tips for flying with young children...

[annabelle]

Wow... just read that kids under 40 lbs "should" be in a car seat of some kind on an airplane. (I thought car seats only applied to babies...) Anyway, here's a link that gives tips on flying with a young child... very interesting!!

http://www.faa.gov/fsdo/ord/tips.htm

 

[Cindy's Mom]

that's news to me too. My DD has flown 6 times already (ranging 25 pounds to 38 pounds) and we just buckle her into her seat. No one stopped us or advised us differently. I hope things are the same as they have been.

 

[nygrl]

wow some interesting things i dint know. we are leaving tonight ...not disney but we are flying and i was going to use my ds booster seat on the plane. they said most airlines wont let you use a booster seat i never knew that. thanks for posting this info it probably saved me some time.

 

[NotUrsula]

This is not new. The FAA put those recommendations in place in 1986. DS has many thousands of airmiles under his belt, and he was in a carseat for most of them. He passed the 40-lb. mark about a yr. ago, so we've been gate-checking his seat since then. (I prefer to gate-check carseats; no chance that they'll go to a different destination than you do.)

FYI, the FAA definition of a "booster seat" is not necessarily the definition that the seat's mfr. may have used when they marketed the seat. Under the FAA definition, a carseat that has an integral shoulder harness in place and in use is NOT a booster seat, but is still classed as a carseat for purposes of air travel. If your child still properly fits in the harness, and the seat has the red-letter sticker that says, "“THIS RESTRAINT IS CERTIFIED FOR USE IN MOTOR VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT” then you *can* use it on the plane, even if the box it came in describes it as a booster seat.

 

[the kabuki]

All 3 of mine have flown numerous times since they were little, and we have never had car seat or booster, just buckled them in.

 

[annabelle]

The main thing about unrestrained babies is that they're very vulnerable
when there's sudden turbulence or if the plane has to make a rough landing. The coffee pots are more secure than lap babies... They can go flying through the cabin... obviously hazardous to the baby but also other passengers (think big heavy sack of potatoes flying through the air).


As far as older kids (under 40 lbs) goes... I read an interesting discussion about that here:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboa...ic_id=20389&mesg_id=20389&listing_type=search

 

[hipmaman]

to have children in carseats while on board an aircraft -- not even for children under 2 yrs old. But it is much much safer and this is the case where the law of physics overrule.

Not to mention, it is much more comfortable for mom and kids when the kiddos are in carseats.

We have always flown with carseats eventhough the efforts of bring the carseats through the airports, installing on the aircrafts, etc. along with strollers, bags, etc. are so much hassle. But my thinking is that if I know it can be dangerous and not using carseats for them and something happens, I will never forgive myself.

Just in case you have not had this link http://www.otoh.org/opal/carseat.html

 

[annabelle]

Tam are you a car seat tech? Just wondering...

BTW, I love that link... I'm saving it for future reference... thanks!

 

[hipmaman]

Yes, I'm a certified CRS in Canada. Glad to see you get good help from Baby Bargain forums.

 

[Mady/Sophiemom]

We took a carseat with us whn my DD's were small. Worked well on the plane. They knew that they couldn't get out of their car seat, in the car, so didn't want out is the plane. Last few trips we've had serious cases of "I gotta goes."

It was a pain hauling the carseats around, but worth it to us.

 

[all4fun]

As long as we're posting tips for flying with children, I thought I would post this link to some tips I found. This was written by a flight attendant who has traveled extensively with her children. Just thought it might be helpful here!

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com/

 

[funkbucket007]

This March will be my son's first flight (he'll be 2 & a half) & I specifically asked the Southwest representative when I ordered my tickets if I needed a car seat for him & was told, "no." She said if I did decide to bring one, that it had to have the FAA approval rating on it, but that it wasn't necessary that he be in one. Tiffany Towncar will be supplying me with one from the airport to the resort though.

 

[kelscross]

I'm not recommending to not use a car seat on the plane. However, in 2003 airtran told me to bring carseats and when we arrived to the airport I forgot them in the car, the flight attendant told me not to worry, they would still let my kids on the plane. We've flown two times after that and neither time did we use car seats.

 

[JessetheCowgirl]

As long as we're posting tips for flying with children, I thought I would post this link to some tips I found. This was written by a flight attendant who has traveled extensively with her children. Just thought it might be helpful here!

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com/

Great info, there!!

 

[Mom2tmha]

Does anyone have any experience with Spirit airlines? I want to bring my 2 1/2 yo's booster seat. Thanks.

 

[annabelle]

Like Hipmaman said, "it's not the law" to have kids under 2 in carseats... it's just *recommended*.

I personally think it's worth having a baby/toddler strapped in a car seat during a flight for safety reasons (sudden turbulence, rough landings etc). Believe me, I'd LOVE to be able to save that extra money and put toward Disney tickets or $8 hamburgers. But we're definitely budgeting in flying our 19 mo our next Disney trip in her OWN seat.

 

[twocjsmom]

We've brought the carseats for our two sons (now 4 1/2 and almost 2) every time we've flown with them. Yes, it can be a real pain to install them, especially ona full flight when people are all trying to get their own seats. But, it was very mich worth it to have them, as we could then install them in the rental and know that they were the same ones we are used to using. We tend to take advantage of preboarding so we can get a jump on the restof the crowd. When we flew Southwest a couple of weeks ago, we were told that the carseat had to be in the window seat, which was new to us. We basically had to seat two of us on each side of the plane, leaving the aisle open. On the way down, it was a full flight, but the people seated next to us were very kind about being near kids (I think it helped that the boys were very well behaved). On the way home, the flight was very empty, so we were able to have the aisle open. I guess the reason I mention the window seat thing is cause it made me wonder what would happen if you were flying alone with 2 kids in carseats. Someone would have to be away from the others then?

 

[NotUrsula]

If you have only one adult and two carseats, you are allowed to put the carseats next to each other in the window and center positions, with the largest seat in the window. The adult sits on the aisle next to them.

The reason for the carseat being at the window is that carseats may not legally be placed between an adult and an emergency exit; they don't want any adult, including the parent of the child, having to climb over a carseat in the dark while trying to evacuate a smoke-filled plane.

 

[twocjsmom]

Thanks, That makes sense. I guess it caught us a little off guard this time around, since we've flown before with 2 carseats and hadnt been told that. I guess they are just being more strict about it. It worked out well, though, since my older son got his wish of being able to sit by the window!