If you won't use them on the plane, are you meeting someone at the other end who can just buy seats for your use on the trip? Or arrange transportation that doesn't require car seats?

That had to be so awfull. That is one thing I cant stand is nast dirty carseats and strollers. I am constantly cleaning mine. One carseat I cant use on the plane because my 1 year old is a lap baby (no seat). And I just thought it would be more of a pita to lug a carseat through the airport. I wish I was meeting someone at the other end that would make things alot easier lol. That is the way I am used to flying. But we are renting a car from Dollar. It was way to expensive to rent carseats from them. Then I would be afraid of the condition and cleaness of the seats.

 

[jenlynn0808]

He had to have his own seat because he was over age 2. Children under 2 years of age are considered "lap children" because they are small enough to sit on the adult's lap. He was about age 2 y 11 months, right? So technically he didn't qualify.

I knew he would have to have is own seat, but SIL and MIL wanted to be sure and I am doing all the arranging, so I checked for them. We always buy a seat for our kids. The first time we (DH, me, DD and DS) flew DS was 11 months old and he was buckled into his carseat on the plane. I wouldn't go any other way, but heck that's just me.

my point was that one of OP's kids is 3 so they would need a seat on the plane, so i assumed they would also need the carsesat to buckle onto teh seat. Therefore only needing to check 1 and not 2 carsesats. Sorry if I wasn;t clear in my original post.

 

[tanyaandallie]

Your 3 year old is not required to sit in a carseat on the plane. No child is required. It is recommended, but not required. Many children are more comfortable in their carseats. If you do not want to carry the seat onboard, you can check carseats at the gate. Pretty much every airline allows it. It is the one way to guarentee your seats will make it to your final destination.

I have checked our seats a few times. My dd's seat was lost one time. We received a loaner from the airline. My dh was traveling with my dd so I didn't see the loaner until the next day. The seat was horrible. If I had known then what I know now about carseats, there is aboslutely no way I would have left her in that seat. I would have headed for bru and bought a new one asap. It was definitely old and had to be expired. Dirty and disgusting. The straps would not tighten correctly.

If it were me, I'd take the seats to the gate if you need them when you get there.

 

[Colinsmom]

If you do not want to carry the seat onboard, you can check carseats at the gate. Pretty much every airline allows it. It is the one way to guarentee your seats will make it to your final destination.

The only way to guarantee that the seats reach your final destination is to keep them with you and use them on the airplane. See my post above about my gate-checked stroller that took two days to catch up to us.

 

[tanyaandallie]

The only way to guarantee that the seats reach your final destination is to keep them with you and use them on the airplane. See my post above about my gate-checked stroller that took two days to catch up to us.

You are right. However, I think statistically speaking gate checked items are far more likely to arrive to your final destination than checked baggage.

 

[Colinsmom]

You are right. However, I think statistically speaking gate checked items are far more likely to arrive to your final destination than checked baggage.

I agree with that statement. I just wouldn't agree with calling it a "guarantee".