Carseats on planes...just found out something interesting!

[Barb D]

I just called Southwest to confirm that our carseat is OK. I thought I had heard that some airlines don't allow certain kinds of carseats. The woman at SW wasn't very helpful about that...she just said that since the carseat says it is approved for aircraft that it will "probably" be OK.

What surprised me, though, was that she said that ONLY infants under 2yo are allowed to ride in carseats! 2yo and up must ride in the plane seat with the regular seat belt. Not only that, but I have to bring proof with me that she is under 2. (She said that anything with her birth date on it, like her insurance card, will do.) We bought a ticket for her so that we'll be sure of having a seat for her. She's a little too bouncy to hold on our laps for 2 hours.

 

[jel0511]

I have to say that's very interesting.... We have flown with our daughter twice since she's been over 2, she's now over 3 and have never been questioned as to her age to bring her car seat on. It was on two seperate airlines, I'll have to call the airline I'm flying on in Aug to see if they have the same rule.

 

[lovingthemouse]

Our grandson flew with us in April and we had his toddler car seat with us - no problem at all.

 

[Beverly Lynn]

in all my 15 yrs in the airline industry I never heard of that one before!

 

[ducklite]

Sounds like a SouthWest rule, NOT an FAA rule. I'd call back and talk to someone else, and make sure you get their name and note the time and date.

Anne

 

[pajamommy]

We never heard of that, we've always had our kids sit in their carseats up through age 3. Never had a problem, this was on Delta.

 

[Jenn]

We always fly SW and have flown a total of 7 times with our daughter. She was under 2 three of those times and over 2 four of those times. Every time we have purchased a seat for her and she has ridden in her car seat. Maybe the agent was mixing up the rules - I know that a child over two must purchase a seat - in other words cannot be a lap child. But, that is the only restriction I know of based on their age. I also know that booster seats aren't allowed, so most kids over 4 or so would have to ride in the plane seat instead of a booster.

 

[minnie mouse]

I flew last year on Southwest and both of my girls were over 2 at the time and I had my car seats. And we will be going again this October and I plan I taking them again.
I like to take them because they sit much better for the flight.

 

[skeezixspud]

My DS has flown at least 20 times in his carseat on SW in the last two years. Perhaps she was giving you the rule for SW's infant fare for using the carseat. The FAA recommendation is that a carseat be used until a child weighs 40 lbs.; at that point they should ride in the regular passenger seat.

 

[jel0511]

Just a note about booster seats, they are allowed on a plane, if they have a five point harness and don't have armrests. Check your user manual to see if it's approved for aircraft use.

 

[B3LM]

We took our carseat for my DS when he was 2 1/2 and had no problem using it on the plane.

 

[gn2wdw]

Make sure you have the sticker on the seat that says FAA approved for air travel. When flying Delta the flight attendant wouldn't let me board the plane until she saw the sticker. Once I had DD belted into the seat another attendant came by and wanted me to remove DD and the seat so she could see the sticker. I politely refused and told her that the attendant in the front had already checked the seat.

Melinda

 

[Biyanna]

What's up with Delta and these sticker checks? My friend was checked 3X'S, BEFORE TAKEOFF!!!!! The last time her ds was in his seat, just starting to drift off. She quietly refused but, it wasn't polite at all.

 

[kimb4]

We are flying Delta in October with our 5 yr. old and 3 yr. old. Neither of them weigh 40 lbs. yet. I called Delta and talked with a very helpful representative. I gave her the girls exact weights and heights and she said they consider it safer for them both to be buckled into a regular seat with the regular seatbelt. The 3 yr. olds booster still has the 5 point harness, but the 5 yr. old is too tall for that and we use the shoulder restraint with it. Boosters with the 5 point harness are okay on the planes, but if you use the shoulder restraint, they are not legal on the planes per FAA. Actually, we weren't bummed to hear this news, we won't have to lug a stroller AND two boosters through the airports! We will rent boosters with our rental car and will gate check the stroller.

 

[gn2wdw]

In my experience they (Delta) are all over you if you use the booster seat with the 5 point harness. When we went with regular carseats we were never asked about the sticker. Once we moved to booster seats with the 5 point that's when they started questioning. The attendants are confused on what is okay and not okay with the boosters. One of them told me no use of boosters.

Melinda

 

[buzz5985]

I used a Century Next Step Booster seat with a 5 point harness on a plane last March for my 4 1/2 year old, 41 inch, 36 pound son. (US Air) The only problem was our seat assignments on the plane. We couldn't be within 3 (I think) rows of an exit door. And I did have a problem with the planes belt coming undone holding the seat in. You could not really tighten it as much as in your own car. If you kneeled in the seat and tried to buckle it the buckle would come undone. But if you just buckled it - without kneeling in the seat - it was fine. My son is a wild child, but in his car seat he stays put. I knew he would fall asleep for the flights, and he did. Worth it for us. Janis

 

[Robin]

Hmmm...we are going to WDW for Caitlyn's 4th birthday and were planning on taking her booster. The last time we flew we just belted her in the regular seat which was fine...but when we went to get the rental car they only had an infant seat OR a booster that had the straps taken out (it is for children over 40 lbs) so I'm really not sure what to do now.