Bring car seat for flight?

[tlbwriter]

The Evenflo Triumph is approved for airlines. I'm sure the Roundabout is too as I remember researching that car seat at one time. (still, double check on that)

Yes, the Roundabout is approved. Very few seats *aren't* approved. You can't use a booster seat (one that lifts the child up to use the car's seatbelt rather than using an internal harness) because they require a shoulder belt. Nor can you use a shield booster like the Grand Explorer (and you shouldn't use it in your car either, as it's a deathtrap). Other than that, only specialty seats like the Britax Husky are likely to not be approved. Just look for the sticker on your seat.

 

[justhat]

Like I said, I've done it alone, with the carseat on my back, toddler in the Bjorn, and diaper bag on my arm and it really isn't that bad. That was with the Britax Roundabout. Sure, it's heavy and much easier to not carry it, but really, it's not that bad. They do make a carseat that converts to a stroller for air travel. I saw a few of them when we were in Disney actually.

 

[KristinU]

Like I said, I've done it alone, with the carseat on my back, toddler in the Bjorn, and diaper bag on my arm and it really isn't that bad. That was with the Britax Roundabout. Sure, it's heavy and much easier to not carry it, but really, it's not that bad. They do make a carseat that converts to a stroller for air travel. I saw a few of them when we were in Disney actually.

Ditto that, I've done it alone too (and felt like an all-empowered mega-mom - LOL!) Really, they're not bad to carry along. I prefer to just attach the tether strap to something else on the back of the seat and sling it over my shoulder rather than dealing with a carrying bag or a backpack strap attachment. We bought a spare seat - a Graco Comfort Sport - just for travel since we travel a lot, and it is quite a bit lighter than out Britax Roundabout - if we carried the roundabout I'd probably look into the backpack attachment thing (esp. for traveling solo with DS).

 

[tjmw2727]

Does "CRS" stand for carseat? I can't imagine how carrying a carseat around the airport along with a toddler and a diaper bag isn't a hassle. Is there some special smaller carseat you are talking about for traveling on airplanes?

Since you quoted me I will say yes, CRS is a carseat or Child Restraint System. I travel often and have done so fairly often since my dd's were babies. I have traveled with one dd and with both dd's, a few times with 2 CRS's. I have done it alone as well as with my DH and honestly its just what it is. (wow that sounds like a dr seuse!). I never had any special carseat - just what we used in the car.

I guess anything can be a hassle if your not used to it. By using a stroller until gate check with a carseat bag it is quite managable.

As a comparison, I remember the days when I used a huge diaper bag and carried the entire array of baby supplies to the mall with my older dd at first. Now that was a hassle until I got used to it and eventually learned to take only what I really needed.

I guess for me the safety and comfort of my dd's was worth the effort.

TJ

 

[ruebeesoho]

One thing to consider here is whether or not you are going to need a car seat at your destination. I'm assuming you are not walking from the airport to your hotel and that you will be traveling by car/bus/taxi at some point. You are going to need a car seat. It's required by all states to use a car seat. If someone at your destination has one for you to use then you could forgo bringing your own and buying the extra airline ticket.

I travelled with my DD at 14mo & 19mo and bought her a seat. I also travelled with her at 7mo and didn't buy her a seat. It was so nice to have the extra space and room when we bought her a seat. It's also much safer and most of the airlines do give you a discounted rate on the ticket. Hope you have a good trip whatever you choose to do!!

 

[t.craig]

One thing to consider here is whether or not you are going to need a car seat at your destination. I'm assuming you are not walking from the airport to your hotel and that you will be traveling by car/bus/taxi at some point. You are going to need a car seat. It's required by all states to use a car seat.

I thought the law did not require a child to be in a car seat when on a bus or taxi. Am I wrong?

 

[justhat]

I thought the law did not require a child to be in a car seat when on a bus or taxi. Am I wrong?

I'm not sure about in taxis, but I'd rather use a carseat in a taxi than not use one and just 'hold on'. Buses (most anyway) don't have seatbelts so it's not an option, but taxis do so why not use the carseat? I live in DC where taxis are all over the city, and on the few occasions where we have used one, we've always taken the carseat. Now, if you were headed to the mall or something, I guess you wouldn't want to carry the carseat around, but we have never taken a taxi anyplace like that so it was not an issue for us. But it's a long ride from the airport to Disney, so no way would I go without the carseat. (In fact, that was the reason we rented a towncar to take us from WDW to Port Canaveral instead of using the Disney transfers, so that we could use our daughter's carseat.)

 

[tlbwriter]

I thought the law did not require a child to be in a car seat when on a bus or taxi. Am I wrong?

As far as I'm concerned, what the law requires is irrelevant. No one-year-old is safe in an adult seatbelt. Period. Now, a bus is different - they generally use compartmentalization rather than restraints to provide safety. But if you're not on a bus, you are severely compromising your child's safety by not using their carseat.

Has anyone confirmed that Disney's ME transportation is a bus without seatbelts?

 

[blizzard]

Just another recommendation to use a car seat on the airplane. We have travelled 3 times with our now 8 month old in a car seat. Twice I was by myself with the baby. It is a bit of a hassle in the airport, but sooo nice on the flight. Baby can take a nap while you have room to read a magazine or eat a meal.

My only bad experiences were on 2 flights, with the flight attendants. One tried to tell me that the baby was safer in my lap, and that I wasn't allowed to have the baby in the seat for takeoff and landing. After I told him he was wrong, he checked with a colleague and then came back and told me it was ok. The other bad experience was with a flight attendant who thought my seat wasn't installed properly and that I couldn't use it because the seat in front was not able to recline. (Be aware that this may be an issue for rear facing convertible seats) After I showed her the manual, and she checked her flight attendant manual, she agreed that it was installed correctly and that there was no requirement for the seat in front to be able to recline. It took being firm with her though, and telling her that she should look in the manuals before she would relent. The moral of these stories is to make sure you know exactly how to install the seat with a seatbelt, have the manual with you, and if possible get the airline's policies in writing so that you can discuss it with the flight attendant from a position of knowlege. (I work in the airline industry, and believe me, a lot of people "think" they know the rules and would rather try to snow you than look up the actual policy)

Play Safe!

 

[cdrn1]

Do most car seats fit in the seats? We have a Britax Roundabout and an Evenflo Triumph- has anyone ever used either of these?

We have the Triumph also and measured it at 18". The recommendation is that the seat be 16" so we bought another one that works very nicely on the plane. I don't recall the brand right offhand. If it's approved by the FAA it will work just fine but we figured it would be easier to install the 16" and we needed another one anyway so we bought one with flying in mind for DGD. By the way, she travels very well strapped in. I would never consider taking her as a lap baby.

 

[justhat]

The other bad experience was with a flight attendant who thought my seat wasn't installed properly and that I couldn't use it because the seat in front was not able to recline. (Be aware that this may be an issue for rear facing convertible seats) After I showed her the manual, and she checked her flight attendant manual, she agreed that it was installed correctly and that there was no requirement for the seat in front to be able to recline. It took being firm with her though, and telling her that she should look in the manuals before she would relent. The moral of these stories is to make sure you know exactly how to install the seat with a seatbelt, have the manual with you, and if possible get the airline's policies in writing so that you can discuss it with the flight attendant from a position of knowlege. (I work in the airline industry, and believe me, a lot of people "think" they know the rules and would rather try to snow you than look up the actual policy)

Play Safe!

We've had a few flight attendants tell us that the seat was not supposed to be rearfacing for our daughter (who is just about 20 lbs. at almost 15 months). We kept it that way anyway and told them she was under a year (at the time) and under 20 lbs. so she had to be that way. One flight attendant thought we just wedged the seat in, didn't belt it or anything and told us to move it. We showed her it was belted in and she left. Neither time were the flight attendants happy to leave the seat that way, but they did.

 

[jodifla]

Personally, I'd be pretty angry if I couldn't recline my seat for hours upon end because someone had installed a rear-facing carseat behind me.

It was my understanding that in planes, car seats were supposed to face forward, no matter the age of the child.


In our case, we flew with DS as a lap child until he was 2 with no problems. We always brought our car seat to gate check, and if there was room, we put the car seat in for the flight. I do think that especially after he hit closer to 1 and 1 1/2, we were all more comfortable with him in the car seat. We tried to fly at off hours, with higher odds there would be open seats.

 

[tjmw2727]

Personally, I'd be pretty angry if I couldn't recline my seat for hours upon end because someone had installed a rear-facing carseat behind me.

It was my understanding that in planes, car seats were supposed to face forward, no matter the age of the child.


In our case, we flew with DS as a lap child until he was 2 with no problems. We always brought our car seat to gate check, and if there was room, we put the car seat in for the flight. I do think that especially after he hit closer to 1 and 1 1/2, we were all more comfortable with him in the car seat. We tried to fly at off hours, with higher odds there would be open seats.

Actually FAA regulations require that the CRS be used in compliance with mfg regulations - which would mean under 1y and or under 20lbs face rear in an aircraft.

Here is a quote from AA website regarding this:

""FAA Approved Infant Seat or Child Restraint Device Seat Locations
If you are using an approved infant seat or child restraint device, please note that it...
May face toward the front or rear of the plane in accordance with instructions on child seat label ""

It clearly states that the seat may face front or rear depending on the instructions.

I have had to fly many times without the option of reclining my seat. I have had the row in front of an exit row, a broken seat or a larger or tall person behind me. I think a rear facing infant behind me would be an ok reason to not recline for a while, YMMV.

TJ

 

[Stimpy]

Personally, I'd be pretty angry if I couldn't recline my seat for hours upon end because someone had installed a rear-facing carseat behind me.

It was my understanding that in planes, car seats were supposed to face forward, no matter the age of the child.

Would you rather have the child climbing all over the back of your seat because s/he isn't restrained? I have seen many children sitting on the parent's lap. Alot of them wind up climbing all over the place and do not just sit quietly. (I did not say ALL, I know someone will probably flame me and tell me how perfectly well behaved their baby is) They will stand up and hold onto the seatback in front of them for support, kick the back of the seat etc.

 

[justhat]

Personally, I'd be pretty angry if I couldn't recline my seat for hours upon end because someone had installed a rear-facing carseat behind me.

It was my understanding that in planes, car seats were supposed to face forward, no matter the age of the child.


In our case, we flew with DS as a lap child until he was 2 with no problems. We always brought our car seat to gate check, and if there was room, we put the car seat in for the flight. I do think that especially after he hit closer to 1 and 1 1/2, we were all more comfortable with him in the car seat. We tried to fly at off hours, with higher odds there would be open seats.

We have flown on 11 trips with our daughter's carseat rearfacing and only encountered 1 person who was annoyed, or at least expressed it by repeatedly trying to force her seat to recline, crashing it into Madison's carseat. She did know that the carseat was there and that was why her seat wouldnt' recline, but she insisted on trying anyway.

Like TJ said, carseats should be used on planes just like they are in cars, with kids under 20 lbs. rearfacing. My daughter is 20 lbs. 3 oz. now, at almost 15 months, so she has been rearfacing on every flight she's been on. Actually, until she was 10 months she flew in her infant carseat, a Graco Snugride. Those seats can only be used rearfacing, so there was no option to turn her around then. And I think that seat actually allowed less of a recline than her Britax Roundabout does when it's rearfacing.

Even if the person in front of my daughter's seat is annoyed, we have paid for her to fly with us (and sometimes at the same price as my seat since not all airlines do the 50% fare) so she's just as entitled to use her seat as everyone else on the plane. Her safety is more important to me than the ability of someone else to recline so I would not move her seat. I do feel badly for them, but sometimes that happens. Now she can face forward so it's not an issue, we just have to worry about her kicking the seat in front of her. Oh, and like Stimpy said, my daughter is the type to climb and hold onto the seat in front of me if she's not in her carseat on the plane. In the few minutes before she is strapped in, she is hanging all over the seat in front of me, as well as turning around to stare at the people behind us. Now that she's mobile there's no way I could hold her the whole flight without lots of kicking, screaming, and crying. If given the alternative, I'm sure most people would pick a non-reclining seat with a quiet, sleeping baby to a reclining seat with a screaming baby kicking them.

 

[lexie32]

thanks for this thread it has now convinced me to take my son's car seat for the flight, just one more query, can you put the seat in an overhead locker to give the baby some room to stretch out for some of the flight???

 

[tlbwriter]

It was my understanding that in planes, car seats were supposed to face forward, no matter the age of the child.

You are mistaken. Parents can always request a bulkhead seat to minimize any inconvenience to people in front of them, but if that's not available, they can and should install the seat rear-facing if necessary (in other words, if the kid uses it rear-facing in the car, they should use it rear-facing on the plane, too). In fact, because the seats are so close together, rear-facing is even more important on airplanes than in cars.

Flight attendants aren't always aware of parents' rights regarding carseats, unfortunately. I've heard of many who attempted to bully parents into giving up a seat - a seat they had paid for - so another adult could sit there. Or insisted that a seat must be installed forward-facing. Always know your rights and be prepared to stand up for yourself.

 

[tlbwriter]

thanks for this thread it has now convinced me to take my son's car seat for the flight, just one more query, can you put the seat in an overhead locker to give the baby some room to stretch out for some of the flight???

I seriously doubt it would fit up there, and anyway, that would defeat the purpose of taking it.

 

[Stimpy]

I wanted to add that if you are concerned about people in front of you not being able to recline, maybe you can get some one from your own party to sit in front? Since our DD is also front facing now, we don't worry about that. We did and still do split up. I take DS and sit in the row behind DH and DD. This way is DS-5 1/2 starts kicking seats or playing with the tray table, he's doing it to his sister in the car seat in front of him. When she was rear facing, we sat in front of them so DS was the only one who couldn't lean back.

 

[rgribik]

I have been watching this thread for awhile now, because some people have such strong views on this. Alot of people just freak about flying. I just wanted to add, that we fly alot and have done both with our 5 kids when they were babies. Holding them and buying them seats. I think it would help alot if the airlines were held more responsible for our safety. They should provide regulation crs for people who request them. Because, no matter what people say, especially now with all the security you have to go through, lugging car seats on a plane is a hassle(please don't site anymore safety stats, I got them all). We always request car seats with the towncars we use(not all of them have been up to my standards). And as a last note, from flying so much, I wish the airlines would also do away with the reclining seats for anyone. I paid for my space--you should stay out of it. There simply is not enough room for you to recline on my lap or my childs' lap no matter how long the flight. (we live in PA--everywhere we go, seems long!) Enjoy your vacation, the flight is a minor part!