strollers and car seats on airplanes!?!

[drgalyen]

My question is what to do with them? Do we have to wrap up (in a box or bag) the umbrella stroller- or can we leave it like it is? Do we put it with the luggage or take it with us on the plane?
And the car seats- I thought I had read that my child can use it in the airplane seat- right or wrong? And we also have one lap child, can we bring his car seat too, do we store it below? If so does that count as luggage and does it have to be in something- a bag or box? We leave in 10 days and I'm getting down to the nitty gritty now. Thanks for your help.

 

[CDSTapisRouge]

You can use the car seat on the plane for a child that has their own seat provided it is an FAA approved car seat. My sister just flew with my 1 year old nephew and had to actually buy a new car seat for him as the one she had was not FAA approved (lucky for me though, I got the old one...one less thing to buy). As for the other car seat and the strollers you can gate check them. They will take them from you right at the doorway to the plane and check them there. From there they will give you the claim check, but you will ge them back in the same place. As soon as the plane is at the gate they will get everything that was gate checked and bring it back up to the door of the plane for retieval.

 

[BrerMama]

You only need to bring the car seats if you're renting a car. If you're doing a shuttle, they won't let you use them -- you'll have to hold or buckle the children without the seat. They also must be a "real" car seat, not a booster. Boosters cannot be used on airplanes, they must be gate checked.

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

As a frequent flying traveler, the best move I ever made was buying a lighter car seat. I kept the heavy one in my car and we bought a lighter, narrower, and more "travel friendly" seat for DH's car. We had a Britax Roundabout that I adored, but I sure as heck didn't want to cart that bad boy around! I did my research and determined a good combination of size and value without compromising safety. At the time, I got a heck of a steal at K-Mart and got the Cosco Touriva for $35!

DS is 5 now, but we did the same thing with a booster and got the backless Graco TurboBooster. That one fits in the overhead compartment or under the seat. BONUS!

My biggest suggestion is to take the advice of an earlier poster and gate check--rather than counter check--your stroller and any seats you aren't using on the flight. That ensures your stuff gets there when you do. Ever had a piece of luggage not make it with you on your flight? You certainly don't want that to happen with your car seats or stroller!!

For us, using the car seat on the plane was a BIG DEFINITE. DS knew the rules of the car seat and it was kind of a safety/comfort zone thing for him.

Two last comments and I'll shut up: The flight attendants will probably want to look at the stickers on your seat to determine FAA compliance, so figure out where they are so you can point it at them. And they'll remind you car seats MUST be installed in the window seat. I guess that's so they won't block egress during an emergency exit. Who knows?

Happy travels!!

 

[denyd]

I'll toss my 2 cents on this one since the DW & I just returned from a week in Chicago/Wisconsin with 3yo DS. I lost the battle on using the car seat on the plane. She was concerned he'd be able to kick the seat in front of him (and he would have been able to reach it in the car seat). So we ended up gate checking both the stroller & car seat. If you're getting a rental car, you'll want the car seat as they won't guarantee one for you. As for the stroller, it was a great tool for moving luggage, aside from that, you'd be better off renting one at the airport & DL than having it take up 50% of your trunk space.

 

[disney-super-mom]

Take the one umbrella stroller and car seat with you to the plane - trust me, you will want to have your own stroller to use in the airport and when you're walking between your hotel and the front gates of Disney. You'll leave your umbrella stroller right outside the plane, and when you arrive, it will be waiting for you as soon as you step off the plane. Don't worry about the stroller taking up too much room since umbrella stollers are small, lightweight, and fold up so compactly, and besides, plain and simple, you're just going to need it.

I have to stay that we fly every year, and we've never had anyone check our carseat to see if it was FAA appoved. This is the first I've heard of it, so maybe it's a new thing this year, but we've always just walked onto the plane with our carseat and strapped it in without any questioning from the flight attendants.

As for the lap child's carseat, you'll check that with your luggage. If the person who checks your bags determines that the carseat needs to be wrapped, he or she will do that there as they normally have large, clear plastic bags at the ready. At least that's what has happened to us in the past, although a few times the carseat wasn't wrapped and just sent with the luggage as is, but it always came out of the luggage shoot at baggage claim just fine.

 

[Churro]

OK well if you are shuttling to and from DLR the above poster is right...they won't allow you to use a car seat. You have to hold your child or put them into the seat beside you.
I was a car rental agent for 2 major companies for years and we always guaranteed a car seat for a renter if they asked for it when they made their reservations.So if you are renting a car it is just a small fee for a week of renting to get a car seat. If you want a five point harness or specific other type just let them know to put it on your reservation. If not then I am sure it will be fine to put them both on the plane. DLR also lets you rent strollers...but might not be worth it if you have a small stroller that is easy to fold up.

 

[nick262]

My question is what to do with them? Do we have to wrap up (in a box or bag) the umbrella stroller- or can we leave it like it is? Do we put it with the luggage or take it with us on the plane?
And the car seats- I thought I had read that my child can use it in the airplane seat- right or wrong? And we also have one lap child, can we bring his car seat too, do we store it below? If so does that count as luggage and does it have to be in something- a bag or box? We leave in 10 days and I'm getting down to the nitty gritty now. Thanks for your help.

If you travel alot, and your child is under 40 lbs, you should look into a Sit N Stroll. It is a car seat that can be converted into a stroller and back again. This item was a God send this past weekend. It is made by Tripleplay. If you go to their website www . tripleplayproducts . com, you can click on the babies r us button and find a store near you that has them (not nessessarily a babies r us store but all stores in your area). They are FAA approved and all of the flight attendants that I came across love them.

 

[Zoemakes5]

I'd use the car seat for the older one and gate check the other items. I have to strongly second the comfort level and adherence to the "rules" traveling with the car seat. Also, there's more of a comfort zone for the child. Much better sleeper and sitter and less anxious, in my opinion. Plus, you can restrain them. I know that my younger one loves to click and unclick the safety buckles and would be doing that the whole time with her own.
In addition to the reasons above for gate checking, I have to add one. The use of the stroller and infant seat during the 2+ hours your likely to be at the airport is a god send!! (Ditto if you have to change planes.) I'm actually worried, because this next trip we're not using it as my daughter outgrew her car seat and we're not using it. It was the perfect way to keep her comfortable while we stood in lines, if we had to hurry, and if she was walking, the stroller was the "stuff holder".
You don't need any bags or covering, though there can be a concern with staining if you don't have one. You can wrap in garbage bags for protection, particularly for the infant seat. Though, you would want to use the draw string kind, as they will want to open and inspect it. One of the best items I ever bought when DS1 was a baby is a car seat carrier. It's a zippered "bag" the is cut to fit a car seat. It has handles and a shoulder strap, and once you've left the car, you can put the car seat into the carrier and go. We always put the blankie and the "lovie" and other things like that into the car seat holder and toss it in. (When we don't use the car seat on the plane--like when they were too little and we didn't get them a seat--we piled all sorts of stuff into that bag, there's so much free space. We had diapers and formula and all those things that are very important, but didn't need on the plane.) It cost around $70 at the time, but I tell you it has been wonderful not having to figure out how to lug a car seat across an airport or worry about it getting ruined. We've kept it and used it through 3 kids.

 

[abby]

We went to DL in april and I was told the be sure and bring a car seat for the shuttle as Calif. law requires kids uner (I think 6) to be in a car seat in a shuttle van. I checked out seat with the luggage and it worked fine.

 

[drgalyen]

Thanks for all the info. We are renting a mini van so we didn't want to spend the extra money to rent their car seat.