Car seats on airplane

[mangosink]

We are flying with our 3 kiddos, ages 1, 3 and 5. We didn't buy 1 yr old a ticket, she will be on my lap. Can I bring carseats for the 3 and 5 yr old for them to sit in during the plane ride? The 5 yr old really doesn't need one but I could put her in the 1 yr old's Britax Boulevard to avoid checking it and running the risk of it getting damaged. What is the likelihood that they will give me a extra seat on the plane for the 1 yr old? We are flying SW Airlines. THey said they give an extra seat depending on availability.

On take off and landing the 3 and 5 yr old have to be buckled in right? Can they otherwise be out of their seat to sit with dad or go to the bathroom?? Guess you can tell we've only flown once or twice before. And never with 3 kids.

 

[PleaseStandClear]

If the Boulevard is FAA approved you can bring it, ditto for the other child's seat. Ask for a seat-belt extender when you board and it can help make the install easier. note that you will have to install the seat in a window seat and you cannot sit in an exit row (or the row in front or the row behind the exit row).

As for the likely hood of an extra seat for the 1 year old, it really depends. I didn't have much luck with SWA - planes pretty full.

ETA: according to Britax, the Boulevard is certified for aircraft use
http://www.britaxusa.net/pdf/guide_boulevard.pdf

 

[Momof2princess]

There should be a sticker on the bottom of your carseat that will say if it is approved for use in flight. I know that booster seats are not. I have not flown on SW so I do not know there policy on giving seats to younger children. I am sure it depends on the # of people on the flight.

 

[wdwfamilyinIL]

Hopefully someone can help me out. I want to put my soon to be 4 year old in a carseat while he is on the plane, however he is right at the weight limit of his 5 point. Can I still use it on the plane, at the time of our trip I would think at most he might be 5 pounds over, will this really matter?

 

[chrismom2005]

the only time your kids have to be buckled is during take off or landing. or if the belt light is on because of turblance.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I understand you dilema but to be honest a 4-5 year old will more than likely be very uncomfortable in a carseat on a plane. Unless of course you have super small children.

 

[PleaseStandClear]

Hopefully someone can help me out. I want to put my soon to be 4 year old in a carseat while he is on the plane, however he is right at the weight limit of his 5 point.

IIRC, the weight limit of a seat is the maximum weight for which the seat has been crash tested with a test dummy. The seat may function above that limit. It may not. Nobody knows because they haven't tested it.

Of even more concern, however, is if your child has outgrown the seat by height. In that case, it's definitely not safe to use the seat because the straps will fit wrong or the shell won't protect the child properly.

If you're not ready to move to a booster (which you can't use on an airplane anyway), you might want to look into a higher weight limit harnessed seat such as the Britax Regent -- but I'm pretty sure that one is not rated for airplane use either.

 

[mom2lillie]

We just flew on Delta with our 3 year old & put her in her carseat on the plane. We were only asked once (out of 4 flights) if the seat was FAA approved (a Britax Roundabout) & that attendant just took our word for it. We used a window seat & it was quick & easy to install. We didn't even board early - just boarded with everyone else & it didn't take us any longer that it would have someone putting stuff in an overhead bin.

It was our 3 year old's first flight & we weren't sure how she would do. We wanted to make sure she had some familiarity with her. She was quite comfy & even fell asleep. I also wanted to be sure that she would be buckled in & we wouldn't have any issues with her not staying in her seat.

Good luck!!!
Carrie

 

[NotUrsula]

The recommendations for use in cars and in aircraft are different. The FAA recommendation for aircraft is that carseats be used by children who weigh less than 40 lbs.; once they pass that weight the degree of protection provided by the lap belt is judged to be equal to that of the carseat. In addition, I can tell you from experience that in coach, any child who is approaching 4 feet tall will have a very difficult time fitting into the space available; depending on where most of their height is, their legs may become trapped between the carseat and the back of the seat in front of them.

Carseats must be placed in window seat positions ONLY (except in a case where you have two carseats in one row, in which case you must place the one that sticks out furthest forward into the window position, and the other in the middle position). Carseats may not be placed in the exit row, nor in the row immediately in front of or immediately behind the exit row. Most carseats also will not fit in the bulkhead rows because those armrests do not lift.

The FAA defines "booster seat" as a carseat that lacks an integral upper-body harness. No seat that lacks it may be used on board an aircraft. Some seats that DO have a harness are also not approved for aircraft use -- check the label.

SWA will only give you an add'l seat free if the flight is considerably undersold all the way to your final destination. If it is sold to more than about 90%, it won't be offered, and your only hope of getting it would be to ask to wait until last to board on the chance that there might be a pair of seats remaining. (So that you can hold the carseat for gate-check until the last minute.) However, they won't ask anyone to move to give a contiguous seat to a lap-child, so long-shot is an understatement. There is no place to stow the seat on board the aircraft; if you don't have a seat for it then you will have to gate-check it.

PS: No parent traveling with a child under 15 may sit in the exit row, because in an emergency that person's first priority would be the children, not the safety duties he/she agreed to take on in return for the exit row seat.

 

[all4fun]

Here's the FAA child safety on airplanes site:
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

Make sure your CRS is government approved and has "This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft" printed on it. Otherwise, you may be asked to check the CRS as baggage.

I can understand not wanting to check your Blvd. I have that seat for my ds too. I don't travel with it because we just use his back up seat that is normally in MIL's car (an Evenflo Bolero w/5-pt harness). I wouldn't check the BV personally. If the airline damages it, you will have an extremely difficult time getting them to replace the seat. As a matter of fact, they most likely will not assume responsibility for damages. I also agree that your 5yr old might be uncomfortable in it on the plane unless she's on the small side. Personally, if you decide to not have your 5yr old ride in a car seat, then I'd check your least expensive seat and let the 3yr old use the BV on the plane. Jmo though.

 

[twinspluscade]

The recommendations for use in cars and in aircraft are different. The FAA recommendation for aircraft is that carseats be used by children who weigh less than 40 lbs.; once they pass that weight the degree of protection provided by the lap belt is judged to be equal to that of the carseat. In addition, I can tell you from experience that in coach, any child who is approaching 4 feet tall will have a very difficult time fitting into the space available; depending on where most of their height is, their legs may become trapped between the carseat and the back of the seat in front of them.

Carseats must be placed in window seat positions ONLY (except in a case where you have two carseats in one row, in which case you must place the one that sticks out furthest forward into the window position, and the other in the middle position). Carseats may not be placed in the exit row, nor in the row immediately in front of or immediately behind the exit row. Most carseats also will not fit in the bulkhead rows because those armrests do not lift.

The FAA defines "booster seat" as a carseat that lacks an integral upper-body harness. No seat that lacks it may be used on board an aircraft. Some seats that DO have a harness are also not approved for aircraft use -- check the label.

SWA will only give you an add'l seat free if the flight is considerably undersold all the way to your final destination. If it is sold to more than about 90%, it won't be offered, and your only hope of getting it would be to ask to wait until last to board on the chance that there might be a pair of seats remaining. (So that you can hold the carseat for gate-check until the last minute.) However, they won't ask anyone to move to give a contiguous seat to a lap-child, so long-shot is an understatement. There is no place to stow the seat on board the aircraft; if you don't have a seat for it then you will have to gate-check it.

PS: No parent traveling with a child under 15 may sit in the exit row, because in an emergency that person's first priority would be the children, not the safety duties he/she agreed to take on in return for the exit row seat.

I have kind of a stupid question:how do you know-- if you pick your seats ahead of time on-line-- if it's the exit row or not? We're flying Sun Country, and a few weeks ago I picked our seats out on the internet. It'd be just my luck to have picked a row where we can't sit anyway!

I did call the airline a few days later just to confirm our flight and seats, and she never mentioned anything...so I'm guessing we'll be okay then?

Kelly