Car Seats on plane?

[DizneeDad]

Hello,
I have a 4yo dd and a 2yo son. I'm not worried about the 4 year old, but are car seats required on the plan for my son? Thanks for any tips!

 

[hthrbells]

We just ordered the CARES strap so we do not have to lug our car seat this trip. We will be using it on our one and a half year old. We are just using the belt for our three and a half year old. I think it was around 80 dollars.

 

[ebloom]

We are using the CARES Harness also. I didn't want to buy one as I'm not sure I will use it more than this trip, but I did "rent" one on ebay. There is a woman there that has 60 or more and rents them out for trips. She has great feedback, so I can't speak from personal experience yet, but for us $20 to rent was a much better alternative to purchasing one. So, if you are flying and then won't need a car seat while you are there it may be worth looking into.

 

[AWilliams]

I don't think the are required, but we brought ours with us and I'm really glad we did. It was a pain to lug around and store in the hotel, but our daughter would not have done as well on the plane in the regular seat or on our lap. She is use to long car rides in the car seat, so it worked out well for us. It is also much safer!!

 

[dr&momto2boys]

Car seats are definately not required. We check ours to use in cars on our trips, but we don't use one on the plane. Our kids sit just fine and stay buckled in the regular seat pretty much without complaint. We're not for letting our kids watch much T.V., but we do bring a portable DVD player on flights. It's a special treat to keep them occupied and happy especially on long flights. Our longest so far has been 4 hours, but we're going to Hawaii from Chicago soon. That may be a little difficult!

 

[tlbwriter]

They are not required but are recommended by safety experts. BTW, a 3-yr-old girl survived a plane crash in Canada last month because she was in a carseat.

 

[jodifla]

They are not required but are recommended by safety experts. BTW, a 3-yr-old girl survived a plane crash in Canada last month because she was in a carseat.

Of course, that was a Cessna, not a commerical craft.

 

[all4fun]

Hello,
I have a 4yo dd and a 2yo son. I'm not worried about the 4 year old, but are car seats required on the plan for my son? Thanks for any tips!

Too answer your question. Car Seats are not required but they are recommended by the FAA. Here's what we did - took the car seat on the plane for our ds, even before he was two. Since our flights are x-country, I did not want to have to spend 6+hrs trying to get him to stay seated when the airplane seatbelt light was lit (and we've been on flights when it was lit over 50% of the time too). Generally he was more than happy to stay buckled into his car seat and he was never an escape artist so it kept him secure. I'm sure he would have figured out the airplane seatbelt in a heartbeat tho. Another thing that I noticed on our last flight when we did not use the car seat on board (he's 4-1/2 now) was that even though he's bigger, and he's tall for his age, he has to scoot out to the edge of the airplane seat for his legs to bend properly at the edge of the seat, meaning he had to slouch if he wanted to lean against the back of the seat. When using a car seat none of this is a problem because the car seat is built for smaller bodies.

As far as tips go, I have found carrying the car seat on board the plane much easier by putting it upside down over my arm, which puts the bottom on top so I don't have to hold the whole thing over my head to allow it to fit down the aisle. I would board first and dh and ds would board about 5 mins later. This "lead time" allowed me to get the seat installed on the plane w/out the whole family blocking the aisle. It also allowed ds a little exta time to stretch his legs. When installing the seat in f/fing mode, recline the airplane seat, lengthen the lapbelt most of the way, thread it thru the correct belt path on the car seat. When you buckle the seatbelt, flip the latchplate over once so the release plate is facing the airplane seat instead of the back of the carseat. This will make it easier to undo at the end of the flight. Tighten the belt as much as possible the way you would in the car, then put the airplane seat upright which will snug it up even more. Of course, before you do any of this, store your LATCH straps as they can't be used on the airplane anyway.

A car seat bag, or even a stroller, can be an immense help in getting the car seat thru the airport. Plus, if you'll be renting a car you'll need the car seat anyway. It's much safer to use your own, and it will be much more likely to survive the trip if you use it on the plane as well.

hth!

 

[Andreas Mom]

So this post helped alot of my own carseat questions....but i have one more....do I need a car seat on the Magical Express bus?

 

[Jen32113]

I also have a question? This may sound dumb but how old is too old to take a car seat on a plane for your child? We will be traveling to NY in a few months and my DS is 27 months so by then he will be at least 33 or 34 months. Will anyone give me a problem at the airlines about it? He loves his car seat so I know he will do well on the plane in one. Thanks in advance for helping me out

 

[jodifla]

I also have a question? This may sound dumb but how old is too old to take a car seat on a plane for your child? We will be traveling to NY in a few months and my DS is 27 months so by then he will be at least 33 or 34 months. Will anyone give me a problem at the airlines about it? He loves his car seat so I know he will do well on the plane in one. Thanks in advance for helping me out

The last time I used a car seat on a plane DS had just turned 3. As long as it fits him and is FAA approved, you'll be fine.

However, that was the last time I used it on the plane. I was traveling by myself, and it was an absolute nightmare to drag it through the airport, and keep track of a wandering toddler.

Then, when I put him in it on the plane, there was practically no room for his feet! He was completely jammed in there, and I had to hold his feet for the 3 hour flight so he didn't kick the seat in front of him.

 

[Jen32113]

Then, when I put him in it on the plane, there was practically no room for his feet! He was completely jammed in there, and I had to hold his feet for the 3 hour flight so he didn't kick the seat in front of him.

Yup, I can already forsee that exact situation happening with us!

 

[fedexreg]

We went to WDW the week of Sept 16 and our three kids (4, 2, and 10 months), each rode on the magical express bus without a car seat. I think that the problem with trying to use a car seat on the bus is that there are no seat belts. 10 month old son rode on his Mom's lap and the two girls (4 and 2) each waited anxiously for the movie to begin which occuppied them from the time with left the airport until we arrived back home at SSR.

Have a great trip!

 

[thepeach80]

I also have a question? This may sound dumb but how old is too old to take a car seat on a plane for your child? We will be traveling to NY in a few months and my DS is 27 months so by then he will be at least 33 or 34 months. Will anyone give me a problem at the airlines about it? He loves his car seat so I know he will do well on the plane in one. Thanks in advance for helping me out

We flew in Sept and all my kids had their carseats. AJ was 52 mos, Evan was 33 mos, and Ilana was 10 mos. I had Evan ride rear facing so he wouldn't kick.