Question for frequent SW flyers and checking car seat...

[1tufgt]

What's the process now for checking in a car seat? Is there anything special other than just bringing it up to the check in counter and having them tag it?

Should we place it in a bag or will SW provide one before it's checked in?

 

[Tam1067]

We checked two carseats last August. They gave us bags. It's super easy.

 

[1tufgt]

We checked two carseats last August. They gave us bags. It's super easy.

Cool, thanks.

How was the outcome of the car seats? They survive? Also did it count towards one of your checked baggage?

 

[malibuconlee]

The baggage allowance...this recently changed.

http://http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/infants.html

IT used to be you could check two pieces of baby gear and it would count toward one of your checked baggage allowance. Now you can check a stroller and car seat in addition to your 2 pieces of luggge.

We have a bag for our car seat. It has wheels and straps on it. I put it on like a back pack when taking our car seat with us. IT's how I get the seat form the van in the long term parking to the terminal. Also how I get it from the baggage claim to the rental car shuttle. It has kept the seat from getting wet when it rains and keeps it clean.

 

[1tufgt]

The baggage allowance...this recently changed.

http://http://www.southwest.com/travel_center/infants.html

IT used to be you could check two pieces of baby gear and it would count toward one of your checked baggage allowance. Now you can check a stroller and car seat in addition to your 2 pieces of luggge.

We have a bag for our car seat. It has wheels and straps on it. I put it on like a back pack when taking our car seat with us. IT's how I get the seat form the van in the long term parking to the terminal. Also how I get it from the baggage claim to the rental car shuttle. It has kept the seat from getting wet when it rains and keeps it clean.

Does this bag fit any car seat? If this can be purchased do you have a link to where I can find one?

Also thanks for the link.

Well that's good that it doesn't count towards one of our free checked baggage. SW is the best.

 

[malibuconlee]

I bought mine at Babies R Us. It fits the Evenflow carseat we have, although it is rather snug.

Honestly without the bag I have no idea how we would manage. We usually have 2-3 suitcases, a stroller, diaper bag, backpack carryon and of course our toddler!

 

[1tufgt]

I bought mine at Babies R Us. It fits the Evenflow carseat we have, although it is rather snug.

Honestly without the bag I have no idea how we would manage. We usually have 2-3 suitcases, a stroller, diaper bag, backpack carryon and of course our toddler!

Thanks for that insight I've begun looking at stroller bags and there seems to be a nice assortment out there.

 

[bumbershoot]

I far prefer checking carseats (and strollers) at the gate. Less time for them to get dropped and mangled. Sure you have to wrangle it through security and the airport, but it's worth it to me.

I checked a seat twice...the second time I actually watched seats and boosters coming down the carousel chute/ramp thing, and seeing them tumble and crash down just made me ill. That's why I gate-check now.

 

[CarrieR]

I would STRONGLY recommend taking your seat on board, and not checking it. Baggage handlers are infamous for throwing/dropping (sometimes from heights) luggage, and they take no special care with car seats. Having your seat visibly damaged is actually not the worst case scenario... More likely is the fact that your seat would have cracks or stress not visible on a once-over and those would make it much more likely to fail in a crash.

Your child can sit comfortably in their seat on the flight, and then you have the peace of mind of knowing that the seat still has its integrity.

 

[1tufgt]

I far prefer checking carseats (and strollers) at the gate. Less time for them to get dropped and mangled. Sure you have to wrangle it through security and the airport, but it's worth it to me.

I checked a seat twice...the second time I actually watched seats and boosters coming down the carousel chute/ramp thing, and seeing them tumble and crash down just made me ill. That's why I gate-check now.

Yeah I read that you can check it in at the gate, which like you said might be a better chance of it not getting damaged as much.

How do you pass a car seat through the check point? Will it fit through the xray machine? I assume you just need to go by the counter and get a gate check tag.

I would STRONGLY recommend taking your seat on board, and not checking it. Baggage handlers are infamous for throwing/dropping (sometimes from heights) luggage, and they take no special care with car seats. Having your seat visibly damaged is actually not the worst case scenario... More likely is the fact that your seat would have cracks or stress not visible on a once-over and those would make it much more likely to fail in a crash.

Your child can sit comfortably in their seat on the flight, and then you have the peace of mind of knowing that the seat still has its integrity.

Well my wife preferred not to buy a seat for her and keep her as a lap child for this trip since she said she would end up in her lap anyways. I'm not going to argue with the DW.

 

[malibuconlee]

Thanks for that insight I've begun looking at stroller bags and there seems to be a nice assortment out there.

No problem! As you can see there are tons of different bags. Like I said, ours has the straps on it so it can be used like a back pack. I would just buy a seat to leave with family and use it when we travel, but we still have a 3 hour drive from the airport we use when we go see family.

Actually it's just about time for a new bag for us. Ours has been used quite a bit and is showing it's wear and tear!

 

[CarrieR]

Well my wife preferred not to buy a seat for her and keep her as a lap child for this trip since she said she would end up in her lap anyways. I'm not going to argue with the DW.

If you're going to haul it to the gate for checking anyways, you can ask your gate attendant if there are any empty seats on the plane. If there are, I believe they will allow you to use them for your child's seat. If not, then you can gate check it (although again, I wouldn't recommend it, because it may cause the seat not to be crashworthy after that point. Gate checking removes some of the risk, but the seat can certainly still be mishandled.)

Also, safety advocates recommend using a seat on the plane if at all possible -- it's not so much the drop from ten thousand feet to worry about (as that will be fatal for everyone,) but rather the runway emergencies and especially turbulence, which can easily rip a child from their parents' arms and send them tumbling into the ceiling or several rows away. I'd never thought twice about lap children before getting a major carseat education and then becoming a CPST (tech,) but now the thought of having a babe in arms makes me shudder.

It's totally your choice to make, but it might be worth relaying these items to your wife so that she can make an educated decision.

Depending on your seat, it may fit through the scanner or it may need to be hand-wanded, so leave yourself a bit of extra time. You can buy a luggage cart, a device to attach it to your rolling carryon suitcase (and put your kiddo in it for use as a stroller!), or even bungee it to your stroller to haul it through the airport.

 

[1tufgt]

If you're going to haul it to the gate for checking anyways, you can ask your gate attendant if there are any empty seats on the plane. If there are, I believe they will allow you to use them for your child's seat. If not, then you can gate check it (although again, I wouldn't recommend it, because it may cause the seat not to be crashworthy after that point. Gate checking removes some of the risk, but the seat can certainly still be mishandled.)

Also, safety advocates recommend using a seat on the plane if at all possible -- it's not so much the drop from ten thousand feet to worry about (as that will be fatal for everyone,) but rather the runway emergencies and especially turbulence, which can easily rip a child from their parents' arms and send them tumbling into the ceiling or several rows away. I'd never thought twice about lap children before getting a major carseat education and then becoming a CPST (tech,) but now the thought of having a babe in arms makes me shudder.

It's totally your choice to make, but it might be worth relaying these items to your wife so that she can make an educated decision.

Depending on your seat, it may fit through the scanner or it may need to be hand-wanded, so leave yourself a bit of extra time. You can buy a luggage cart, a device to attach it to your rolling carryon suitcase (and put your kiddo in it for use as a stroller!), or even bungee it to your stroller to haul it through the airport.

Thanks for the information. Hopefully we don't have a full flight and can use it in a extra empty seat.