Flying with a toddler

[Colleen27]

For those of you who have flown with a toddler in a carseat, what kind of carseat did you use? Was it under the recommended width for your airline? Our flight information suggests that car seats wider than 16" will not properly fit the airplane seat, but both the seat we have currently and the one we plan to buy when DD outgrows her rear facing seat are a 18"+. So I'm wondering what other people's experiences have been in flying with an "oversized" car seat. Any problems with the airline? With getting it belted in?

 

[laughinplace199]

We bought a Cosco Scenera for travel. I don't know the dimensions, but it's definitely smaller than our Britax Marathon. We fly JetBlue and the Scenera fits with plenty of room.

The only thing I don't like about the Scenera is that I find it tricky to install rear-facing. Although DS rides RF in our car, I may have him ride FF in our rental car if I still find the RF installation too tricky.

 

[TinkerbelleMom]

I have a Britax Marathon, yes it's a beast, but I didn't have troubles installing it. My trick is to ask immediately for an extender as I walk by the crew. The seat goes by the window, push the armrest up and recline the seat...hopefully by now the FA has delivered your extender, buckle that on one end of the seat belt and feed through the carseat, buckle second side and pull both belt and extender straps until they're as tight as you can get them. Put seat back upright, this is usually enough to make the seat secure. The trick for me is the recline, if I skip that part, I can never get it tight enough. I would think this would work for any type of carseat.

 

[Syrreal]

We also have a Britax Marathon. I have never had a problem on any flight so far, including commuter. I have never used an extender, though. I have small hands and don't have trouble getting into the rear of the seat to tighten.

 

[all4fun]

We have had 18" wide car seats in airplane seats with no problem on many different flights. I wouldn't worry about it too much. You will probably have to leave one of the arm rests up.

The car seat manual should have instructions for installing the seat on the airplane. Essentially, you would do a lap-belt only install since airlines don't have LATCH anchors, you would just 'store' the Latch straps on the seat (some seats have places to hook the Latch hooks when not in use).

When doing a fwd facing install on a plane, I would recline the airplane seat before threading the lap belt thru the fwd facing belt path, then once the lap belt is routed through the belt path, and tightened as much as possible, I would put the airplane seat back upright, which snugs it up even more.

Some seats, like the Britax seats, position the airplane buckle up against the plastic shell of the seat, making it more difficult to undo the buckle at the end of the trip. The trick with these seats is to either use a seat belt extender, OR you can simply flip the buckle over once so it places the release latch away from the plastic.

Make sure you know where the sticker is on the seat that shows it is "approved for use in vehicles and aircraft" just in case the flight crew asks to see it.

The easiest way I found to carry a seat down an airplane aisle was upside down with the base pointing up and the seat resting on my forearm. This puts the widest part of the seat higher up so you don't have to hold the whole thing over your head to fit it down the narrow airplane aisle.

hth!

 

[Erica09M]

What seat are you looking to buy? If it's FAA approved, it should fit. Some are only approved for forward facing on a plane.

We use the Cosco Scenera to travel with. We'll be using it rear facing on the plane in May for my then 23 month old.

 

[Erica09M]

What seat are you looking to buy? If it's FAA approved, it should fit. Some are only approved for forward facing on a plane.

We use the Cosco Scenera to travel with. We'll be using it rear facing on the plane in May for my then 23 month old.

I'd also print out a copy of the FAA regulations that state the proper use of a car seat on board because some flight attendants don't understand them properly and assume that they can only be installed forward facing, and that's absolutely incorrect. The seat that they're installed in must be forward facing, but the seat itself can be installed rear facing if the manufacturer allows it.

 

[wmharley]

I have a Britax Marathon, yes it's a beast, but I didn't have troubles installing it. My trick is to ask immediately for an extender as I walk by the crew. The seat goes by the window, push the armrest up and recline the seat...hopefully by now the FA has delivered your extender, buckle that on one end of the seat belt and feed through the carseat, buckle second side and pull both belt and extender straps until they're as tight as you can get them. Put seat back upright, this is usually enough to make the seat secure. The trick for me is the recline, if I skip that part, I can never get it tight enough. I would think this would work for any type of carseat.

words of wisdom... ask up front.. send DH down first with the carseat while you wait in the gate area with your child. allows time for DH to fit the seat in too and minimizes time the child is strapped in.

Our seat was wide, but moving the armrest up, gives some more space. extender is the big issue as the normal seatbelt won't work, and the extender is actually too long. you have to recline to force the extender to work with the extra length needed

 

[Bren's Mom]

I don't think you posted what kind of seat you have but assuming you have an infant carrier that you're using now and your child still fits in that USE IT! It will fit in a plane seat, will be easier to install than any convertible and will be more convenient. Most carriers can be used without the base, if that's true for yours you can decide if you want to take it with you or not. (If you'll be needing it for a vehicle as well as the plane.)

 

[Macduffy]

another vote for the Cosco Scenera it was light weight and perfect for our 20 month old

 

[Colleen27]

What seat are you looking to buy? If it's FAA approved, it should fit. Some are only approved for forward facing on a plane.

We use the Cosco Scenera to travel with. We'll be using it rear facing on the plane in May for my then 23 month old.

Right now DD is in a Graco SafeSeat, and she will be for quite a while because she's barely 19lbs (it has a 30lb limit). When she outgrows it, we'll be buying the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 to use as a forward facer and then a high back booster. Both are FAA approved and I'd like to use the carrier just because it is what I'm used to and easier to install than a forward-facing seat; it was just the "seats wider than 16" may not fit" from the airline that threw me for a loop. I'm glad to hear so many have used wider seats without issue.

 

[Bren's Mom]

Right now DD is in a Graco SafeSeat, and she will be for quite a while because she's barely 19lbs (it has a 30lb limit). When she outgrows it, we'll be buying the Graco Nautilus 3-in-1 to use as a forward facer and then a high back booster.

While that seems like a good plan, I'd encourage you to consider getting a convertible in between. Many kids do not like to be so reclined as they are in the infant carrier (even though you can install it a little more upright) as they get older. And it's unlikely she will make it to 30lbs in it, there's a good chance she will outgrow that seat by height (when there is less than an inch of shell above her head) before outgrowing by weight.

Since it is recommended that kiddos remain rear-facing for as long as possible, I'd strongly urge you to consider a convertible seat with a rear-facing weight limit of at least 35 lbs (although some reasonably priced seats now have a 40lbs rear-facing limit, that would be even better). These seats all have taller shells than an infant carrier so they are not outgrown by height first generally.

Coleen
CPST

 

[Erica09M]

I wouldn't put a child in a Nautilus right from a SafeSeat. Children are 500% safer rear facing, and rear facing reduces the risk of serious injury or death by 75%. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends rear facing for at least 2 years, and most children aren't going to make it to 2 years old in the Safe Seat. Most outgrow it by 18 months. I definitely recommend a convertible car seat so your child can stay rear facing. Children 4 and under benefit grealy from rear facing. Please visit car-set.org for more information about how important rear facing is, or you can PM me and I can give you some info/links.

 

[msmama]

We bought a Cosco Scenera for travel. I don't know the dimensions, but it's definitely smaller than our Britax Marathon. We fly JetBlue and the Scenera fits with plenty of room.

The only thing I don't like about the Scenera is that I find it tricky to install rear-facing. Although DS rides RF in our car, I may have him ride FF in our rental car if I still find the RF installation too tricky.

Ditto.

What seat are you looking to buy? If it's FAA approved, it should fit. Some are only approved for forward facing on a plane.

We use the Cosco Scenera to travel with. We'll be using it rear facing on the plane in May for my then 23 month old.

Hmmm, I didn't think I could do rear-facing on the plane. Wish I would have known that. FF he was too upright and couldn't sleep well.

Also, to the OP, I got my Scenera at Big Lots (if you have one nearby). The fabric had been discontinued so I got it for $30. They had several other kinds (I assume for a similar reason) that were also very reasonable priced.

 

[Erica09M]

Ditto.



Hmmm, I didn't think I could do rear-facing on the plane. Wish I would have known that. FF he was too upright and couldn't sleep well.

Also, to the OP, I got my Scenera at Big Lots (if you have one nearby). The fabric had been discontinued so I got it for $30. They had several other kinds (I assume for a similar reason) that were also very reasonable priced.

Yes, you can rear face on the plane, as long as the car seat is approved for rear facing use on the plane.

Editing for lack of clarification and a mistake on my part: A TRUE FIT can be used rear facing and forward facing on a plane. As can the Cosco Scenera like I stated previoiusly. A Sunshine Kids Radian wouldn't be able to be used rear facing on a plane because the space it required to rear face is not available. So in that instance, the seat needs to be installed forward facing only. I wouldn't choose this seat to travel with if my child did not meet the forward facing requirements set by the manufacturers, as the seat needs to be used according to their guidelines.

The seat must be used according to the manufacturers instructions, so rear facing for a child less than 20 pounds, and less then 1 year old. If the child is withing the rear facing requirements for the seat (for example: not over 35 pounds and at least 1 inch of shell above their head for the Scenera) then they can rear face. The Scenera has a 22 pounds & 34 inch rule for forward facing, a child must be at least 34 inches tall and weigh 22 pounds before they can use the seat forward facing.

The seat the the car seat is installed on must be forward facing. That is what most people and flight attendants get confused about

 

[Colleen27]

I wouldn't put a child in a Nautilus right from a SafeSeat. Children are 500% safer rear facing, and rear facing reduces the risk of serious injury or death by 75%. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends rear facing for at least 2 years, and most children aren't going to make it to 2 years old in the Safe Seat. Most outgrow it by 18 months. I definitely recommend a convertible car seat so your child can stay rear facing. Children 4 and under benefit grealy from rear facing. Please visit car-set.org for more information about how important rear facing is, or you can PM me and I can give you some info/links.

I wasn't planning on going straight from one to the other when she was born, but right now it looks like she will make it to 2 in her SafeSeat. She's small for her age (19lbs/28.5" at 15mo), and if she stays in/near her current percentile she'll be closer to 2.5 before she hits the 33" height limit (and well past 3 before she hits 30lbs). I understand that there are those who feel strongly that children should be rear-facing longer, but I've read quite a bit on the topic and I'm comfortable with transitioning her to forward facing after her 2nd birthday. Of course at this point this is all 'best laid plans' - if she hits a growth spurt and can't be in her seat until at least 2, I'll get a convertible for the in-between, because I absolutely don't want her forward facing before her 2nd b-day.

 

[Erica09M]

I wasn't planning on going straight from one to the other when she was born, but right now it looks like she will make it to 2 in her SafeSeat. She's small for her age (19lbs/28.5" at 15mo), and if she stays in/near her current percentile she'll be closer to 2.5 before she hits the 33" height limit (and well past 3 before she hits 30lbs). I understand that there are those who feel strongly that children should be rear-facing longer, but I've read quite a bit on the topic and I'm comfortable with transitioning her to forward facing after her 2nd birthday. Of course at this point this is all 'best laid plans' - if she hits a growth spurt and can't be in her seat until at least 2, I'll get a convertible for the in-between, because I absolutely don't want her forward facing before her 2nd b-day.

I'm sorry, I thought you had said you were going to forward face her at 18 motnhs, not 2 years. 2 years is a great goal! If you can make it that far, that's wonderful!!!! For forward facing, the Nautilus is a great seat. We own 2, and I bought one for my niece!

 

[Bren's Mom]

Yes, you can rear face on the plane, as long as the car seat is approved for rear facing use on the plane. For instance, the Learning Curve True Fit can only be used forward facing on a plane, but the Cosco Scenera can be installed either way.

Where did you get that info? To my knowledge that's not correct. TFs CAN be rear-facing on a plane. Although it fits better in some plane seats than others.

 

[Erica09M]

Where did you get that info? To my knowledge that's not correct. TFs CAN be rear-facing on a plane. Although it fits better in some plane seats than others.

You are correct.

Sorry, it was late and I had a few different pages open as I was multi-tasking. What I meant to say was that the seats must be used according to the manufacturers instructions for installation but a Sunshine Kids Radian wouldn't go rear facing on a plane (lack of space).

Note to self: do not multi task!

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, what airline are you flying? I used DS's Safe Seat on 2 WDW trips (we flew jetBlue both times) with no problems at all.