car seats on flight

[3js13]

We are going to Disney in May of 2007. My youngest will be 1. I was wondering if at that age if they needed to be in a car seat on the flight.

 

[KelleyGirl]

Are you buying a seat for your child? I don't think they have to be in a carseat, but I would advise it. We just flew with our 1 yo and he was very comfortable and familiar in his carseat. He fell asleep easily just as he would have in the car. I made the mistake of not bringing the carseat when my son was 22 months. The lapbelt on the airplane seat did nothing for him, and he was constantly trying to climb out, which would have been fine if he wanted to stay in someone's lap, but he didn't!

 

[kathi29]

Legally, no. In reality and for safety reasons, absolutely yes.

Here is the FAA recommendation http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

Keep in mind that lap children are treated the same as any other carry on in the event of an emergency. You would be asked to place your baby on the floor and hold her there.

 

[jodifla]

We are going to Disney in May of 2007. My youngest will be 1. I was wondering if at that age if they needed to be in a car seat on the flight.

We flew many times with our son as a lap child. We also flew with him in a carseat.

Even if you don't get a seat for your child you can sometimes use a spare seat. We always gate checked the car seat, and oftentimes there was a spare seat so we could use the car seat on the plane.

 

[Ariel8676]

I just wanted to say (not trying to start a debate or agument here) that i have flown with and without car seats for my children. We have experienced(on more than one occasion) some pretty bad turbulence, but were never told to put our child on the floor in front of us. The only thing we were told was to make sure we were buckled in tightly and that the child was not in the seat belt with us.
Anyway.. any child 2 and under can ride on a lap, and doesn't require a seat.

 

[belle&beast]

We have flown with both of our children when they were young enough to be considered a "lap child". However, we always opted to purchase a seat and use car seats. They understand that they have to sit in the seat, it is easy for a nap and it is safer for turbulence. It is a royal pain when transferring flights, but for us it was well worth it on the planes!

 

[TinkInPink]

I would like to add that I have been flying with various children for almost 15 yrs and have never taken a car seat. I have also NEVER been asked to put the child on the floor! I have flown many different airlines in all different conditions short hops to across the country and have never had to do this or heard anyone asked to do this. The person who keeps posting this, I wish you would tell us when this happened to you. Once in very bad turbulence, and landing in bad conditions, I was asked to hold the baby against my chest facing me with my arms around it but that was the most extreme. By the way the baby loved it she was laughing while everyone else was white! You don't have to use them and if by yourself they are a pain to wrestle in while carrying a baby and diaper bag.

Sorry I posted under one of the "baby's" sign in.

 

[kathi29]

I would like to add that I have been flying with various children for almost 15 yrs and have never taken a car seat. I have also NEVER been asked to put the child on the floor! I have flown many different airlines in all different conditions short hops to across the country and have never had to do this or heard anyone asked to do this. The person who keeps posting this, I wish you would tell us when this happened to you. Once in very bad turbulence, and landing in bad conditions, I was asked to hold the baby against my chest facing me with my arms around it but that was the most extreme. By the way the baby loved it she was laughing while everyone else was white! You don't have to use them and if by yourself they are a pain to wrestle in while carrying a baby and diaper bag.

Sorry I posted under one of the "baby's" sign in.

I documented it in another thread, but I'll c&p here. The Souix City info is from an actual NTSB report on the crash.

Here is the FAA's brochure about turbulence.
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/media/childsafety.pdf

Sioux City crash, United Airlines flight 232, section 1.15.2 deals with infants
http://amelia.db.erau.edu/reports/ntsb/aar/AAR90-06.pdf

here is an excerpt in case you don't feel like searching for it

"There were four in-lap occupants onboard flight 232. (6) Three of them were under 24 months, and one was 26 months old.

During the preparations for the emergency landing, parents were instructed to place their "infants" on the floor and to hold them there when the parent assumed the protective brace position. The four in-lap occupants were held on the floor by adults who occupied seats 11F, 12B, 14J and 22E.

The woman in 14J stated that her son "flew up in the air" upon impact but that she was able to grab him and hold onto him. Details of what happened to the 26-month-old child at 12B during the impact sequence are not
known, but he sustained minor injuries. The mother of the 11-month-old girl at 11F said that she had problems placing and keeping her daughter on the floor because she was screaming and trying to stand up. The mother of the 23-month-old at 22E was worried about her son's position. She kept asking the flight attendants for more specific instructions about the brace position and her "special situation with a child on the floor." The mothers of the infants in seats 11F and 22E were unable to hold onto their infants and were unable to find them after the airplane impacted the ground. The infant originally located at 11F was rescued from the fuselage by a passenger who heard her cries and reentered the fuselage. The infant held on the floor in front of seat 22E died of asphyxia secondary to smoke inhalation. The Safety Board addressed the infant restraint issue in Safety Recommendations A-90-78
and A-90-79 issued May 30, 1990.


The FAA also does not allow the use of "belly belts" or slings during takeoff, landing, or turbulence because the infant could be crushed between the adult and the seat in front if conditions caused the adult to be thrown forward.

 

[Hannathy]

So you have never been asked to do this? This accident also took place 16 yrs ago and they have obviously learned. I simply stated what I have been asked to do in 14 1/2 yrs of flying with children and to my knowledge NOW they do not have you do this and they didn't even 14 yrs ago, so telling people this is kinda like our parents saying I used to let you sleep in the back of the station wagon.

 

[all4fun]

We are going to Disney in May of 2007. My youngest will be 1. I was wondering if at that age if they needed to be in a car seat on the flight.

This site has good information on Airline Travel and Child Safety including tips on installing car seats on airplanes.

As a pp said children under the age of two are not required to have their own seat, however if you are buying a seperate seat for your dc then I would presonally recommend bringing your car seat on board and using it. Even the FAA states that this is the safest way to travel. The recommendation is for children under 40lbs to be in an airline approved CRS. They don't require it because they fear that parents will not fly if they have to pay. That is the bottom line.

We have flown cross-country with our ds numerous times now and have always taken the car seat on board with us. I agree that getting it through the aiports is a bit of a hassle but I have always felt it to be totally worth it. On our last flight we had severe turbulence during landing and I was glad my ds was secure in his car seat. At just barely 30lbs at that time I knew the regular lap belt would not have held him very well (not to mention he would have been wanting to play with the buckle, I'm sure). It is just easier for everyone if he's in his own car seat. Just like in the car, he knows he's supposed to stay buckled up...

 

[kathi29]

So you have never been asked to do this? This accident also took place 16 yrs ago and they have obviously learned. I simply stated what I have been asked to do in 14 1/2 yrs of flying with children and to my knowledge NOW they do not have you do this and they didn't even 14 yrs ago, so telling people this is kinda like our parents saying I used to let you sleep in the back of the station wagon.

Have they learned? Please, prove me wrong. I have found some information indicating that when an adult is told to assume the brace position, they will lean forward and grasp their ankles with their hands. This leaves the infant either crushed in the adult's lap or on the floor. Either way, the possibility of a projectile infant is undeniable.

In the event of severe turbulence, a sudden drop in air pressure, or a sudden drop in altitude, the FAA is pretty clear that it would be difficult if not impossible for you to hold onto your child.

 

[*~ellagirlsmama~*]

We are going to Disney in May of 2007. My youngest will be 1. I was wondering if at that age if they needed to be in a car seat on the flight.

Well it depends on if you plan on buying your baby a seat. If you are then yes, a one year old is to small to sit in a regular seat by itself.
Otherwise you are allowed to hold your baby on your lap until the age of two. Is it comfortable? No. But for a short flight its not to bad. We've done both with dd. We just got back from Vegas last week and did not buy a seat for dd (16 mos) becouse they were $450 and I regretted it very much. As soon as we got home we called and booked her a seat of her own for our upcoming WDW trip.
But she is bigger, when she was 11 mos we held her on flight to and from the Bahammas and it wasnt to bad

 

[dman11]

I would say using a car seat on the plane would depend on your child. At the age of 1 you probably would want to use the car seat just to give your child a sense of familiarity while having to sit 2+ hours.

My own experience... we took our DD who was 2 months shy of her 3rd Bday to WDW last fall and we used the car seat on the way down. She did just fine in it but it was a pain lugging through the airport and onto the plane. She was big enough to use the lap belt so we just checked the car seat for the ride back home. She enjoyed the ride home much better and was able to take a nap easier by lifting the arm rest up and laying her head on my lap.

I wish we would have just left the car seat in the car and not taken it with us. Like I said it's more up to your specific child. If they're big enough to sit with the lap belt on and not try to wander around the plane go without the seat. If they're small or tend to not want to sit still for long go with the seat.

 

[Mrs.Toad]

We always bought a seat for our under-2's (half price on many airlines) and brought the car seats for safety reasons. Airlines recommend car seats for kids up to 40 pounds. I know the risk is minimal, but so is the risk of driving past 6 houses within our own subdivision, yet I still have my kids buckle back up after stopping at the mailbox on the way home.

We never carry the seat through the airport. We give it a ride on the stroller, then gate-check the stroller, so we only have to carry the seat on the plane itself. The only time I did this alone, a flight attendant carried the seat for me while I carried my dd.

I guess it all depends on your comfort level on the safety factor and how much hassle you find it. For us, it's no hassle at all, and certainly worth it for our peace of mind.

 

[NotUrsula]

No, you will not be asked to put a lap child on the floor in the event of an emergency.
The recommended brace position was changed in 2003:

f. Children which are occupying approved child restraint devices should be braced in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Children in passenger seats should utilize the same brace position as adults.
Adults holding infants should provide as uniform support as possible to the infant's head, neck, and body, and lean over the infant to minimize the possibility of injury due to flailing.

The cite for this is FAA Advisory Circular AC121-24C (2003) (http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/
1ab39b4ed563b08985256a35006d56af/2026259a7a7247f986256d7a00508ba7
/$FILE/AC121-24C.pdf)

Having posted that, I know it isn't really clear. However, our friends at the Canadian Aviation Authority have essentially the same rule, and they provide a nicely illustrated explanation: http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/c.../AC0155_att.htm

BTW, anyone who flies much at all will know that leaning over and grasping your ankles whilst in a coach seat is now almost always impossible for an adult because of the tight seat pitch. The normal brace position for adults in coach these days is to cradle your head beneath your arms against the seat in front of you, which is as "bent over" as most adults can get in a coach seat.

 

[kathi29]

Thank you for that info.

But still, the FAA is clear in their brochure that holding onto the infant during emergency conditions will be something close to impossible. I can't see how trying to cradle the baby, lean forward, and grasp my ankles can be accomplished without causing some sort of injury to the child.

 

[NotUrsula]

If you look at the diagram in the CAA document, you will see that your arms would be around the child, not reaching for your ankles. (As I mentioned, you probably could not reach your ankles anyway, unless you are flying in Business or First Class, which is quite unlikely with a lap baby. Not impossible, but unlikely.)

Also, the FAA does recommend using a carseat if a child is under 40 lbs. They have chosen not to *require* the use of carseats due to the "car vs. plane" safety statistics, on the theory that the price difference might cause a family to drive rather than fly, thus increasing the odds of injury. Personally, I think that's a fairly specious argument, but the FAA didn't ask for my opinion. Because they allow babies to be lap-carried, they have to provide some recommendation for an infant brace position. This is the best they can recommend.

 

[kathi29]

I was going to put that bit about the car vs plane argument in an earlier post but I couldn't get it written well enough so I gave up. You did a much better job

 

[jcarlstrom]

We have always bought seats for our children (even when they were under 2) and brought a car seat until they were at least 2... and both our kids were gold members by their first birthdays... It just made the trips much more convenient for us, and usually they slept before take off even happend.
That being said, I do not believe it is an FAA rule to use a carseat, however I think you should check with the airline, becuase the last time we flew on Southwest (in June), they told a family in front of us who were planning on putting a very young child (not walking so I would guess 1 or under) in a seat without a carseat, that even though they bought him an "infant" seat, their policy was the child had to be held in thier lap or in an FAA approved carseat until they were 2. Once on the plane the stewardesses required the child to be held during takeoff and landing, (and I would guess any other time they may have severe turbulence and seatbelts required, but we did not encounter any such situation) but they could sit in the seat when the seatbelt light was off.
Now, this is the only time I have heard this (could be a new rule or never heard it since we always had a carseat), and I can also image that if the child "looked 2 and over" nobody would say boo, since they rarely check kids ages/ids, but I would check with your airline just in case.