Car Seat for Airplane

[ClaraOswald]

To those who have brought a car seat onto the airplane....which one did you use? More specifically, those who used one for a toddler.

Our son will be roughly 3.5 when we fly next. The last time we flew he was only 17 months and fit nicely in the Cosco Scenera. But it's looking unlikely that he'll still fit in it by the time we travel again. So I'm trying to see what other options are out there.

I want something lightweight and will easily fit on the plane. I don't want to spend a lot since it will likely only be used on this 8 day vacation. It will also be used in our rental car during the trip.

Some of the ones I've considered are the Safety 1st Guide 65 but people talk about it being uncomfortable for their kid because it kind of tips their head forward. Another one is the Evenflo Chase but again...people say their kid was uncomfortable on the plane because the seat belt dug into their back.

So anything thoughts on airplane car seats would be appreciated!

(And just an FYI - checking the car seat or using a rental car seat are NOT good options for us. If that works for you...that's fantastic, but it's not the route we're wanting to go.)

 

[DharmaLou]

Just make sure whatever one you choose is FAA approved because not all are.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Yeah, the ones I am looking at are. Just wondering if people had experience with certain ones.

At the top of my list right now is the Evenflo Maestro.

 

[lalasmama]

Yeah, the ones I am looking at are. Just wondering if people had experience with certain ones.

At the top of my list right now is the Evenflo Maestro.

On the "mommy board" that I frequent, Maestro is always at the top of the list of best travel seats for it's light weight (14 lbs). The top harness are 18 inches, which should allow him some growing room. Personally, we have the Evenflo Securekid, which has the same top harness height (but sooooo much heavier!). My average-sized 5.5yo grandson is on the next to top slots--barely.

 

[ClaraOswald]

And they'd found it easy to secure in the airplane and stuff?

I hate that I may need to buy a new seat for this one trip. But that's life. We already have two (nicer/bulkier) convertible seats to get us through the rest of his car seat/booster days. So realistically, if we get a new seat...it will be used for this trip and that's it.

There's still a chance he'll fit in the cheapo Cosco Scenera from our last trip. But it has basically zero padding. Last time he didn't care but now that he's almost 3 I am wondering if he might be uncomfortable for the longest leg of our trip (which is about 3 hours.) So even if he fits in the Cosco, I am still considering the Maestro since it has some padding.

 

[ClaraOswald]

The price of the Maestro went down a bit on amazon and is only $59 right now. I am trying to decide if it might be worth it for the extra padding. It also seems to be slightly more similar to the seat his uses all the time (Grace Milestone.)

I am just a terrible decision maker!

 

[bcla]

We've got a Maestro bought back in 2012. It's a little on the small size for our six year old, but it still works. We used it as a secondary child seat and for travel. It's pretty light, which made it easy to carry.

At that age there's no particular requirement for a child seat on a plane. The regular lap belt is fine. A seat can be really bulky.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Well, there aren't many regulations at all when traveling with kids. I mean, they let you put a baby and even a 1 year old on your lap while flying! It's nuts, in my opinion. I just want to do what is safest. Plus we need a car seat for our rental car anyway.

I am trying to figure out if the seat would get any future use with us to help rationalize the cost. But I'm just not sure. Our next trip flying wouldn't be until he's 5 and a half. He can safely use the airplane seatbelt then. And we won't be using a car at our destination (just using buses at WDW.) And likely after that we will mostly take road trips in our own car.

I am not sure if he'll fit in our cheap Cosco come February or not. If not, that makes the decision pretty easy. But it's hard to tell if he'll fit then. I also have no clue if the Maestro might be more comfortable for him. And since he doesn't talk, he can't really tell me.

What does your child think of the Maestro? Comfortable enough for a few hours?

 

[princessebird]

I'm guessing that you are looking for a seat that can be used both on the plane and in the car. I don't have a solution for that, but I do have two small separate solutions. We LOVE the CARES harness, which easily fits into a backpack. My daughter started flying with that when she was two and we just stopped now that she's 4. It gave her the feeling of a car seat without being in an actual car seat. It's FAA approved. And then for the car seat, we've started to use the mifold booster. It is tiny...folds up into my backpack. We won't use it for long trips, but it's terrific for short trips from an airport to the hotel when you don't want to haul a full size booster. Really, those two things have been game changers for us.

 

[lalasmama]

And they'd found it easy to secure in the airplane and stuff?

I hate that I may need to buy a new seat for this one trip. But that's life. We already have two (nicer/bulkier) convertible seats to get us through the rest of his car seat/booster days. So realistically, if we get a new seat...it will be used for this trip and that's it.

There's still a chance he'll fit in the cheapo Cosco Scenera from our last trip. But it has basically zero padding. Last time he didn't care but now that he's almost 3 I am wondering if he might be uncomfortable for the longest leg of our trip (which is about 3 hours.) So even if he fits in the Cosco, I am still considering the Maestro since it has some padding.

The price of the Maestro went down a bit on amazon and is only $59 right now. I am trying to decide if it might be worth it for the extra padding. It also seems to be slightly more similar to the seat his uses all the time (Grace Milestone.)

I am just a terrible decision maker!

Sorry, I totally forgot about this thread over the last week!

I just checked; we bought the Chase LX at Walmart ($65 or so) for our grandson's normal seat in his mom's car. That's what we will end up with for a travel seat when we fly with the boys. At any rate, the padding on it is pretty light, but no where near as light as the scenera's lack of padding. Our 5yo grandson has never complained about the comfort of the Chase seat, so I'd imagine the Maestro would be equally comfy. Especially because he's a whiner, so we would hear if it was bad

Yes, they say it's an easy install, which, paired with the high harness slots and light weight make the Maestro their preferred seat.

If it's still $59, I'd bite the bullet and go for it, personally. Yes, you may need it only once, but, at least for me, being able to avoid carrying our heavy/more substantial seats is worth the money of buying a light seat, only if used once. You can also try to sell it when you get back home, which would lower the final financial output.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Glad to hear the padding seems to be enough for him. That makes me feel better. The Scenera has basically none. The Chase and the Maestro seem to have the same padding to me. I think the main difference is one goes up to 50 pounds and one 40. My son is only around 33 pounds so either would be fine.

I decided to get it from amazon. You're right...I bet I could sell it on our local neighborhood page and get some money back. Not sure how much but we'll see.

There's a chance we may end up pushing our trip from February to June so it would be highly unlikely he'd still fit in the Scenera by then, I bet.