Car seat airplane?

[dvcssr21]

Airtran just told me that my 24 month old does not need a carseat on the plane. The lap belt is enough? I am VERY confused! please help.

 

[deegack]

Bring your carseat. They are not required to be in a car seat but for safety reasons should. Have a good trip

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

They are right. Your 24 month old does not need a car seat on the plane, but you can bring it if you want.

 

[DopeyDame]

Children 2 and over do not need to be in a carseat on an airplane. You are allowed to use the carseat, you just don't have to.
I have a 2 year old who I don't trust to sit still and not undo the regular buckle, so he'll be in his carseat for now (or maybe CARES - so far we haven't flown when we didn't need the carseat upon arrival so we haven't tried that yet.)

 

[dvcssr21]

Thanks for the tips!! We are needing to bring a carseat but ours is too wide for plane seat. Debating a smaller seat or the CARES harness. Just want whats best for my little punkin.

 

[brenda1966]

Please make sure your carseat is approved by FAA for use on an airplane. All are not! We have never brought the carseat on the plane and DD's been flying since she was 18 months.

 

[DSLRuser]

do not bring a car seat on a plane. Thats just a little over protective.

 

[Dreamingin2010]

If you have an FAA approved carseat it will fit. Your child is much safer in a carseat on the plane if the flight is rough. Many kids are much happier in the carseat.
Are you taking Magic express? If you and won't need it at all while in Orlando I would invest in the CARES harness for the plane.

 

[DopeyDame]

I'm not going to delve into the safety value of the carseat on the airplane (go to the Families page for about a million threads that cover it in detail), but we've travelled a ton of times with our carseat on the plane and it's never been a problem. My son is safer and more comfortable and he's traveling in a seat that he's used to so he knows how to behave (most times!)
What kind of carseat do you have? If you're bringing the carseat anyway, I don't see the benefit in buying CARES. I'd be concerned about checking my carseat for fear that it would get damaged either externally (or worse, internally and you wouldn't know).

 

[mackeymouse4eva]

I would lean towards bringing it on the plane. As mentioned previously , make sure it is FAA approved. I can tell you from experience - it can be a hassel lugging it and instaling it ( the seats are so narrow and you need to put them in window seat- hard sometimes to fasten). HOWEVER most often the young toddlers will travel more comfortably in their seat and they will be safely restrained - just in case.


I made over a dozen flights while my son was under the age of three and always used the car seat. Before he was two ( and fare paying) I tried to pick flights that were VERY lightly booked, and was allowed at no charge to use a seat for his car seat at no charge. once he was paying anyway I always brought it - it also saved BIG bucks IF we rented a car.


Finally - although ALL of our flights were uneventful when he was under the age of three- there has been two that I vividly remember in the past two years ( when he was 5 & 6 ) - when the landings were soooooo fast and the brakes were SLAMMED on!!! I looked at my mom and said if my son was a lap baby or only in a lap belt - he would have gone hurtling forward and been at least mildly ( if not severly ) hurt.

Have a great flight & trip whatever your decision may be!!!

 

[mom2brooke76]

FYI, you can rent a CARES harness on Ebay for around $15.

 

[WhitGB]

If you decide to take the car seat on the plane, and yes I do advise it there are a few things to make it easier. If you can, have one person in your party board the plane before you and the child and have the seat installed. You are the child arriving a little later.

Also, there is a company (try one step ahead) that has backpack type straps for the car seat. We borrowed this from a neighbor but what a back saver, you just attached the straps to the carseat and threw it on your back. It was easier than dragging the heavy seat and it's straps through the terminals.

BTW, I think someone mentioned it but the carseat needs to be next to the window, in the carseat they are raised up enough to be able to see out.

Hope this helps.

 

[soxfan11901]

One piece of advice if you do bring a carseat.
Buckle it with the plane seat buckle facing DOWN.
I only buckled it once the normal way before I discovered that when the belt is pulled tight the buckle is pressed right against the back of the carseat and it's a pain to unbuckle it that way.

 

[cdrn1]

We have used both the CARES harness and a Cosco Scenera for our grandkids. They were much more comfortable in the carseat. The Scenera is easy to install, fits both forward and rear-facing, and yesterday DGD age 21 months slept all the way home in her carseat. The carseat keeps the child safer on turbulent flights.

 

[dvcssr21]

Thanks for ALL the advise! We are not taking the ME so I think the car seat is the best option. Cant wait to leave!!!

 

[seashoreCM]

A car seatthat is not FAA approved for might not be permitted to be used and you might have to gate check it.

In stormy or (sometimes not visible) windy weather planes tend to land harder and/or brake fast. The pilot has to take the chance the plane might go down too soon and harder in order to avoid the chance the plane fails to go down soon enough and runs out of runway.

 

[Minniemouse07]

A car seatthat is not FAA approved for might not be permitted to be used and you might have to gate check it.

In stormy or (sometimes not visible) windy weather planes tend to land harder and/or brake fast. The pilot has to take the chance the plane might go down too soon and harder in order to avoid the chance the plane fails to go down soon enough and runs out of runway.

A harnessed seat that isn't FAA approved (rare) or high backed booster seat (none are FAA approved) must be either checked or gate checked.

A low back booster seat is NOT approved for use on aircraft but IS allowed on the plane as a carry on since it fits within the guidelines.

We've flown twice w/ our kids bringing their low back boosters as their carry on (and their backpack as their personal item) and had no issues. I think that one of the legs the FA pointed out that we couldn't use it on the plane and was fine when I told her that we knew and were storing it in the overhead bin.

Before my kids hit 4yo... we always used a harnessed seat for them. They were infinitely more comfortable and dd slept every flight (about 6 round trips). Ds is another story. He required constant attention, but was fine w/ mom or dad playing w/ him.