Best car seat for flying and can it be used on Magical Express?

[kayemgi]

We are planning a trip for next year when DD will be two. We were planning to go just before her birthday and fly with her as a lap child, but after reading this scary article, we are now planning to use a car seat for her.

I saw someone mention the CARES harness in another thread, but after looking it up and seeing its cost ($70) and considering that we pretty much never fly and so would only get maybe 1-2 trips out of it, we are thinking it would be more cost effective to just choose the lightest, smallest car seat when we are ready to move to a convertible. This also makes sense for us because we both have small cars.

What car seat do you recommend? And is it possible to use it on the Magical Express as well? TIA!

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Car seats cannot be used on Magical Express.

Did you know that you can rent a Cares harness on eBay?

 

[disneyfan128]

When buying your car seat just make sure it is FAA approved, most flight attendants will check before you get to your seat. I have the Safety 1st Alpha Omega Elite Convertible Car Seat, and I used it last year to fly with and I will use it this year. I did purchase a Brica Roll n Go Car Seat Transporter http://www.toysrus.com/product/inde...11669859:BRUS&eESource=CAPLA_DF:12320162:TRUS, and I absolutely loved it; I had many people stop and ask me where I got it. I have flown both ways, once with my son in my lap because he was under 2 and once with my car seat; I will never go without the car seat again. Having the car seat made my son more comfortable during the flight and he was contained. You will not be able to use the car seat on Magical Express, which makes that part of the trip a little more difficult.

 

[luvmy2babies]

Like a previous poster noted, the harness is for rent from multiple sources on ebay. We maybe fly once a year so I went that route when my son was 2. He loved it and so did my daughter and me because I could put him between us instead of at the window.

When we flew with a car seat I had the Cosco Scenera...really light weight, excellent safety rating. I put it in a bag I could put on my back. I wanted a bag with wheels; but they were out. In the end I ended up dragging it; but I had sweatshirts in the bag to protect it.

 

[kcpinwdw]

We have two cosco sceneras that we fly with, they were under $40 a piece. If we weren't renting a car, though, we wouldn't bring them. I use them just for flying and as a spare set for the nanny. Under two we preferred the car seat, once they were two it was easier without it on planes, because as they grow it was too easy to kick the seat in front of them, and the tray table wont go all the way down.

 

[kayemgi]

Car seats cannot be used on Magical Express.

Did you know that you can rent a Cares harness on eBay?

I did not know that, that's very good to know, thank you!

 

[kayemgi]

We have two cosco sceneras that we fly with, they were under $40 a piece. If we weren't renting a car, though, we wouldn't bring them. I use them just for flying and as a spare set for the nanny. Under two we preferred the car seat, once they were two it was easier without it on planes, because as they grow it was too easy to kick the seat in front of them, and the tray table wont go all the way down.

In my googling that car seat comes up quite a bit as being very friendly for air travel. I'm adding it to my list to remember, thank you! She going to be just under two when we go, and the more I read, the more I am feeling like I will want a car seat, even if she is large enough to use the CARES harness. It seems safer and more convenient for a child that young.

 

[Karenj2]

If you're also looking for a good brand to use in your car, I LOVE the Diono Radian RXT - they are a slim fitting car seat that are FAA approved. They fold up to lug through the airport, and you can fit three across in even small cars! (Just in case in the future you go from one kid to three like I did...)

The downside (which is DH's biggest pet peeve) is that they are rock solid, and therefore heavy. We're trying to figure out what to do for our trip to CA, because we're going to need car seats there, but I really don't want to lug three of them through the airport... I also have a CARES harness, and have used that for our oldest on flights - it works, but when we last flew, we took the car seats for the twins.

 

[DCbride]

We have the Seneca one too. DH always used britax but they are so heavy! In fact she used it on the plane until 5.5, it just made for a more comfortable plane ride for her. Buy a laundry bag at Targetto throw it in for under ME, it will help keep it clean

 

[msmama]

The Scenera is a great seat for travel, but I would not use it for my every day, driving around seat at home. It's VERY unpadded (not unsafely padded, just uncomfortable).

I think CARES can be rented for about $25-$30. Scenera is about $35-$45. So price wise I would call it pretty much a wash.

I did both CARES and Carseat (scenera) with my son when he was younger and CARES wins BY FAR!! With the Carseat, the tray table is unusable and their feet are pretty much perfectly positioned for kicking the seat in front of them.

 

[ZeroMyHero]

I am renting a CARES off of eBay for my upcoming trip in two weeks and it is costing me just under $20 for the week, including shipping to my house and back to the renter. It's very economical and a safe, easy alternative to a car seat on the plane.