Flying w/3 year old - carseat, birth cert, etc.?

[amyg1975]

We flew the first time with the Cares system, when our daughter was 2, and it was not fun. She felt very insecure and scared. (1+ hour flight) The next time we took her seat, and it was so much better, she had no idea we had taken off or landed! We didn't buy the the thing to transport the car seat easier though, so what we did was just sit it in the seat of the stroller to take through the airport, and then we either carried her or she walked to the gate.

 

[talentedmummy]

I have used the CARES harness for my son as well. It worked well but did not contain him as well as the car seat did. We need my dd's seat this trip and will be using it on the plane. I really can't see a reason not to use it.
We also stick it in the stroller for moving through the airport, works great and no one has to carry it.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Keep in mind that I'm not experienced in flying, but it can't hurt to have a copy of his birth cert with you, just in case.

.....

In case of what? It's unnecessary for an under 18 year old with a purchased seat.

 

[thatgrljme]

Absolutely do not check a car seat. I've seen them tossed around, fallen off of luggage carts, baggage handlers don't care and your seat could be damaged in the process.

I have a Diono and they are 27lbs on their own. Last trip I used a luggage cart and bungee this next trip we got the gogobabyz so I can use it like a stroller thru the airport. I will bring it on every plane trip until he outgrows the 5 point harness on it.

I felt my son did better on the flight in it because it's a familiar seat and he's comfortable in it. It's also just safer and personally I think they should require car seats on planes like they do in cars.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

We always brought my son's carseat (Britax Diplomat) on the plane, and also used a Go-Go Kidz Travelmate to get it (and him) through the airport. Worked great, and he loved it and did much better strapped into his familiar carseat than he would have done in the regular airplane seat with a seatbelt he could easily unbuckle.

My one tip I've learned is to ask for a seatbelt extender to use to buckle the carseat into the airplane seat. That way the buckle isn't latched behind the carseat and gets stuck (as it did for us on our first flight).

 

[mummabear]

We have never flown with car seats for our kids. The US requires FAA approved seats and since our seats were bought here in NZ they don't have the right sticker. I feel like having to take the seat through to the gate would be a pain but I do agree that I worry about the baggage handlers!

 

[AndreAggie]

Our son is 4, but is BARELY 40 pounds. I'm not comfortable enough putting him in a booster yet and he has a Britax Frontier in my car. Let me tell you, that carseat is HEAVY. We're flying to SNA next week from Texas, so about a 3.5 hour flight. Our son has flown before. We are just letting him sit in the regular seat on the flight. Once we land, we've made arrangements to rent a stroller and carseat. The company we're renting from will meet us at the airport. So we don't have to check or lug a stroller or carseat. The stroller was $55 to rent for 7 days and the carseat was a $20 add-on and is supposed to be a Britax. He's tall enough that if we put him in the carseat on the plane, the folks in front of us would NOT be happy.

 

[KalamityJane]

Our son is 4, but is BARELY 40 pounds. I'm not comfortable enough putting him in a booster yet and he has a Britax Frontier in my car. Let me tell you, that carseat is HEAVY. We're flying to SNA next week from Texas, so about a 3.5 hour flight. Our son has flown before. We are just letting him sit in the regular seat on the flight. Once we land, we've made arrangements to rent a stroller and carseat. The company we're renting from will meet us at the airport. So we don't have to check or lug a stroller or carseat. The stroller was $55 to rent for 7 days and the carseat was a $20 add-on and is supposed to be a Britax. He's tall enough that if we put him in the carseat on the plane, the folks in front of us would NOT be happy.

Make sure that the straps are still over his shoulders for forward facing, the Britax convertibles have short top slots and are outgrown fairly quickly. If it's one of the new Clicktight Britax, he should be fine.

 

[keltiesmom]

thanks. Fortunately, he sits well, which leads me another problem. Do I lug the Graco Nautilus (it's either that or a Britax Fronteir-neither of which sounds fun to bring) or put him in a high back for the trip and carry it on. We will fly into LAX (no direct flights to the other airport from Hawaii). We may drive to Legoland one day, but the majority of the time we spend the DLR and we will stay somewhere across the street and walk. DD will be nearly 8 so I'm comfortable bringing a backless booster for her.

If I remember correctly The frontier is not airline approved, I don't know if the nautilus is or not. If it were me I would use the seat on the plane, and maybe consider buying a lighter weight seat, or use a luggage cart to haul it through the airport. We took 2 britax seats on our last trip and it was a PItA but worth it to have them. If you are going to take them through security and the airport then you may as well take them on the plane.

 

[vatali]

for a carseat on a plane, another question you need to ask yourself is how many carryons are you taking? I have seen several parent/small child tag teams getting on and off a plane with a backpack, a rollerboard and a carseat, trying to navigate the isle to get to their seats. it isn't pretty trying to make sure your little one is listening to you when you say walk to the row, having a rollerboard behind, and the car seat in front with a backpack on.

As a FF with my children (now 5 and 11) I never did the car seat on the plane, and the past 2 years I didn't take one at all. most rental agencies, in the US or abroad, can rent you one for a minimal cost, and considerable less hassle.

Same with strollers. I stopped taking the fancy one where the car seat fits in it, and got a simple umbrella stroller I could throw away at the end of the trip, just because the logistics of luggage, tired kids, tired momma and all of our items was just to much to deal with. small and simple for me.

 

[AndreAggie]

Make sure that the straps are still over his shoulders for forward facing, the Britax convertibles have short top slots and are outgrown fairly quickly. If it's one of the new Clicktight Britax, he should be fine.

My sister-in-law is a certified carseat tech. She always checks our seats and makes sure they fit our son properly.

 

[KalamityJane]

My sister-in-law is a certified carseat tech. She always checks our seats and makes sure they fit our son properly.

Oh I meant the rental one. The frontier I'm sure he still fits in. Also to another poster, the Frontier is FAA approved now but you have to print the info off of Britax's site. It's retroactive but the older ones don't have the sticker.

 

[bcla]

Kind of late, but here goes.

"Birth certificate" is sort of the default that most discuss because most children don't have another form of government-issued ID. However, there are other proof of age documents that any airline will accept. My kid flew as a lap infant with a US passport card as proof of age. I personally don't feel comfortable with my kid's birth certificate leaving the house unless it's absolutely needed. I've heard of cases where one was lost/stolen and identity theft became an issue.

And proof of age basically only becomes an issue for a lap infant. That's an FAA requirement, although each airline has its own method of enforcement. Southwest requires proof of age at the airport. Some airlines require that a document be sent by FAX before the flight. Others says that they reserve the right to randomly request proof of age. A child under 18 with a paid ticket isn't required to have any ID, although I've brought one for my child. I noted the passport card, and recently we obtained a California ID card (from the DMV) for our kid.

 

[AWalks]

When we've flown with our kids I always take a copy of their birth certificates but have never been asked to show them, by TSA or the airline. I think they would mainly just want it as proof of age in two situations: 1) to make sure the kiddo isn't too old to be a lap child and therefore fly for free, or 2) as proof of age if you purchased a seat at the "discounted" child rate (though at least on Southwest, the child rate is actually just a slight discount off the most expensive fare, so it's always been cheaper to buy adult Wanna Get Away seats for our kids). I suppose if TSA thought there was something weird going on they might ask to see the birth certificate, but since there is no photo attached to it I don't know how useful it would ever be to them as a form of ID.

As far as the car seat question, I already posted a novel on a post about a similar question : ) , but basically I can't imagine getting my kids to sit still in a lap on a plane for any length of time, so we always take the car seats onto the plane with us. We recently took them on a trip to PDX with 2 Diono Radians, which are pretty heavy, and while it wasn't fun we still plan on doing that later this year for our trip to DL. I did have the Diono backpack straps for the seats but they were still very heavy and cumbersome, so we will most likely bungee the seats onto one of those rolling travel frame things and roll them onto the plane that way. There are some car seats that are lighter and more recommended for travel, but I think the ones I've seen have lower height and weight limits so those may not work for you. We are only doing DL and won't be renting a car, so we were going back and forth between buying CARES harnesses and taking the DL Express bus to the hotel, or taking the seats on the plane and having DK Livery/Lansky's do the to/from airport transportation, but I think we've decided on Lansky's for a few different reasons. But if you're renting a car there and will need the car seat anyway, I would just take it on the plane. I've known a number of people whose car seats were lost or damaged while flying and I don't think I would want to deal with that on vacation, plus from what I've seen both with my kids and other kids while flying, everyone seems to do better and be more comfortable in their own seat. Good luck!

 

[KalamityJane]

Awalks - I have Radians as well and hate to fly with them so I got Evenflo Titan65s (also known as SureRides). The top harness slot is 19" which will last until 6yo or so and top weight of 65 lbs. Rearfacing goes to 40lbs or 40". They weigh about 9-10 lbs each and are much easier to travel with. Just if you wanted another option. They can be found under $100 or at Burlington Coat Factory for ~$60.

 

[bcla]

Awalks - I have Radians as well and hate to fly with them so I got Evenflo Titan65s (also known as SureRides). The top harness slot is 19" which will last until 6yo or so and top weight of 65 lbs. Rearfacing goes to 40lbs or 40". They weigh about 9-10 lbs each and are much easier to travel with. Just if you wanted another option. They can be found under $100 or at Burlington Coat Factory for ~$60.

Doesn't it weight something like 30 lbs since it has a steel frame? We've got a Britax Marathon 70, and that thing has a steel frame and it's bear to handle when we're just switching it between cars. I'd hate to take it on a flight.

We got an Evenflo Maestro as a backup and travel car seat. It has a plastic shell without a metal frame. The only foam it has is at the headrest. It's remarkably easy to take with us since it only weighs 8 lbs.

 

[bcla]

When we've flown with our kids I always take a copy of their birth certificates but have never been asked to show them, by TSA or the airline. I think they would mainly just want it as proof of age in two situations: 1) to make sure the kiddo isn't too old to be a lap child and therefore fly for free, or 2) as proof of age if you purchased a seat at the "discounted" child rate (though at least on Southwest, the child rate is actually just a slight discount off the most expensive fare, so it's always been cheaper to buy adult Wanna Get Away seats for our kids). I suppose if TSA thought there was something weird going on they might ask to see the birth certificate, but since there is no photo attached to it I don't know how useful it would ever be to them as a form of ID.

Like I said, a passport card is pretty convenient and fits in a wallet. I also had some time away from work around the holidays, so I scheduled a visit to the DMV to get our 4 YO a California non-DL ID. I even used the passport card as the proof of identity/eligibility. I do understand that different states have different age requirements for non-DL ID. Massachusetts has a 14 year minimum age to get one. California has no minimum age. It was also kind of interesting since the application instructions weren't written for minors. In the end I had to sign my kid's name because my kid can't really at this point, and in any case probably wouldn't sign terribly legibly anyways. Also - the camera was sitting on a rig that couldn't be lowered enough to take a photo of my child. They didn't have a stool, so I ended up awkwardly propping my kid up on my knee. Here are the two requirements I noted:

http://www.massrmv.com/rmv/license/13bMAID.htm

Massachusetts ID Requirements

• You must be at least 14 years of age.
• You may not hold a valid license in any state.
• You must be a resident of Massachusetts.

https://dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/?1dmy&urile=wcm:path:/dmv_content_en/dmv/dl/dl_info#idcard

Identification (ID) cards

DMV issues ID cards to persons of any age. The ID card looks like a driver license, but is used for identification purposes only. A regular ID card is valid for six years, and a senior citizen ID card is valid for 10 years. To qualify for a senior citizen ID card, you must be age 62 or older.

 

[thatgrljme]

Doesn't it weight something like 30 lbs since it has a steel frame? We've got a Britax Marathon 70, and that thing has a steel frame and it's bear to handle when we're just switching it between cars. I'd hate to take it on a flight.

We got an Evenflo Maestro as a backup and travel car seat. It has a plastic shell without a metal frame. The only foam it has is at the headrest. It's remarkably easy to take with us since it only weighs 8 lbs.

They are very heavy, I traveled with one recently, but they are very thin. I can roll it down the isle of the plane with no problems and it fits in the seats of the plane with room to spare. I wouldn't even worry about the weight since it is such an aweosme and thin car seat. I love it and love traveling with it. I used a luggage cart with bungee on my last trip and will use a gogobabyz on this next trip.

 

[Cats2]

Another option in lieu of a car seat for a 4 yr old would be to use the Ride Safer Travel Vest. http://safetrafficsystem.com/ver4/products/how-to-choose/
The Ride Safer 2 is actually certified for use as a child restraint (in the US). It's only for use in cars, not planes. It's extremely packable, though a bit pricey. My kids ride in Frontier 85's and Radians at home, and neither of those seats would be easy to travel with (though I hear the Radian is low enough for a kid to use the fold down table on a plane). I would hesitate renting a car seat because I've heard horror stories about some parents' experiences with seats in poor condition, or that the owners manual could not be found to help with harness adjustment or installation. And some people don't understand you can't just wash the harness in the washing machine nor dry clean it, due to potential weakening of the harness. Who knows it the prior user's kid threw up in the seat? But, checking in a car seat isn't great either-we all know that baggage gets abused, and the car seat can sustain damage, which could lead to having a compromised seat when you arrive. It's very frustrating.

The PP who mentioned SureRides has a good idea-lighter weight relatively inexpensive car seat for traveling.

 

[GoBears 1980]

okay now i have a question. If you don't check a car seat and don't bring it on the plane, what do you do with it?

I apologize for not reading all the answers, but I wanted to answer this one question.

Take the car seat with you as carry on and then check it at the end of the boarding ramp just like with a stroller.