Bringing the car seat for the plane?

[DebIreland]

Has anyone brought a car seat for a toddler for the flight to the U.S.? I was considering bringing our car seat for our 2 year old but I'm really not sure it's gonna work and I can't figure out how others do it.

We use a Britax car seat. It's the regular kind where the lap belt *and* the diagonal belt are used to secure the seat. So considering there's only a lap belt on a plane I'm thinking it won't work, will it? I'm really confused about how others do it.

What I'm really trying to avoid is having our 2 year stand up in the seat, open her seat belt constantly (let's face it they're a doddle to open and she's sure to be attracted to that buckle!) and also I want her to get some sleep which will be hard in a regular seat. Last year, we flew with her on our laps (she was 1 then) and it was ok, but this year she's bigger and more active! Any ideas, suggestions? Thanks.

 

[princess jackson]

We have used a car seat for DD when she was younger, we had paid for the seat and read in the small print about car seats being used on the plane.

We have a large seat with a five point harness the cabin crew fitted it in for us, no problems, it kept DD comfortable and was easier for her to sleep.

The only downside was that we had to carry it all the way to the plane.

 

[jools]

You will need to check with the airline if they allow carseats in the cabin, not all do.

We have flown with Virgin and I'm sure they don't allow your own carseat in the cabin but they do have 'booster seats' just like carsats which they will fit for you on request.

 

[Groovee]

You need to check with the airline which car seats they allow if they do allow them. Because all car seats are different they may not fit in the cabin's seats. You may find your airline provides some sort of child seat so it may be worth checking first. We took our seat with us and used it in the cabin. You need to ensure you have a window seat apparently (well we did with Airtours) and then we used it in our hire car.

I plan to take car seats with us but check them in.

 

[SammieG]

we took ours once when our son was about 2 years old!
NEVER AGAIN! It was a pain to get on and off and took up all of the seat and some of our shoulder room too..

We checked it in on the way home it was such a pain! He was way better off in the seat itself.. Infact he could lie with his head on my lap and sleep..