Brand of carseat for plane

[JJ&JSMOM]

Just curious what others use for a car seat on the plane. I've done a search on this topic and it looks like the Britax is popular. We have the Cosco Alpha Omega which I don't look forward to carrying through the airport. Are there any that are somewhat light? I'm planning a trip to Babies R Us next week and I'll check them all out but I'd like to get something that would be fairly easy to install on the plane.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[KristiKelly]

We use of Britax Marathon and also use Gogokids travelmate carseat carrier. Pricey but worth every penny. Eliminated the need for a stroller in the airport.
http://www.gogobabyz.com/products/gogo_kids.html
If you purchase one, I think there are 2 different styles be sure to get the one that works with your carseat. Maybe check e-bay for cheaper ones.

 

[NotUrsula]

You see a lot of people posting about using Britaxes on planes because they are very expensive top-of-the-line seats; if you own one you are probably not going to be inclined to spend extra money for a second lightweight seat just for air travel, unless you fly very frequently with your children.

I would not buy a Britax as a spare seat. You might want to consider a 5-pt Cosco Scenera for a toddler. It is inexpensive, lightweight, and installs easily in aircraft and in most cars.

 

[all4fun]

We used the Cosco Touriva (now called Scenera) with 5-pt harness for travel. They cost about $40 and you can get them at Walmart/Target/Kmart. It's very light and easy to install in airplane seats. Great for travel. We also owned a Cosco AO and only traveled with it once. You can remove the base if you want, which makes it less bulky, but even though we did that, the Touriva/Scenera was still much easier to travel with.

The Gogo kids definitely looks very neat. They originally were only compatible with Britax seats but they are now compatible with numerous brands. Or you can spend $15 on a set of inexpensive luggage wheels and just bungee the seat on to it for basically the same effect.

hth!

 

[amelia1]

We used the Comfortsport for our Hawaii trip. It is lightweight and not too expensive. I think it is Graco....if not then it is Evenflo. I can't ever remember! lol

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

Thanks for all the replies. The Scenera was the one I remembered being mentioned as well. We may have the Comfortsport already for DD4 whp needs to moved up to a booster seat now that she's over 40lbs - I can't remember the make either!

Thanks again. I shall look out for these.

 

[TheDizMom]

Cosco makes a high back booster with a 5 point harness system in it you could use. It is light wieght so not to hard to carry, and I don't think they are very expensive. More importantly they are FAA approved! When I did it I stuck the seat part on top of the stroller basket facing in and then just held it to the stroller handle with my thumbs. Of course if you are buying for a child under I think it's 30 pounds it won't work.

 

[MommyBryn]

We took a Cosco Scenera too! It worked wonderfully.

 

[jenlynn0808]

We bought the Britex when we moved my son from his infant seat to a regular seat, but we also knew we would be flying with it, and the one we picked also converts to a booster seat (it holds up to 80 pounds) so the extra expense was worth it beasue we are going to get out money out of it!

Maybe it was just us, but we had a hard time getting it locked into the seat the first time. We flew business class on Spirit, so the seats were wider, but it was still an issue...maybe because we were newbies. Flying home, it was easier to get settled, but still took longer to get DS in then DD.

 

[Korwynne]

Look into the sunshine kids radian.. internal harness to 65 pounds, and it folds, which makes it mega easy to travel with. That's what we have for my hubbys' car, if he needs to have the backseat for something, they easily fit into the trunk once folded.

 

[all4fun]

We bought the Britex when we moved my son from his infant seat to a regular seat, but we also knew we would be flying with it, and the one we picked also converts to a booster seat (it holds up to 80 pounds) so the extra expense was worth it beasue we are going to get out money out of it!

Maybe it was just us, but we had a hard time getting it locked into the seat the first time. We flew business class on Spirit, so the seats were wider, but it was still an issue...maybe because we were newbies. Flying home, it was easier to get settled, but still took longer to get DS in then DD.

I always recline the airplane seat back all the way, put the seatbelt thru the seatbelt path on the car seat, tighten as much as possible, then put the seat upright. I've gotten good at it and it usually only takes me a minute to install the car seat on an airplane now. Another thing you can do when installing f/facing is flip the female end over once so it's "backwards" and that can make undoing the buckle at your destination easier.

hth!

 

[JJ&JSMOM]

I always recline the airplane seat back all the way, put the seatbelt thru the seatbelt path on the car seat, tighten as much as possible, then put the seat upright. I've gotten good at it and it usually only takes me a minute to install the car seat on an airplane now. Another thing you can do when installing f/facing is flip the female end over once so it's "backwards" and that can make undoing the buckle at your destination easier.

hth!

Thanks for the tips. This will be our first time flying w/kids and the car seat situation has me nervous. Definitely want to bring one but nervous about installing and holding up the people behind us once we reach our destination. Maybe I'll let DH handle it and I'll take care of the kids. Our airplane seats are up front (3rd row I believe) and I don't want to hold anyone up but yet we have a short layover and we need to sit up front and get going once we land.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[princessjv]

I always recline the airplane seat back all the way, put the seatbelt thru the seatbelt path on the car seat, tighten as much as possible, then put the seat upright.

I am giving this bit of advice to my DH, who always struggles with the planes seat belt and our Britax seat!

 

[NotUrsula]

As a general rule men will always have a more difficult time installing a carseat in an aircraft than a woman would, because they are taller and their hands are larger. You don't have much space to maneuver under the overhead bins. Therefore the best tactic is to leave the kiddos with Dad and have Mom install the seat before they board.

 

[all4fun]

As a general rule men will always have a more difficult time installing a carseat in an aircraft than a woman would, because they are taller and their hands are larger. You don't have much space to maneuver under the overhead bins. Therefore the best tactic is to leave the kiddos with Dad and have Mom install the seat before they board.

This is exactly what we do. DH is happy to let me handle the car seat install on the plane. He's also 6'2" so I definitely have an easier time with it than he would.

 

[katerkat]

We use our Evenflo Triumph, and bungee it to a luggage cart for traisping around the airport. When I'm alone, I let Russ flirt with the flight attendants while I install the seat; when a family member is available, I preboard with the carseat and install it while the toddler stays out in the terminal.