Carseat on the Plane

[Cory's Gal]

I am bringing a lighter weight carseat for my almost 2 year old son on our trip next month for on the airplane. We are bringing a lightweight one because it's just for the plane, we will be using Disney transportation the rest of the time. The seat itself has extra buckles for the LATCH system and such, should I take those off and just buckle the carseat in with the airplane seat belt? I want it to be as easy as possible! TIA!
Beth

 

[hmillerbarilla]

I left all the latch stuff on our seat for the plane and just tucked it behind the carseat. I just buckled the seat with the airplane's seatbelt. The best thing about bringing your carseat on the plane is that your kid is so used to sitting in it, that they don't attempt to get out! I've flown with my DD many times and she is so good about staying in her seat. I also bought a little push cart at Target to push the carseat around the airport. This was a great thing to have--it was well worth the $30. You can just push it and keep your hands free for all the other things. You can find it near the luggage. It folds up nicely to fit through the security and then I would store it in the overhead compartment. Good luck!

 

[RedSoxMom]

We are also bringing a lighter weight carseat with us but we will be using it in the car, too, so we will be bringing the latch belt with us. If you know you don't need to put the seat in a car than it seems like you could leave the latch strap at home.

We have a car seat travel bag and DH just carries the car seat on his back.

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Just something to consider.....as I ran into problems with my 2 carseats......

Measure the width of your carseat and call the airline, confirm the airbus style/model you are on and ask for specific seat measurement sizes to make sure it will fit! Also, carseats generally do not fit well in the bulkhead seats as they are narrower.

I actually did call ahead to check the seat measurements but they gave me the regular seat sizes and we always sit in bulkhead seats as oldest dd is special needs. So, can you imagine, DH & I preboard with our 3 dd's, we gatecheck the stroller and are trying to get the little ones in carseats only to have to have them store those for us too as they didn't fit in the seats! UGH! So much for our plan of comfort and safety!!

 

[Schmeck]

Also make sure the carseat has the proper sticker ID for use on airplanes, or they won't let you use it...

 

[supersuperwendy]

How long is your flight??? Maybe your 2 year old would sit buckled without it. I wished I had left ours home...what a pain! We had the hardest time getting it secured in the center seat between my husband and I..then the flight attendant told us to move her next to the window! I was like...NOOOO! It was hard enough to buckle the first time! He said it was FAA regulation in case of an accident the carseat couldn't block another seat.....I was like...I'll take the chance..I'm the only one she's in the way of. He said either we'd move her....or off the plane we'd go! So there we were....the last ones to be seated because we couldn't get the stupid thing buckled in the window seat!!!! UGH...wish i had left it home! She would've been fine without it!

 

[becca011906]

i would take the seat... i mean it would be better to have it there, on the off chance you wanted to take a cab somewhere or something eles... what kinda seat is it??? best place for car seat help is www.car-seat.org forums there like these, with techs to help... if you know what kinda seat then maybe someone can tell ya if it will fit or not...

 

[Cory's Gal]

Thanks for all your advice, it's a Costco I think, it's our extra one from my hubby's car that he only sits in 2 times a week. He has a more "luxury" seat in my vehicle but it's bulkier and heavier. I think he will be much more comfortable in the seat than not. What type of "ID" needs to be on the seat? I will remember to put him by the window right away. Our flight is almost 3 hours, we are flying from Minneapolis. This will sure be a fun experience!! Thanks everybody, I like all the different ideas!!!

Beth

 

[RedSoxMom]

Also make sure the carseat has the proper sticker ID for use on airplanes, or they won't let you use it...

Our airline, Midwest Airlines, says the seat needs to have a sticker that says the seat is approved for use on aircraft.

Thanks to some posts above I did find out that our car seat should fit in the seat. It measures about 17.5 inches and the smallest seat is 18 inches on our aircraft. It was good to check on that!

I hadn't heard about the window requirement, but I'll definitely ask a flight attendant about that when we board each leg to save having to move the seat around.

I love the disboards...so many great tips!

 

[RedSoxMom]

Forgot to mention that our seat is a Cosco Scenera.

 

[becca011906]

if it's a scenera then it should fit just fine, will prolly need to put the arms up on the seat but really shouldn't matter at all. also i think the scenera has the information on being airline approved in it's owners manual maybe if you take it, should be good enough, i can't remember if it has a specific sticker on it or not, i'll have to check later when we go somewhere...

 

[all4fun]

The scenera will fit fine. I've traveled with the touriva, it's predesessor, several times, no problem. The seat we are using now is even wider and as long as we can raise the armrest it's not an issue.

Btw I have read that putting the seat in between two parents (not by the window) is OK but some FA's are not aware of this. In the future, ask them to show you in their manual where it's not allowed and if they can't ... then well there you go. When having issues with FA's you shouldn't have to argue with them (and don't want to - they could throw you off the plane, which wouldn't be good!) But you can ask to speak to the pursur (sp?) who is the one in charge. Just some tips I'd thought I'd pass on from a former FA offered on another board I am a member of.

FYI: here's a link to the FAA flying with children page:
http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

The sticker on the seat is white and has the following wording in RED letters:

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.

hth.

 

[Dawn414]

Interesting comments about the car seats...here's a couple more.

1) Airline tag...If you KNOW your seat is certified, make sure you know exactly where the tag is and how it reads. We have twins (3 yr old). My son is a lot bigger than my daughter so his car seat is one that can be a booster seat afterward. With the harness restraint it is certified for use on a plane. Without it, it is not. We argued with a flight attendant once over this. At the end of the day, we checked it....

2) Window seat...as above, we have 2 to contend with on a plane. We have almost always put one on either side of me (I sit in the middle) and no one has ever told us we can't do that. Odd...

Car seats in general...If the child is still relatively young, I am all for bringing (or lugging as it were) the car seats on a plane. At this stage (shortly after the incident above) we stopped bringing them on the plane and just check them. It's just more to carry and the kids are fine with using the airline seatbelts...they like buckling themselves in actually. We keep them busy with a portable dvd player and they're fine for the 2-3 hour flights we typically take. You CAN rent them from the car agencies, but unless I have to, I bring my own and now check them.

 

[becca011906]

Interesting comments about the car seats...here's a couple more.

1) Airline tag...If you KNOW your seat is certified, make sure you know exactly where the tag is and how it reads. We have twins (3 yr old). My son is a lot bigger than my daughter so his car seat is one that can be a booster seat afterward. With the harness restraint it is certified for use on a plane. Without it, it is not. We argued with a flight attendant once over this. At the end of the day, we checked it....
.

I think that any car seat that is a combination seat (one that harness and is a booster) are NOT airline aproved... i'm pretty sure it HAS to be a convertible that is always harness and can be ffing or rfing...
I SAID THINK and PRETTY sure, youd have to check with a CPS tech, which i'm not yet, but soon to be! LOL

 

[akrake]

we just got back and prior to our trip I was reading on the swa sitr about flying with babies...they mentioned an alternative to car seats for children 22-44 lbs...the CARES system (do a google search or go to swa)...it's a harness system that attaches to the airplane seat. I used it for my 3 yr old and 16month old...it was wonderful for the older child but the 16month old is still a backward seater & it was hard for him to stay in the airline seat.

this system was really great for me bc we were using ME & wdw buses...if i were renting a car I would have brought my carseats.
hth
akrake

 

[all4fun]

1) Airline tag...If you KNOW your seat is certified, make sure you know exactly where the tag is and how it reads. We have twins (3 yr old). My son is a lot bigger than my daughter so his car seat is one that can be a booster seat afterward. With the harness restraint it is certified for use on a plane. Without it, it is not. We argued with a flight attendant once over this. At the end of the day, we checked it....

I think that any car seat that is a combination seat (one that harness and is a booster) are NOT airline aproved... i'm pretty sure it HAS to be a convertible that is always harness and can be ffing or rfing...
I SAID THINK and PRETTY sure, youd have to check with a CPS tech, which i'm not yet, but soon to be! LOL

I have used my Evenflo Bolero combination seat numerous times on flights now and it is airline approved. As long as it has the harness in it (and has a sticker on it saying it's approved for use on an airplane) you can use it on board an aircraft.

I'm sorry the pp had such a difficult time with the FA's. I just don't get it but I guess some of them aren't as up on car seats as they should be. There are so many different kinds though I can see how that would happen.

Here's the wording on my seat:

When used WITH the 5-point harness system: This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft. When used WITHOUT the 5-point harness as a Booster: This booster is NOT certified for aircraft use. A belt-positioning booster seat requires the use of a lap/shoulder belt system, which is not available on aircraft.

 

[jessica52877]

As long as you have the harness on then most are approved for airline flights now a days (assuming the seat is of course), older models most were not. I have been doing extensive research on car seats lately for my 4 year old and so far ALL have been approved for flying with harness (up to 65 lbs).

We too have always been told to put the carseat by the window and always just the 3 of us in the row. I always have had to lift the armrest. I would NOT take off the latch, mine I just pull tight and "wrap" the strap or put in little bag attached to seat.

I highly suggest taking the seat no matter what, if you take the safety issue out of it, it is still 100 times easier, kid knows they sit in it and can't move. Period! We have never let my son out for any reason. He can't get out in car, so why let him on a plane.

Just my thoughts!