Car seat on plane?

[MommyBryn]

We also used a Cosco Scenera! Perfect for a plane (and works well for a car too). They sell them in a plastic carrying bag. We put it in that after we got off the plane to keep it clean when it was under the ME bus. It has a nice carry handle on the side as well. The seat is only $40 at Walmart so it is cheaper than the CARES harness.

I've also seen them on sale for great prices! Ours was only $28 at Shopko!

 

[mickeymaker2003]

You can rent the CARES harness. There are several ebay sellers who offer rentals (about $25 for a week). Used ones on ebay go for almost as much as new ones. New they are $75 plus shipping from kidsflysafe.com I just bought one for my 18 month old from an ebay seller (who was nice enough to add a buy it now to her auction so I could buy it immediately). We didn't buy her a seat, but if there is an open seat, she'll be allowed to sit in it. The harness will be in my carry on and available if there is a seat for her to sit in (and the harness won't be a pain to lug around if she needs to sit on my lap).

 

[5 for WDW]

We always used a car seat on the plane for each of our kids until they turned 4.
I am not a big fan of flying so, I felt better knowing they were safe and sound in their car seats. It also helped to keep them from wanting to get out of the their seats because they know they have to stay in a car seat.
As for carrying in the airport, I had a stroller most times so, I just put the car seat in the stroller and walked with the kids. This past trip I loosened the straps and put it on like a backpack. It actually wasn't too bad.

 

[thepeach80]

I purchased a seat for my daughter (who will be 18mos. at trip time). I was planning to bring her car seat...a Britax Boulevard (HEAVY)...but I would like to learn more about the CARES option. I wish you could rent them...from the airline or something...I don't see her flying much...and I really didn't want to spend another $75...I may still have to go with option one and bring her carseat...either way...I want her safely strapped into her own seat. Ugh...that car seat is like lifting granite!! LOL

At 18 mos old, there's no way I'd put a child in a CARES harness. I'd go to the store and get a Cosco Scenera and take that. That was our travel seat last time we flew for our almost 3yo (that was a year ago!). We flew and took our 4.5yo's carseat on the plane, Evan was almost 3 and rode rfing in the Scenera, and Ilana rode in her infant seat, all of them had purchases tickets and no one gave us any problems at all b/c of their seats. We also gate checked a double stroller and had about 5 carry ons!

 

[tnd]

We have always purchased a seat and used a carseat for my son. He is 3 now, and has been flying since he was 10 months old. It is a hassle to carry it on and get it in, but there is no way the seatbelts would have kept him contained. We've also never installed it rear-facing on a plane, since I am not sure it would fit that way. We really use it for containment on the plane and because we always need it when we get to our location.

I really do feel better having it. We have a bag for it that has straps to wear it as a backpack, and also a handle and wheels, if you want to pull it. That makes it easy to get around the airport.

 

[lillykat]

We have a seat for DD she will be 15 months when we fly (in 20 days). We were going to bring our 2nd car seat - a comfort sport rather than her recaro.

She is about 21-22 lbs - and only about 30 inches - so we still have her rear facing in the car. A number of moms told me on the plane they have to be forward facing you can't do rear. But I see people putting them rear facing - so should I turn her seat around or leave her rear facing? Is it much harder to get the seat in rear facing than forward facing on the plane?

 

[NotUrsula]

The harness will be in my carry on and available if there is a seat for her to sit in (and the harness won't be a pain to lug around if she needs to sit on my lap).[\QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure that the CARES is not approved for under-2's. If a child is young enough to travel as a lap child, they are too young for a CARES.

 

[thepeach80]

I'm pretty sure that the CARES is not approved for under-2's. If a child is young enough to travel as a lap child, they are too young for a CARES.

I think it just has a weight limit, not age. They have some super young babies on their site that are using it.

She is about 21-22 lbs - and only about 30 inches - so we still have her rear facing in the car. A number of moms told me on the plane they have to be forward facing you can't do rear. But I see people putting them rear facing - so should I turn her seat around or leave her rear facing? Is it much harder to get the seat in rear facing than forward facing on the plane?

Basic rule of thumb is they ride the same way on the plane as they do in the car. My 45 mos old still rides rfing in the car, so that's how we kept him on the plane, mostly to keep him from kicking the seat in front of him. You can use your seat safely rfing till your dd is 30# OR her head is w/in an inch of the seat of the top of the seat.

 

[jessica52877]

DS is almost 6 and we still take his carseat. It is just safer IMO. We'll be taking it again in October.

 

[StitchFanZ]

When our kids were younger, we took car seats. Then one day we needed transfer flights and had to make a mad dash from one end of the Dallas aiport to the other end with car seats and toddlers. We barely made it to the flight in time. After that, my DH said no more car seats on planes. I had to agree after that experience. If you take them and have to transfer flights, make sure you have lots of extra time.

 

[FunkyDuck]

The harness will be in my carry on and available if there is a seat for her to sit in (and the harness won't be a pain to lug around if she needs to sit on my lap).[\QUOTE]

I'm pretty sure that the CARES is not approved for under-2's. If a child is young enough to travel as a lap child, they are too young for a CARES.

Double checked on this...and they can be used on a child weighing more than 22lbs. Completely safe. I' m booking one off of Ebay for our trip.

 

[justhat]

Double checked on this...and they can be used on a child weighing more than 22lbs. Completely safe. I' m booking one off of Ebay for our trip.

We own a Cares harness. I usually use it for my daughter, who is 4.5yo, but in June I used it for my son, who was 22 months, 25lbs, 34in. He was very uncomfortable in it. He fell asleep briefly but his head was hanging forward, he ended up sliding down in the seat so his neck was practically touching the chest clip. He woke up and was grouchy and annoyed. The only reason I used it was that we were in the airport for over 6 hours with a delayed flight, I was alone with both of my kids, carrying a ton of crap with me all day long, and I just didn't feel like carrying it off with him, and possibly my daughter, asleep when we landed. Big mistake as he ended up not sleeping, grouching out loud most of the flight, and fighting to get out of the seat.

Based on that experience, we brought his carseat last week and he slept in it on both flights, the whole flight.

So I would think about the age of the child, not just their weight, when using this.

That said, I think it's a wonderful invention and use it with my daughter (and have since she was 3yo) without issue. I just think my son needs to be older and able to sit properly in the seat and understand he needs to stay there before he can successfully use this again.

Oh yeah, and we fly with Cosco seats. So much lighter than our Britax and very easy to install on the plane.

And as for rearfacing, both of my kids were/are extended rearfacers (my son is 25 months and still rearfacing), but on the plane we turned them forward facing probably around 18 months-2yo? In our case, we did it because some planes the seat pitch was simply too shallow to allow a comfortable angle for our kids (Delta comes to mind here) and in other cases because I could not get a good rearfacing fit. Southwest I had trouble in the bulkhead as the seatbelt positioning did not allow the belt to stay tight rearfacing (it was right on the corner of the seat, so it wasn't laying flush). If I could have gotten the seats in snugly and comfortably we would have kept them rearfacing on the plane, but it just didn't work so I figured forward facing was better than no seat.

Oh yeah, last thing I promise! When my daughter was around 19 months, she got around the 'kicking the seat in front of her' while rearfacing in her carseat by pushing against the seatback of her seat, thereby slamming her rearfacing Britax Roundabout into the seat in front of her. Let me tell you how much I enjoyed that flight, having to restrain her legs and the seat!

 

[WDWBetsy]

We used the CARES restraint on both of our flights and were very impressed. Our daughter did fine in it and fell asleep both times. She was very comfortable, and we were confident that she was safe & secure. The passengers around us and the flight attendants were also interested in it. One flight attendant said she'd read about it in her training, but it was her first time seeing it in use.

I was a bit nervous the first time I explained what I was doing to the person directly behind my DD's seat. They were very curious and I was very nice and told them the strap would go under their tray table, but would not affect its use. Then I asked them to please open the tray so I could put it over the seat, then asked them to close it.

There is no way I would ever carry my DD's carseat on an airplane now that I have used this device. It's so lightweight and you carry it in a little blue bag. Just my 2 cents.