Carseats on plane....

[hammie59]

Anyone have any experience using a Britax carseat on a plane ("Marathon" in my case). My 1yr old will be in that and I'm going to be bringing a booster with a high back for my 5yr old. The reason I'm concerned is that that brand of carseat is rather large and wondered if anyone has had any trouble flying with one. I'm not sure if I'd use the booster on the plane or not, but the carseat for sure.

 

[Tara]

I've used a Marathon on a 737, 757, A319 and CRJ...IIRC, the most I've ever had to do to get it to fit is raise the armrest, and I don't recall exactly, but I think that was only when flying in a CRJ.

Just remember to turn the buckle release so that it is facing AWAY from the car seat, not facing towards it. If you don't do this, when you tighten the seat belt to install the seat, that will make it extremely difficult to release the seat belt.

 

[gw_lit]

Also, you won't be able to use a high-back booster on the plane, only seats with a 5-point harness and a sticker saying "Approved for airline travel" or something similar are allowed. You can check your booster if you want to use it in a car once you get to Orlando.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Also, the carseat has to go on the window seat. In the event of an evacuation, this makes much sense.

One thing that might make the experience easier, is a car seat bag. You put the car seat in, they zip up and they have shoulder straps and wheels for transport through the airport. Not only that, but you don' have to worry about tucking in all the straps and all - eveything goes inside the bag.

If you aren't going to use the carseat on the plane - you can also use thebag as an extra place to store things - like jackets.