Do I need a car seat for an airplane??

[ZIPBAGS]

We are leaving next week for Disney. We are flying and taking our 2 1/2 year old son. We are taking ME which doesn't have seatbelts. So I can't use a car seat there. But, is he required to have a car seat for the plane? We are flying Continental if that makes a difference.

 

[grimley1968]

A car seat is not required for flights. However, we try to bring one anyway. It makes our DD2 more comfortable, and the flight might seem more like an everyday drive for your son, if he's sitting in his accustomed car seat. But they're definitely not required.

 

[Tara]

Until our son turned 3, we continued to use his car seat. At that point, he was just too tall to be comfortable and we felt more comfortable about him sitting in the seat with just a seatbelt. That said, there are advantages to bringing the seat on with you -- it's what they're used to so it makes flights go a little bit easier IME. Also, you don't have to worry about it being damaged if you check it.

However, if you are using DME, you won't be able to use the seat on the bus, so there's actually no need to bring the seat at all unless you would feel safer using it on the plane.

 

[CleveRocks]

We didn't bring our 2.5 year old's car seat for the airplane in May, and she was just fine both ways. My wife is a pediatrician and had no qualms about her safety.

-- Eric

 

[maciec]

I would say that it all depends on your son.

My son is just turning 2 and there is no way that I would be able to put him on a plane without his car seat because all that he would want to do is run the plane. Therefore, we will be bringing his car seat when we go in December. Plus the seats on the plane are pretty big for my little guy and I feel safer with him in his car seat.