car seat on airplane?

[hehesmom]

We are flying delta to orlando on 11/25. We have purchased a seat for our then 2 year old daughter. Do we need to put her in a car seat on the plane or can we just use the airplane seat belt? We will not need a car seat upon arrival and I hate to have to lug a car seat around the airport too. Any help or recommendations appreciated. Thanks!

 

[ducklite]

You don't need the car seat--but the question is--will she be more comfy in it, and will the lap belt alone hold her in an emergency. Only you can answer those questions--it really depends on her size and personality. Have a great trip!

Anne

 

[Disnicole]

We flew with my 2 year old for the first time in Dec. we took his car seat as it is recommended the academy of pediatricians or whomever and I am NEUROTIC. But it worked out to be a really great thing because it was comfortable and familiar for him so he just went to sleep as if he were in the car. He didn't even care about take off and landing.

Do what you feel comfortable with. Just so you know when you pick your seats, they only allow the car seat in the window seat.

 

[Mark P.]

We always had our sons in their car seats.
They felt more comfortable in them for sure.

 

[Hannathy]

I never took the car seats. It is too much hassle lugging them in the airport struggling getting on-esp if alone. My kids always did fine without. If you do take the car seat remember to watch their feet for kicking the seat in front of them. The carseat puts them much closer and makes it very tempting.

 

[hehesmom]

Thanks for the input everyone. All good points that I did not think of. I wasn't sure of airline policies, so thanks for clarifying.

 

[denisekayt]

I second the seat kicking...we took our son's carseat on an airplane once (and only once after that first stressful time).

If you're flying economy, depending on the airline, and the plane, the seats can really be much too close. My son's feet were literally only an inch away from the seatback in front of him when he was in his carseat. It was just impossible to prevent him from kicking it...anytime he moved he hit it! The lady in front of us on the 2nd flight of the day complained. We definitely understood and felt embarassed, but there wasn't much of anything we could do at that point to fix it.

 

[CleveRocks]

We didn't take the carseat for my very petite 2.5 year old daughter when we went in May. Everything was great. She was as comfy as if she was on our sofa. My wife, a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, knows the AAP guidelines but it was her choice not to take the carseat, since the MINIMAL safety enhancement didn't outweigh the HUGE pain-in-the-butt of lugging around a car seat that we weren't going to use except on the aircraft. The way she explained it to me, in a car you need the 5-point harness to protect against the forces most likely to occur in a car crash or sudden stop. In an airplane, a lap belt is sufficient to protect child or adult from the most likely problems/forces.

The bottom line is, no matter what we all say, do whatever makes you the most comfortable. If you'll be nervous the whole time on the airplane WITHOUT the carseat, then it'll be well worth it to you to lug that carseat around wth you -- you'll be lugging it for maybe 20 minutes total round-trip, versus worrying for several hours during both flights.

 

[hehesmom]

Thanks for the advice. I really don't want to have to drag the car seat, a stroller, and all of our junk around, but I don't want to look like a bad mom who cares about her own inconvience than her childs safety. Thanks for making me feel better

 

[tjmw2727]

We always purchased a seat and used a crs for our dd's when we flew - even when they were under 2.

The FAA and the AAP recommend using a CRS for children under 40lbs and 40".

I can't find my AAP link but I recently found this on the SWA website when searching for something else. They have a good section on traveling with infants/toddlers as does AA.com.
Here is the infor from SWA - AA and Dela have similar recommendations.

From SWA:
Traveling with precious cargo?
If you're traveling with an infant or small child, you should know that proper use of an approved child restraint device (CRD) enhances child safety on aircraft. For this reason, Southwest Airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly recommend that infants and small children who weigh under 40 pounds be secured in an appropriate CRD when traveling by air.

Here is the link - for those who want more info:
http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/infants.html

There are also a few threads on the family boards pertaining to the use of child safety seats in the aircraft. Some include recommendations of good lightweight seats and tips on installing them.

As for seat kicking- take off the toddlers shoes and if there are two parents consider booking the seat in front of the toddler for one parent. Otherwise you can offer to switch with the person in front of the toddler if necessary.

HTH
TJ

 

[biggroofy]

I am flying from Toronto to Orlando (MCO) via Air Transat next week, with DD2 (actually 2.5 yr-old). I also read this from their web site:
Car seats (no wider than 17¼ inches) may be used on Air Transat flights. Children under 18 kg (40 lbs) will be safer and more comfortable when secured in a car seat

I am still considering if we should bring our car seat. Do they count car-seat as a carry-on luggage? We already bring a stroller and plan to have gate-delivery.

Any suggestions?

 

[tjmw2727]

I am flying from Toronto to Orlando (MCO) via Air Transat next week, with DD2 (actually 2.5 yr-old). I also read this from their web site:
Car seats (no wider than 17¼ inches) may be used on Air Transat flights. Children under 18 kg (40 lbs) will be safer and more comfortable when secured in a car seat

I am still considering if we should bring our car seat. Do they count car-seat as a carry-on luggage? We already bring a stroller and plan to have gate-delivery.

Any suggestions?

NO - if the child is sitting in the carseat it dosen't count as a carry-on, nor does the stroller.

TJ

 

[latexscooter]

You're also want to make sure your car seat is certified for air flight (surprisingly not all of them are). We've flown with DD3 many times since she was 5 months old, always purchased her a seat and have used her car seat.

Every flight when bringing the seat on board they have checked for the sticker on the seat that shows its airline certified. I recall one trip where another family planned to do the same thing, lugged the seat into the airport only to find they had to check it plane side because it wasn't certified and they did it for nothing. They were very exasperated.

 

[biggroofy]

THANKS! I will check to ensure if my car seat is flight certified.

Wondering if we should carry the "base" of the car seat too?

 

[tjmw2727]

THANKS! I will check to ensure if my car seat is flight certified.

Wondering if we should carry the "base" of the car seat too?

Assuming your CRS is an infant rear facing that uses a base - you can probably use it with or without - check the manual to be sure. Ours was ok in the car and in an aircraft with or without the base but my sils was not and she needed the base, so check that out in your manual.

FWIW you can use the seat rear facing on the aircraft and the AAP and FAA encourage that despite some FA's that don't realize that is the safest for a baby under one year or 20lbs. Be prepared with the manual for your CRS if you have it.

If you can use it without the base its easier to transport and fits much better and is easier to install without the base in an aircraft, IMHO. (Same in the rental car fwiw) but bring along the manual as a tight fit in the car without the base can be tricky. If you are going to use it without the base try it a couple times in your car without the base to get the hang of tightening the seatbelt. Once you get the hang of it you can get the seat in nice and tight without the base - again if you have the type of infant seat that can be used without the base.

HTH
TJ

 

[allonte]

On a recent trip home, we took our daughter's car seat. I wish I had just checked it. It was a hassle to lug it all through the airport, especially since we flew SW and their gates tend to be in the back of the airport. The car seat took up so much room in the row that I was smooshed but not really uncomfortable and was just a pain all around. We're taking it to Orlando but it's riding under the plane.