Flying with car seat on plane

[erin1715]

For those who have flown with a car seat installed facing forward on the plane - were you able to use the drop down tray on the seat back in front of you for the child, or was there not enough room for the tray to drop down?

 

[pixiegoose]

It will depend on what seat you’re using. If it’s a forward facing convertible seat (rf/ff), you likely won’t be able to use the tray. If it’s a combination seat (ff only harness to booster), there’s a good chance you’ll be able to because they are generally lower profile that a convertible.

 

[erin1715]

Hmm it’s a cosco scenera that I bought just for travel but it can be used for both rear and forward. That’s a bummer if my 3 year old can’t use the tray. I don’t really want to check a car seat with the airline because I’ve heard they don’t treat them very nicely

 

[pixiegoose]

Hmm it’s a cosco scenera that I bought just for travel but it can be used for both rear and forward. That’s a bummer if my 3 year old can’t use the tray. I don’t really want to check a car seat with the airline because I’ve heard they don’t treat them very nicely

Are you sure your kiddo still fits in the Scenera ff? It’s generally outgrown both rf and ff around the same time, generally around age 3, as it has extremely low top harness slots (the harness must come from above the child’s shoulders for ff). If your kiddo is at least 30 lbs and 32”, a Cosco Finale is an inexpensive ff only seat that would be a good travel option and would likely be low profile enough that the tray table could be used. Regardless, a 3 year old definitely needs to use a car seat on the plane.

Here’s a very informative post about safe plane travel with kids from Car Seats for the Littles. They also have a very helpful Facebook group for asking questions about specific situations. https://csftl.org/leaving-on-a-jet-plane-the-csftl-guide-to-safe-air-travel-with-children/

 

[erin1715]

Are you sure your kiddo still fits in the Scenera ff? It’s generally outgrown both rf and ff around the same time, generally around age 3, as it has extremely low top harness slots (the harness must come from above the child’s shoulders for ff). If your kiddo is at least 30 lbs and 32”, a Cosco Finale is an inexpensive ff only seat that would be a good travel option and would likely be low profile enough that the tray table could be used. Regardless, a 3 year old definitely needs to use a car seat on the plane.

Here’s a very informative post about safe plane travel with kids from Car Seats for the Littles. They also have a very helpful Facebook group for asking questions about specific situations. https://csftl.org/leaving-on-a-jet-plane-the-csftl-guide-to-safe-air-travel-with-children/

Thank you for that info. I really do appreciate it. I am aware that when forward facing the shoulder harness straps need to be above the shoulders. According to the scenera manual, it says the child can be up to 40 lbs and 43 inches tall. My daughter is below both of those but I’ll have her sit in it again to make sure the shoulder straps are in the right place.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

For those who have flown with a car seat installed facing forward on the plane - were you able to use the drop down tray on the seat back in front of you for the child, or was there not enough room for the tray to drop down?

not sure of brands but most seats that I have seen on planes have not been able to use tray or at least tray sat on child's knees so not steady. depending on what your child is wanting to use tray for we have used a "cookie sheet" with a raised side to keep crayons and other toys on instead of falling to floor