Booster seat on plane???

[kelly08]

I am confused and hope somebody could help me out. We are taking our daughter to Disney for her first time in November. We never traveled with a child before, so I am not aware of what to do. She is three years old, over 40 pounds, and very tall for her age. We have friends who have flown with children much smaller and they have gotten the kids their own seat on the plane. My question is do I need to bring her booster seat onto the plane or can she sit in her own seat? I am hoping to keep the seat home, and the car rental company will supply the booster. Thank you for any help, and sorry if it is a silly question. I figured i would get help on these boards. Thanks again...

 

[akrake]

boosters are not allowed on planes...unless it's a convertible car seat that you are using as a booster but that you still use the harness system. you will have to check your booster in or at the gate.
amie

 

[tjmw2727]

Check the back of your CSR for an FAA sticker. If it has one and your still using the seat as a "traditional carseat" with the integrated harness you can use it in the aircraft. If it does not have its own harness or your using the automobile's lap/shoulder belt then you may not use it on the aircraft. Again - it must have the sticker on the back inidcating it is approved for use in the aircraft.

FWIW - at 3 yo you can go either way, some children are more comfortable in the carseat and this eliminates the need to rent a costly and sometimes poor condition CSR from the rental agency. Other children are fine with the aircraft's belt and you can rent or just check your CSR through with the luggage.

TJ

 

[sif]

At her age, your daughter will be perfectly able to sit in her own seat without any booster. In fact, she may be more comfortable that way. It is true that booster seats cannot be used on planes, unless they are of the type that can be secured with a lap belt and have their own separate harness system. And certainly not the backless boosters that are used for bigger kids.

We recently traveled with our sons, 5 and 3 years old, and our infant daughter. The baby was using the infant carrier, which we gate-checked. For the 3 yo we rented a carseat with the rental car (no problems). For the 5 yo, we carried on a backless, seat-only booster seat, and simply stored it overhead. This worked out well for us.

 

[alloyd1170]

You have to buy a seat for anyone 2+ yrs old. As the others have said, boosters are not allowed on the plane as they require a shoulder belt to secure the seat and child to the airplane seat. Lap belts alone are not safe and can really harm a child. On our last trip, I bought an Eddie Bauer bag to haul our booster seat. I checked it at baggage (doesnt count against your baggage allowance) and it came through just fine (the bag was very durable). I did panic when it didnt come through with the bags, but at some airports they have another area for oversized and odd shaped baggage. I felt much better taking our own booster seat as I know how it works, and my son is comfortable in it. I cant say that about the unknown seats that car rental places use though. Who knows if they have been in accidents or not, are clean, etc. Plus if you have to rent for a week, that can put a hole in your pocket!

alison

 

[NotUrsula]

She's too heavy in any case; the FAA recomendation for using a CRS in an aircraft is UNDER 40 lbs.\

You can gate-check the carseat if you are concerned about it getting whacked around in the bag room.

 

[Schmeck]

Originally posted by alloyd1170
You have to buy a seat for anyone 2+ yrs old. As the others have said, boosters are not allowed on the plane as they require a shoulder belt to secure the seat and child to the airplane seat. Lap belts alone are not safe and can really harm a child.
alison

I'm confused - if a booster seat is not allowed because the lap belt is not enough to keep the child safe, then how safe would the child be just sitting in the regular seat, just using the lap belt? Doesn't the booster seat place the seat belt in the correct position to prevent injury?

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by Schmeck
I'm confused - if a booster seat is not allowed because the lap belt is not enough to keep the child safe, then how safe would the child be just sitting in the regular seat, just using the lap belt? Doesn't the booster seat place the seat belt in the correct position to prevent injury?

The quote you quoted is referring to a booster used in an automobile. A booster seat without the integrated straps requires a lap/shoulder belt - an aircraft doesn't have a shoulder strap. Generally speaking by the time a child reaches the age, height and weight to use a booster seat without the integrated straps they are fine in the aircraft with just the lap belt.

TJ

 

[stacy6552]

She's big enough to fly without a carseat. Boosters are not FAA approved for flight, anyway.

Boosters are used in cars to position the belt, yes. But the reason they need to have the belt positioned is because the seats in the cars are usually too deep for a child to sit up on. A child's legs should bend at the knee, while they are sitting all the way back in the seat.

Airline seats are shallower then most car seats, so your daughter wont need a booster seat.