carseat on the airplane

[brymolmom]

I haven't used a carseat on the plane for my kids that age. Just my preference. And I did a bunch of research but was unable to completely satisfy myself that kids in carseats were injured less than those who weren't. I found a bunch of info of not being in the seats at all during turbulence, but my 2 or 3 year old will likely get out of the seat (either just belt or carseat) at least once during the flight for a potty break anyway - SO, my child could fall into that category no matter which seat she's in.

Some might post links proving me wrong - but this is all the info I read through back when I was researching...and like I said, I wasn't satisfied that it was fact and not just propaganda. Although I'm sure some facts do exist. I'm just not sure that the airlines let them out there.

So for me, it has worked this way.

 

[jessica52877]

I always find these threads interesting. The answer has been given for the do they have to have one so I won't answer it again.

I will tell you though that I still bring mine for my son that is 6! Yes, I said 6! 50 lbs and 48 inches tall! It fits on the airplane fine, he fits on the airplane fine and has plenty of leg room (never understood that since the carseat doesn't extend over the edge of the seat). I usually fly with just two of us and will again and I drag it through the airport every time with me. I wouldn't put him in the car without it, why would I put him on an airplane without it.

Just wanted another perspective out there.

 

[bumbershoot]

I would say to check with your airline. I know I am traveling with United Airline in October with my twin 2 year olds (they will turn 3 on the trip) and our baby who will be 2 at the time of trip. And they are all required to be either in a car seat or using CARES strapes as they will all be under 40lbs. For United as well as many other airlines we checked, they stated that all children under 40lbs must be in a carseat or CARES strapes.

***Note: If your little one is over 40lbs this may not affect you.

That rep was not saying the truth.

From united.com.

"Child safety seats
You may use an approved infant car seat on board the aircraft when you purchase a seat for your child. The seat must be an FAA-approved child safety seat device."

Key word there...may.

About CARES in the same section, "Children weighing between 22 and 44lbs may use this device." Again, "may".

...he fits on the airplane fine and has plenty of leg room (never understood that since the carseat doesn't extend over the edge of the seat).

Our Roundabout went over the edge! Not the base of it, but where his legs came off of it, and he was FAR closer to the seat back in front than once I finally let him just sit in the seat (when he was 3.5). Also, since the seats tip back, the upper part of the seat (where his legs were when he was in the Roundabout) was closer than where his legs are while sitting in the seat.



OP, no you don't have to. IMO, you should. That's all.

 

[dhardawa]

I'll be flying with Max in September. He will have just turned 2 and I wouldn't dream of just putting him in the plane seat so I purchased the CARES harness. We fly quite a bit so it is a great investment. You can also rent them on Ebay farily cheap.

 

[FunkyDuck]

I rented a CARES harness off of ebay. Was so happy not to lug the carseat. The harness worked out okay. The only thing I would say against it is that children (mine was 18mos.) tend to slide/slip on the seat. I was told to bring a piece of the grippy drawer liner and place under her. It did help. I will use the CARES harness again when I fly with my DD.

 

[JKSWonder]

My son is 3 and we used a car seat for him on the last two trips we took. However, I won't be bringing it this time.

He has gotten very tall in the last year (97th percent for height) and the car seat lifts him up just high and out enough that he can repeatedly kick the seat in front of him. Which he does. Many times. We do our best to stop him, but it is hard and exacerbated by the fact that he has PDD.

I'm going to go with the CARES system this time. It will keep him safe, will be easier on us not to have to haul the car seat all over and will save the back of the poor person in front of him!

Since there are five of us traveling this time, I picked two seats in front and three in back so that his father can be the one to get the brunt of any kicking he may still be able to do.

 

[msmama]

Just another opinion here - I still have my son rear facing in the car (until the max of his car seat) but couldn't put it rear facing on the plane so it sat way more upright than he was used to. Because of this, there was no sleeping.

Next time I fly he'll either be a lap baby or I'll do the CARES thing (depending on age/size at the time). I don't think I'd do the carseat thing again.

 

[Erica09M]

Just another opinion here - I still have my son rear facing in the car (until the max of his car seat) but couldn't put it rear facing on the plane so it sat way more upright than he was used to. Because of this, there was no sleeping.

Next time I fly he'll either be a lap baby or I'll do the CARES thing (depending on age/size at the time). I don't think I'd do the carseat thing again.

Why couldn't you use the car seat rear facing? What seat were you using?

 

[drgsjh]

We are on kid #2 and we take the carseat for 2 and 3 year olds when we fly. I think it makes it easier to keep them in that seat you paid for and makes them more comfy to sleep like they are used to. Yes, it does push them closer to the seat in front allowing for more kicks (if you're on Southwest, position yourself behind another kid so it won't bother them so much Yes, the car seat does have to be next to the window. I just flew home in the middle section of seats and Delta did not require me to put it in the middle (they did recommend, not not require). That was good so I could be between my children.

Yes, it's a hassle but if I can do it with two kids by myself, it can be done. It works better for us on the plane.

BTW - I did see a baby in a rear facing seat on my Southwest flight. It was the carrier type.

 

[my2minnies]

We have flown with our twins three times and each time we took a car seat. It is not required, but it made my flight so much easier. They could not get up and move around which was great. They are pretty active, so having them in a car seat just kept them in one spot. It is a pain to lug around though, but worth it to us.

We have always put them side by side too. One goes by the window, the other goes in the middle and either I or my dh sits on the aisle. Never had a problem with that.

They just turned 4 and I am going not going to bring the car seats when we go next month. We will see how that goes.

 

[minniem]

Just my 2 cents, we went to Disney when my daughter was just 2 years old and thought we would avoid the hassle of bringing the car seat on board and let her sit on the airplane seat with the belt on. Well, at 2 she didn't really understand she couldn't keep unbuckling herself and she was really squirmy and trying to get out of the seat the entire time. It made a very long 2 hour flight.

Needless to say on the way home from Disney we took her car seat on the plane with us. On the way to Disney we checked it with the luggage. Well, she fell asleep within minutes of takeoff and we had a peaceful flight back home.

It really depends on your child. Do you think they would sit there in the airplane seat for the flight or do you think they would be more comfortable in their own car seat? My DD was much more comfortable in a familiar seat and able to sleep in her car seat which she could not do in the airplane seat.

Even though it was a bit of a pain to drag it with us on board, it was definitely worth it as she was just more comfortable. (Which made the flight more comfortable!)

Good luck with your decision!

 

[Erica09M]

BTW - I did see a baby in a rear facing seat on my Southwest flight. It was the carrier type.

That's why I was asking the previous poster who said they couldn't use their seat rear facing. As long as you're using the seat according to the manufacturer, you can use the seat rear facing. I wonder what seat they were trying to use. Hopefully they come back and respond.

There has been some talk over on the car seat board I'm on about fight attendants giving passengers a hard time about using the seat rear facing. But the fact of the matter is that it's allowed, it just simply states that the SEAT that the car seat sits on must be forward facing.... not the car seat itself.

We haven had to fly anywhere with kids yet, but when we do next May, my almost 2 year old will definitely be in her car seat and rear facing on the plane.

Even though it isn't required, it IS safer. Like someone else mentioned, I wouldn't put my child in a car without a car seat... why would I put her on a plane without a car seat.

 

[boltfans]

Why couldn't you use the car seat rear facing? What seat were you using?

We were told we couldn't put our child in rearfacing in both an infant carrier and our Britax Roundabout. Both times we explained this is how the seat was designed to be used for a child that age (particularly the infant carrier) and the flight attendants said that the person in front of us couldn't recline and that was the issue. I said while their comfort was important to me, my child's safety was a higher priority and I could not install the seat any other way and offered to have my husband switch seats with the person who couldn't recline. This seemed to appease the FAs enough that they dropped the issue. FWIW, neither passenger took us up on the switch.

 

[robinb]

I always find these threads interesting. The answer has been given for the do they have to have one so I won't answer it again.

I will tell you though that I still bring mine for my son that is 6! Yes, I said 6! 50 lbs and 48 inches tall! It fits on the airplane fine, he fits on the airplane fine and has plenty of leg room (never understood that since the carseat doesn't extend over the edge of the seat). I usually fly with just two of us and will again and I drag it through the airport every time with me. I wouldn't put him in the car without it, why would I put him on an airplane without it.

Just wanted another perspective out there.

Umm ... because the physical forces are different in an airplane than a car? A car seat is meant to protect a child in collisions. If you have a collision in an airplane no car seat, no matter how good, is going to save your child. A lap belt is sufficient to protect against turbulence for a 50 lb 6-year old tall enough to ride Rock and Roll Roller Coaster.

OP, I stopped using a car seat in an airplane when my DD was about 3 years old and that was because it gave her extra room for her feet to reach the seat in front of her. On her final flight in a car seat I could not get her to stop kicking the seat in front of her. I was mortified. The car seat also got in the way of most tray tables so it was a pain when she wanted to play with her toys or eat. On our flight back I checked the car seat and simply strapped her in. If the CARES device was available when she was younger, I probably would have looked into using it.

 

[NotUrsula]

Robin has a point on the weight situation:

The FAA CAMI study showed conclusively that once a child reaches 40 lbs, the lap belt protects him just as much as it does an adult. Where carseat safety is concerned, height does not matter on an aircraft, whereas it does in a ground vehicle. For safety purposes weight is the only thing that counts on an aircraft in flight.

The right to install a seat rear-facing according to mfr. recommendations is written into the Federal law regulating carseats on aircraft. I recommend printing out a current copy of the law and putting it in envelope taped to the back of the carseat. If the FA objects to the placement, you can (very politely, of course) ask her to read the law and consult her FARS handbook on the subject. The law is in the US Code of Federal Regulations, at 14 CFR 121.311

Most kids can comfortably sit in a FF carseat in coach until they are about 44 inches tall. After that there is usually not enough leg room (depends on whether they are long-waisted or not, and how much the person in front of them reclines.) Most of the time their legs are a bit too short in the thigh to be able to drop straight down at the knee over the edge of the seat, and will tend to stick out at a bit of an angle. If the space is tight and the seat in front reclines, their legs may be caught between. This happened to DS once when he was about 3 on a flight to London; in the middle of the night the man in front of him suddenly reclined all the way back. DS legs were painfully pinned -- the resultant frantic screaming woke the entire plane.

As to seat kicking, I have a remedy for that that you can try.
"Hobble-pants" are my name for a kick-restraint trick I came up with that I only had to use a couple of times -- after that the mere threat was enough. (I used them in cars, too.)

What are they? They are a REALLY too-big pr. of drawstring pajama pants, too long by about 18 inches. I put them on the child and then tuck the ends of the pant legs under the tush when I strap them in the carseat. Just like with putting hobbles on a horse, kicking forward beyond a certain point is impossible, but the feet move freely from side to side. Restrictive, but not really uncomfortable as long as they are long enough, and safe for an emergency because they are not fastened to the seat in any way.

You can do the same thing with a blanket tucked around and under, but it's more complicated to tuck it just so and get it the right length, and it is easier for the child to remove, too.

 

[kevschickee]

Umm ... because the physical forces are different in an airplane than a car? A car seat is meant to protect a child in collisions. If you have a collision in an airplane no car seat, no matter how good, is going to save your child. A lap belt is sufficient to protect against turbulence for a 50 lb 6-year old tall enough to ride Rock and Roll Roller Coaster.

OP, I stopped using a car seat in an airplane when my DD was about 3 years old and that was because it gave her extra room for her feet to reach the seat in front of her. On her final flight in a car seat I could not get her to stop kicking the seat in front of her. I was mortified. The car seat also got in the way of most tray tables so it was a pain when she wanted to play with her toys or eat. On our flight back I checked the car seat and simply strapped her in. If the CARES device was available when she was younger, I probably would have looked into using it.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Personally, look at it from this stand point. Remember that your child must be seated and buckled in their seat during taxi, take-off, and landing. If your child will stay seated without being strapped into a carseat, by all means, leave the carseat in the car. However, if your child probably won't or won't stay seated and buckled, then take the car seat. It's far safer and easier to deal with a fussy child in a car seat during those times than it is a squirmy one just buckled into the airline's safety belt.

Looking back on our trip in December, even though there were 4 adults and a lap child (he was only 15 months), I wish we would have bought him a seat and brought his car seat. He was squirmy taking off and landing and had anything happened during those times, he could have been seriously hurt. Which is why, when we went to see my in-laws last month, we bought our son a seat and took his carseat. He did well, played quietly and was safe.

 

[Ava]

The coolest thing we've discovered it an attachment that turns the carseat into a stroller. It was a lifesaver in the airport, and we could also use it at our destination, if we wanted to. I don't remember what it's called-we borrowed it from a friend-but it was basically a handle with wheels that bolted on to the back of the seat. We'd put her in it, she'd hold her backpack, and we could even balance a small carryon on top of the seat. It's a lifesaver, especially if you're trying to book across the airport to make a connecting flight and you don't want your kiddo to walk. (Though I guess you'll have the stroller).

I don't know the name of this, but I have seen an actual car seat that has wheels & a handle that pop out of it so you can push it around like a stroller. It's called a Sit 'n Stroll. You wouldn't be able to use it as your main stroller, but it would be fine for pushing a kid through the airport.

 

[disfan07]

I dont think him sitting still and stayign in his seat is going to be an issue for us. As long as we have books, his plush mickey mouse and his sister sitting next to him we shouldnt have a problem with that. He sits still for amazingly long periods of time for a kid his age (hopefully that continues).

Well, we still have a while until we actually have to fly so i think it will definiltey be a decision based on how big he actually is when we're supposed to leave as well as if he still sits still as well as he does now.

Unfortunately this will be teh first time hes ever flown (same with his sister) so we dont have previous exoerience with how he behaves on flights

I do appreciate everyones opinions....as well as how civil this thread has been.

 

[starstruck93]

I don't know the name of this, but I have seen an actual car seat that has wheels & a handle that pop out of it so you can push it around like a stroller. It's called a Sit 'n Stroll. You wouldn't be able to use it as your main stroller, but it would be fine for pushing a kid through the airport.

Yes, I've seen this in my One step ahead catalog. It looks pretty neat.