car seats on planes?

[Denine]

DD will be almost 3 when we travel in August.

We have always purcahsed her a seat and used her car seat.

She will have her own seat come August.

My question is, do I need to put her in the car seat, or can I just buckle her in?

The reason I ask, is because, we won't need the car seat except for the plane. I really don't want to lug it on the ship with me and run into it for 2 weeks in our cabin.

 

[beattyfamily]

Nope, you don't have to have it. I did use it for my 3 year old but only because I also needed it for the rental car when I got down there.

 

[NotUrsula]

The FAA recommendation is that carseats should be used for children who are under 40 lbs.

 

[Deesknee]

when my oldest were 3 we just buckled them in.

I have a question though. How difficult is it to strap a car seat on a plane seat. (that's sound weird I hope you know what I mean)?

 

[DemoBri1]

This past November we flew with a 2 and 4 yo, and we buckled them both straight to the airline seats. Our car seats were too wide to fit on the airplane anyway. They did fine on both trips.

 

[Denine]

Putting a car seat in the plane is a pain! Just ask my DH!

I would rather her be in the car seat, but I don't think it would fit on the plane coming home anyway. It will be a small 37 passenger plane.

As long as I don't need it in CA for the trip from the airport to the hotel, I think I will leave it in the car.

Thanks!

 

[ncgolfer]

My DD will be 2 1/2 in Sept when we go and we're gonna check her car seat and simply buckle her in the seat. Her legs were stuck in the back of the seat in front of us last year so it would be an extremely tight squeeze this year in her carseat.

 

[gw_lit]

I would rather her be in the car seat, but I don't think it would fit on the plane coming home anyway. It will be a small 37 passenger plane.

The size of the plane shouldn't be a factor on whether a car seat fits or not. The seats on a Regional Jet (small plane) are 17.5" wide, while the economy seats on a 777 (BIG plane) are 17" wide. Pitch (space between seats front to back) is usually about 31-32" in coach (economy) regardless of the plane.