flying w/ carseats?

[HillPete]

Has anyone ever flown with their children's carseats? We are headed down in 2 weeks and can't decide if we should bring them (we don't have the bags they can go in for the plane) or rent them from our rental car company. Any advice? Thanks!

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes -

IMHO if your children are required to be in a carseat in the car they should be flying in one as well. Check to see that they are FAA certified and bring them on board. Your children will be safer and will probably follow the "rules of the car" and not get as antsy to walk about.

TJ

 

[NotUrsula]

Actually, the guidelines for use in a car are NOT the same as those for use in aircraft, so in order to advise you properly without TMI, it would help if you gave us a little more info:

How old are your children, and are either of them over 40 lbs.?

Have you purchased seats on the plane for them, and what airline are you flying?

What kind of carseats do you have? (either model name or type; i.e, infant seat, 5 pt. harness toddler seat, overhead shield toddler seat, etc.) Some types cannot be used aboard aircraft at all, some types can be used only if they meet certain specific criteria.

 

[andijean]

I recommend bringing them. Here are a couple thinkgs to keep in mind. I find it is easier to keep the kids contained if they are in the carseats on the plan. If you purchased a seat for your child it is no big deal to use it on the plane, it is just a pain to lug through the airport. If you do not have a seat purchased, at check-in you can see if there empty seats available and if there are you can bring you carseat in for your child to use. If not just check the carseat in with your baggage. I do recommend the carseat bags, if you need to check-in your carseats or for carrying through the airport. They do make it easier. They probably end up costing you less than renting carseats. (try ebay for used ones) Also, I don't know how I would feel about the safety and fit of the rental carseats, but my husband is a freak about carseat safety b/c he is in the collision repair business.

Oh, another thing that I made sure of this trip after my last trip was to make sure I rented a car form a rental car company that had an onsite lot. We rented from a major company last time and had a 20mintue ride to the lot, with sleeping baby, carseat, stroller, pack n play, and luggage on a bus. Then, I had to sit outside in the sun, while my husband did the transa ction inside ( another 30 min) The place was mobbed. The Orlando airport website list the companies onsite.

Hope this helps!

 

[mayson12]

My 2 cents on the carseat issue: Last year, DH and I flew cross country with our then 18month old and 3 1/2 yr old. We brought both carseats onto the plane. Well, the 3 year old's carseat is pretty big and it positioned him so that the tips of his toes were touching the back of the seat in front of him. Every time he moved, his feet kicked the back of the seat and we got a dirty look from the occupant. Try keeping a 3 yr old still for a 4 1/2 hour flight. Talk about stressfull. Also, the 18 month old really didn't like being in his carseat at all, and I ended up holding him in my lap much of the time. Keep in mind that the tray tables will not fold down when a carseat is in the seat because there isn't enough room, so I had to try and juggle 2 meals on my tray and DH did the same.

Needless to say on the way home, I only put the youngest in his carseat and the oldest sat in the seat with the belt. It was much less stressfull not having to worry about him kicking the seatback and easier with him being able to use his tray for coloring, eating, etc.

This year we won't be bringing a carseat on the plane. What we will do instead of checking the booster and carseat as luggage is bring them to the boarding gate with our stroller. The crew will stow them in the cargo hold and return them in the same place when you get off of the plane. Less chance for damage that way.

Your carseat situation should depend on how much your kids like or will tolerated being in a seat and how long your flight is.

I hope I'm not coming across as negative, I'm just trying to show the flip side of the coin and save some potential stress.

 

[HillPete]

OK, for those who asked, my 3 1/2 yo weighs about 35 lbs. and happily rides in his Graco turboBooster at home. We have purchased a seat for him. My 15-month-old weighs about 18 lbs. and happily rides in his Britax Roundabout (5 pt. harness) when at home. He is flying as a lap baby and I have one of those harness-thingies for lap babies. I know they are only certified for cruising, but I imagine I'll be clutching him rather tightly during takeoff and landing no matter where he is! Thanks for all the help so far. --H

 

[NotUrsula]

Thanks, that makes a lot of difference. You have a mixed bag.

The TurboBooster cannot be used on an aircraft, you'll have to check it, though you can gate-check it reduce the amount of abuse it will take. The Britax can be used onboard, but you don't have a seat for it, so you can take it to the gate and hope that your flight isn't full (doesn't happen often anymore, but hope springs eternal.) You know the score on the harness; you will have to take it off for takeoff and landing.

Fifteen months is a rather hellish age to try to lap-carry a child; they are about at their squirmiest then. If you can get the Britax onboard, I recommend you do it; it will save you an enormous amount of physical exhaustion. If it goes onboard it must go in the window position, so don't promise that spot to your older child.

You can rent carseats at your destination, of course, but it's iffy and expensive (~$12/day/seat). Even if you reserve them, there may not be any left when you arrive, and they are usually not in spectacularly spiffy condition. My recommendation is to spring $15 at Target instead to buy a backpack satchel that will hold both seats while you take them to the gate, and will protect the seats (or just the Graco) for gatecheck. If it's cold out, toss your coats in with them to serve as padding and reduce what you have to stow on board.

 

[ahutton]

Another option may be to adjust the seat straps to allow the older child to sit in it, assuming it isn't too difficult to shorten them back up. Our seat has a push button and a strap you pull that are in front, so it is easy to adjust the straps out for our older child to sit in her sister's seat and then just snug them back up once the seat is in the rental car. That way if the plane is borderline full you can put the car seat in the window space and your older child can sit in it, but if it turns out there is a spare seat or so to be had then maybe you can put your older child on the aisle and the younger one can go into the seat to nap or hang out. We were lucky - there was an open seat on an aisle not far away and DH was able to move there, and I played with our older DD coloring and such and the little one went into the seat and fell asleep. Just another option to throw out there... Oh - and I realize this wouldn't work for every child size or seat type, we have a seat that the adjustment straps are in the back of the seat. Once we get it situated for one of them we don't change it unless we have to!

 

[tjmw2727]

Yes - my mistake. Generally speaking a "carseat" around here is the typical 1-3yo 20-40lb seat. Infant and booster seats are another story! Personally let's hope you can put the toddler into the carseat - good suggestions already on that. I highly recommend checking to see if you can get a reduced fare for the toddler and have a guaranteed seat.

FWIW, many of the airlines are not allowing the harness or vests now at all and none, as you know will allow them during takeoff and landing. I have flown through some bad turbulance as well as some difficult landings and would not have wanted to have my child on my lap in either circumstance.

A quick websearch on the subject may be enough to change your mind!

TJ

 

[NurseKim]

We just flew with our 5 mo old. Our car seat would have been too wide for the plane (EvenFlo Triumph 5) but didn't buy a seat for him but there was room on the plane if we wanted to seat him.
We still brought our own car seat for the ride to the hotel. I don't know if my son would have fit in that car seat well or if it had been in an accident or not. We bought a car seat bag for $20.
As for a booster, there was a family ahead of us that had a cool-looking fold up booster that the attendant said would have to be stowed away...not sure why?

 

[hookedondizney]

We are traveling in May and I have to take the car seats so that we can use them once we arrive at Disney. So is it best to check them in with the luggage, or take them on the plane and hope they can store them? I will have 2 seats to take. Where will they put them during the flight? As you can gather we have not flown with our children before. Is it really necessary to put them in a special BAG????

 

[NotUrsula]

No you don't *have* to get a special bag, it's just that having one makes navigating through the terminal much easier than not having one, especially if you have more than one, and/or not sure whether or not you will be able to use the seats on board. Carseats are bulky and awkward to carry, and a satchel w/ backpack straps frees your hands. Another popular method for moving them is to bungy each one to a rolling carryon. (I don't normally do that myself, I find it tends to make my rolling bags tip off the wheels.) A backpack satchel that is gate-checked also makes a nifty place to stash your coats when travelling in winter.

If you bring the seats to the gate and cannot use them on board (or never intended to) they will be gate-checked for you. This means that they will be among the last cargo loaded into the hold, which means that they will be on top of the pile rather than possibly underneath what is literally tons of luggage. The airline keeps thick clear plastic trash bags that they will give you as a cover if you check the seats with your luggage, but they usually don't have a supply of those bags at the gates (though you could probably ask when you check the luggage, and take one with you to the gate.) The hold of an airliner is NOT a very clean place, and anything fabric that goes into it has a good chance of coming back with black grease smears on it. (Also, if it is raining or snowing when you leave or arrive, it's possible that the seat could get drenched en route to the hold.) A satchel is just a handy thing to have, and worth the investment if you often travel with young children.

As to a fold-up booster, even it it had a 5-pt harness, carseats without a fixed back are not allowed on aircraft because aircraft seats are designed to collapse forward with an impact. A folding carseat holds the child's hips back but not his torso, crushing
him inside of it rather than letting him tilt forward toward the floor. A hard molded shell allows the child to absorb the impact but still move forward along the intended path.

 

[topgumm]

I just want to second the issue of the cargo hold being very dirty! I have flown with and without the carseat bag and I will never fly without it again. Once, the car seat not only got really dirty, but we lost the head pillow and didn't realize it until we were in the shuttle for home. I have found the carseat bag to be a great place to stow wet or dirty clothes for the trip home. It is truly huge and very versatile. Worth every penny.

My personal opinion of the harness attachments is that they are almost useless and border on unsafe. I also recommend, as the above post mentioned, you should read up on the carseat safety web sites for more info.

 

[mickeyminnie]

and here is some info

there are currently no regulations governing things like the flying harnesses or those seat belt positioners. They say in fine print someplace what they are recommended for and at this time there are only gov regulations for under 40 pounds on seat performance so the smarmy manufacturers get away with fancy labeling to make it look like it meets regulations, which is does because there are no regulations.

Personally would never even consider using one.

A child 40 and under is safest in a harnesses car seat on a plane or in a car for that matter. You cannot bring a booster (without harness being used) on a plane and use it. The triumph would fit if you put the arm rest up, it is less comfortable for the parent sitting next to it, but safer for the child, I fit a safe embrace which had a super wide bottom. The seats with higher harness weights can sometimes be used however most of them really are too big, the britax super elite, you may be able to fit the britax marathon/wizard, not sure about the airway as the base detaches so it may not be airplane certified, haven't seen one to check.

As for dirty looks well.... that is too bad for them, no dirty look would make me put my child into a less safe situtation, and I would tell that person so. They can ask to be moved. One thing you can do if you are traveling 2 and 2 is offer to have a member of your party change to the seat in front of the kicking child.

 

[crazywig]

just wanted to add that i bought a cosco touriva carseat especially for travel use. it is very lightweight and not nearly as wide as my triumph V.

it was only $50 and works wonderfully. i got the recommendation from the carseat board on the baby bargains website www.babybargainsbook.com

 

[NotUrsula]

ITA re: the Touriva. It's a good basic seat, and is the standard infant/toddler seat offered by rental car companies. If you rent a carseat from them, odds are it will be a Touriva.

I know we have all heard that rental-car seats are iffy, but that's usually in regard to the condition of the seats, due to being rented out so many times to so many people who could not care less about taking good care of them. A privately-owned Touriva is a perfectly good seat, though the upholstery on it is not super-cushy. If you watch for sales, Wal-Mart and K-Mart often put the Touriva on sale for between $30-40 dollars.

We bought a Touriva for my MIL, to use on the rare occasions when she had DS in her car. For travel, we just borrowed it back.
(Our toddler seats were steel-framed Evenflo Ultara V's; VERY heavy to carry through an airport.)

 

[NotUrsula]

Installing a carseat on board an aircraft is different from in a car, because the belts are different and the seats recline. Getting it tight can drive you nuts if you don't know how.

I posted the best technique in another thread, but I'm going to link it here since the title of this one is so on-point:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=492156

 

[pooh_lover's_mom]

We will be going to WDW in a couple of months. I am trying to figure out what is the best for DS who will be 21 months and around 25 pounds. We have not purchased a seat for him on the plane. At this time, we are planning on using FL Tours for transportation to BW. FL Tours does supply a carseat if requested. We will be using Disney transportation for the rest of the stay with the exception of going to Sea World one day. Right now, we are planning on using the LYNX bus system for this.

I am looking for any advice on plane travel and whether a carseat is necessary or not.

 

[tjmw2727]

Originally posted by mickeyminnie
and here is some info

there are currently no regulations governing things like the flying harnesses or those seat belt positioners. They say in fine print someplace what they are recommended for and at this time there are only gov regulations for under 40 pounds on seat performance so the smarmy manufacturers get away with fancy labeling to make it look like it meets regulations, which is does because there are no regulations. >>> end quote

Actually there are regulations - from the faa website they are not allowed ever during take off and landing. In addition several airlines do not allow them at all, Delta comes to mind. Check your airline to be sure if you plan to use one during the flight.

FWIW - check out the faa website for more information on flying with children and CSR's

www1.faa.gov/passengers/childsafetyseats.cfm
quote from the FAA website for those that are interested:
<<<Reminders

Use an approved CRS when traveling to and from the airport, and when you arrive at your destination.

The safest place for a child on an airplane is in an apporved CRS based on the child's weight. While booster seats and harness vests enhance safety in automobiles, they are banned for use during taxi, take-off and landing. Although they are permissible for use during the cruise portion of flight, they do not afford the same level of protection as a hard-shell CRS.

In the United States, supplemental lap restraints, "belly belts," are banned from use in both automobiles and aircraft. >>>


TJ

 

[Susie Bee]

My kids are 5 & 7 but are slim children, both weigh about 40 each & use a booster seat. The last trip to Florida we rented carseats and they were old and filty!! We only used them to and from the airport, thank goodness--they looked bad! My DH and I are freaks about child safety and will not allow our children out of a booster so our luggage set has three pieces: small, medium and large. I'm already packed for our trip--call me crazy--and my DS & DD's clothing are packed in the small and DH and I have our stuff packed in the large bag, leaving the medium for their booster seats from home--and plenty of room for Disney souvenirs... I know my boosters are safe and comfortable for my kids which will make for a better trip!