bought toddler a seat now what....

[Macduffy]

Help!!! Okay you guys are going to have to talk to me like I'm 3!
We have a one stop flight from BGR to MCO (stop in JFK). The first flight is super short so I did not get a seat for him on that plane. So do I carry the car seat with us and gate check it on the first portion? and how do you do that give it to the FA when you board? Then how do I buckle it in?
DH and I are not veteraned travellers so I really need some sound novice advice please!!!!

 

[claryche]

Yes, you can gate check your car seat, it just means that you have to carry it with you around the airport, but they will gate check it for you and it will be at your new gate when you arrive, same thing with a stroller. You get a gate check tag from the desk at your gate and then drop it off right outside the airplane, right before you get on the actual plane. As far as putting it in the seat, you would do it the same way as in your car, at least the old way with your seatbelt. You just run the seatbelt of the plane through the carseat. I have never done this, but I've read about it.

However, my question is why do you need a car seat. You don't have to legally have one for the airplane, and if you are renting a car, alot of times you can rent cars with the carseat and if you are staying on site, there is not much need for a car. We went when my DS was a year and a half and didn't get a seat on the plane for him and didn't bring a carseat, since there was no need for it on the buses at Disney World.

Hope this helps.

 

[cuppycake]

You'll do just fine. The PP did a great job explaining it all. You'll just carry the car seat with you like you will your carryon luggage. At the gate, you'll grab a tag from the desk, then you'll take the carseat down the jetway with you and leave it outside the plane before you get on. They'll probably already be other strollers there from the folks in front of you

Then, you'll grab the carseat from outside the plane as you get off at JFK (one person might need to wait right outside, depending on how quickly you get off of the plane, though. Sometimes you'll beat the folks on the ground when they are taking things back out for you.

Buckling it in for the second flight is as easy as you placing it in your car (well, sometimes you get to wrestle it a bit). Thread the seatbelt through the seat, click it in and pull it snug. You'll be instructed to put the carseat at the window, so as not to impeed you if you had to leave in an emergency.

I think it's GREAT that you're bringing the carseat with you. I've found it so much easier (beyond the safety aspect) to have my kids in their carseats when we traveled with them when they were young. They didn't want to get down and crawl/run, etc. They already understood what it meant to be in that seat, and most times they took a nap!!

Also, if you're renting a car, then you'll have your own seat, and KNOW that it's safe and clean. Also, you'll already know how to install it.

Have a super trip!!!

 

[Bren's Mom]

However, my question is why do you need a car seat. You don't have to legally have one for the airplane, and if you are renting a car, alot of times you can rent cars with the carseat and if you are staying on site, there is not much need for a car. We went when my DS was a year and a half and didn't get a seat on the plane for him and didn't bring a carseat, since there was no need for it on the buses at Disney World.

Why do you need a car seat?

First, because it's safer and more comfortable for small children and is strongly recommended by the FAA.

Second, because if you're renting a car it's safest to have your own car seat and not a rented one. With a rented or borrowed or used purchased car seat there is no way to know the history of the seat (unless you get it from a trusted friend or family member of course). A seat that has been mishandled or in an accident may be damaged, and may fail when it's really needed. Not a chance that anyone needs to take when they bring their own car seat with them.

 

[crashbb]

I'm totally confused (happens a lot). How can you only have a seat for him on one flight segment? How many tickets (per person) did you buy?

Two tickets? BGR-JFK and then JFK-MCO OR
One ticket? BGR-JFK-MCO

These are usually sold as one ticket, so if he has a seat on one segment, he has a seat on both segments.

Or, do you mean that you pre-paid to select his seat on only one segment? In which case he has a seat (just not an assigned one) on both segments.

As I said, totally confused.

 

[all4fun]

Help!!! Okay you guys are going to have to talk to me like I'm 3!
We have a one stop flight from BGR to MCO (stop in JFK). The first flight is super short so I did not get a seat for him on that plane. So do I carry the car seat with us and gate check it on the first portion? and how do you do that give it to the FA when you board? Then how do I buckle it in?
DH and I are not veteraned travellers so I really need some sound novice advice please!!!!

Good for you for bringing your own seat. I agree w/the pp that it's the safest choice not only for the flight but also I would never ever rent a car seat, because there are too many unknowns when doing that and the car rental agencies can't even guarantee that they'll have the correct seat on hand for you to use anyway.

On your first flight, when you arrive at your gate, go to the agent and let them know that you have a car seat but did not buy your LO a seat. If the flight isn't full, they *may* allow you to bring it on and use it anyway, if there is room (big "if"). If the flight is too full, then you will have to gate check it and they will give you a gate check for the car seat and the stroller. You leave both by the door to airplane on the jetway as you are boarding. Fold your stroller up for them, don't trust that they will know how the folding mechanism works. Also, it never hurts to secure it closed w/a bungie cord to make sure it doesn't somehow come open on them. The gate check tag is a liability waiver btw... That is why it's recommended to bring the car seat on board the plane and use it. I hear it's very difficult to get airlines to replace broken car seats.

When you arrive at your layover, they will bring both the seat and the stroller onto the jetway for you. We always gate check a stroller and sometimes we have to wait a few minutes for them to bring it up and sometimes it's waiting for us by the time we deboard the plane.

When installing the car seat on a plane, it's actually pretty easy. For forward facing installations, recline the airplane seat first then thread the airplane lap belt through the fwd facing belt path. Tighten the belt as much as possible while pushing the car seat down and back into the airplane seat just like you would when installing in a car. Airplane seats don't have a ton of padding usually, (especially in coach) so you shouldn't have to put too much effort into it. After you've latched the seat belt and tightenend it, then put the airplane seat fully upright and this will tighten the s/b up even more making a nice snug install. **on some car seats, you need to twist the latchplate around one time to make uninstalling the seat easier. Another option is to ask an FA for a seat belt extender. You may also need to leave one armrest up to give the seat enough room. Most car seats will fit just fine in a standard coach seat so you shouldn't have any problems.

Oh, and when carrying a car seat onto the plane, the easiest way I have found is to flip it upside down so the base is on top. This way, you don't have to hold the whole thing over your head, you just have to hold the base up high enough so it clears peoples heads as you're boarding. This makes it so much easier.

Traveling with a car seat isn't what I would call "fun" but with a few strategies and a little planning ahead, IMO it's not really all that difficult. I think you'll be prepared. Hope you have a safe and uneventful flight.


hth

 

[malibuconlee]

I'm totally confused (happens a lot). How can you only have a seat for him on one flight segment? How many tickets (per person) did you buy?

Two tickets? BGR-JFK and then JFK-MCO OR
One ticket? BGR-JFK-MCO

These are usually sold as one ticket, so if he has a seat on one segment, he has a seat on both segments.

Or, do you mean that you pre-paid to select his seat on only one segment? In which case he has a seat (just not an assigned one) on both segments.

As I said, totally confused.

I'm confuse by this too. At what airport are you going to check him in for the flight?

 

[claryche]

Why do you need a car seat?

First, because it's safer and more comfortable for small children and is strongly recommended by the FAA.

Second, because if you're renting a car it's safest to have your own car seat and not a rented one. With a rented or borrowed or used purchased car seat there is no way to know the history of the seat (unless you get it from a trusted friend or family member of course). A seat that has been mishandled or in an accident may be damaged, and may fail when it's really needed. Not a chance that anyone needs to take when they bring their own car seat with them.

I see your point about the rental car seat. I had never done that before, I had just heard about it. So had never thought about what type of rental car seats you might find. And with all the recalls, I totally agree and will think about that in the future, if needed.

 

[Macduffy]

I'm confuse by this too. At what airport are you going to check him in for the flight?

I'm totally confused (happens a lot). How can you only have a seat for him on one flight segment? How many tickets (per person) did you buy?

Two tickets? BGR-JFK and then JFK-MCO OR
One ticket? BGR-JFK-MCO

These are usually sold as one ticket, so if he has a seat on one segment, he has a seat on both segments.

Or, do you mean that you pre-paid to select his seat on only one segment? In which case he has a seat (just not an assigned one) on both segments.

As I said, totally confused.

Ha ha.... it's a strange story. When we booked our flights BGR - JFK - MCO we didn't book a seat for our YDS. We've never flown with the kids and after reading all of the advice on the board we decided to buy YDS a seat. Because the flight from BGR to JFK was so short and SO EXPENSIVE we didn't get him a seat. We bought a seat from JFK to MCO and MCO to JFK (returning). If we had of booked his seat originally with the rest of us price wouldn't have been an issue but it went up - WAY up

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I see your point about the rental car seat. I had never done that before, I had just heard about it. So had never thought about what type of rental car seats you might find. And with all the recalls, I totally agree and will think about that in the future, if needed.

Just adding a bit on the rental car- car seats are a requested item and are not guarenteed to be there. (If the person who had it ahead of you damages it or doesn't bring it back on time, Hertz isnt' running to TRU for a new one.) I used to work customer service for a car rental company... lots of complaints about unavailable seats, but if they read the print, it does say they are only a request.

(And as others said, they often can be dirty, wrong size, etc and no, the guys in the garage are not checking for recalls either...)

 

[Bren's Mom]

...will think about that in the future, if needed.

 

[crashbb]

Ha ha.... it's a strange story. When we booked our flights BGR - JFK - MCO we didn't book a seat for our YDS. We've never flown with the kids and after reading all of the advice on the board we decided to buy YDS a seat. Because the flight from BGR to JFK was so short and SO EXPENSIVE we didn't get him a seat. We bought a seat from JFK to MCO and MCO to JFK (returning). If we had of booked his seat originally with the rest of us price wouldn't have been an issue but it went up - WAY up

What you've done *should* work but is risky. If your first flight is delayed and you miss your JFK-MCO flight, everyone with a ticket BGR-JFK-MCO will be put on the next available flight (which may not be the next flight - if that one is full). Your son, on the other hand, will be treated as a "no show" since the airline will take no responsibility for him getting to JFK in time to make his flight. Since you are wiling to have him as a lap child, this may not be a big deal (you'll just fly him as a lap child on the JFK-MCO flight) and you'll just be out the money you spent on his JFK-MCO flight. In the worst case though, Delta can cancel with MCO-JFK ticket as well - they can cancel the entire ticket if you skip a flight segment (generally done to stop people making up cheaper routings and only planning on using part of the ticket).

Not to be a doomsayer - just a word of warning. As I said, everything *should* work out okay. Assuming that you can check you son in on-line, you should be able to print out his JFK-MCO boarding pass from home (rather than having to go back out to check him in at JFK).

 

[Macduffy]

What you've done *should* work but is risky. If your first flight is delayed and you miss your JFK-MCO flight, everyone with a ticket BGR-JFK-MCO will be put on the next available flight (which may not be the next flight - if that one is full). Your son, on the other hand, will be treated as a "no show" since the airline will take no responsibility for him getting to JFK in time to make his flight. Since you are wiling to have him as a lap child, this may not be a big deal (you'll just fly him as a lap child on the JFK-MCO flight) and you'll just be out the money you spent on his JFK-MCO flight. In the worst case though, Delta can cancel with MCO-JFK ticket as well - they can cancel the entire ticket if you skip a flight segment (generally done to stop people making up cheaper routings and only planning on using part of the ticket).

Not to be a doomsayer - just a word of warning. As I said, everything *should* work out okay. Assuming that you can check you son in on-line, you should be able to print out his JFK-MCO boarding pass from home (rather than having to go back out to check him in at JFK).

Thanks for the advice - I never thought of that nor did Delta or expedia mention it to me via phone calls! I'm hoping that since we are flying from BGR at 6 AM in September that delays and weather won't be a huge contributing factor and that everything will go off without a hitch. I'll be sure to check him in online!

 

[Bren's Mom]

I don't think what crashbb is saying is quite right. If you bought a ticket BGR-MCO for your son, and then didn't use his first leg (BGR-MCO), then they might consider him a no show for JFK-MCO. The way you did it was buy him a completely separate ticket, a RT flight from JFK to MCO. I don't believe that what happens BGR-JFK will affect his flight status at all. Just be sure to check him in for all flights, like you will with all your family members I'm sure.

 

[crashbb]

I don't think what crashbb is saying is quite right. If you bought a ticket BGR-MCO for your son, and then didn't use his first leg (BGR-MCO), then they might consider him a no show for JFK-MCO. The way you did it was buy him a completely separate ticket, a RT flight from JFK to MCO. I don't believe that what happens BGR-JFK will affect his flight status at all. Just be sure to check him in for all flights, like you will with all your family members I'm sure.

You didn't understand what I wrote.

If the BGR-JFK flight is delayed such that they miss their JFK-MCO flight, her son will be considered a no show for the JFK-MCO flight. The rest of the family will not be considered no-shows (and will be re-ticketed onto MCO) because it was the airlines "fault" that they didn't make the JKF-MCO flight. Since, according to the airline, her son's trip only starts at JFK, anything that causes him to miss the JFK-MCO flight is his own responsibility (okay, his mother's responsibility).

It is the same risk that people take if they buy two tickets, rather than one connecting ticket. In other words, buy BGR-JFK and JFK-MCO rather than BGR-JFK-MCO.

 

[Bren's Mom]

You didn't understand what I wrote.

If the BGR-JFK flight is delayed such that they miss their JFK-MCO flight, her son will be considered a no show for the JFK-MCO flight. The rest of the family will not be considered no-shows (and will be re-ticketed onto MCO) because it was the airlines "fault" that they didn't make the JKF-MCO flight. Since, according to the airline, her son's trip only starts at JFK, anything that causes him to miss the JFK-MCO flight is his own responsibility (okay, his mother's responsibility).

It is the same risk that people take if they buy two tickets, rather than one connecting ticket. In other words, buy BGR-JFK and JFK-MCO rather than BGR-JFK-MCO.

You're right, I didn't understand! Now I got it, and that's a good point. Can the airline 'link' the ticket with his lap status for the first leg and his seat status for the 2nd leg? So that he they will know via his lap baby 'ticket' for the first leg and that doesn't happen if they DO miss their connection?