What age for buying them their own seat?

[TravelinGal]

To the OP - we didn't buy seats when DS was little. Had I known what might happen in the event of a flight problem I would have! Standard protocol for a lap child during a crash landing etc is for the baby to be placed ON THE FLOOR - completely unrestrained. Thank God we never had any problems - and 4 of the 6 flights {3 roundtrip total} there were extra seats available so we were able to use his 'bucket' car seat anyway. But you can't count on getting that free seat.
Here's the story that changed my point of view on this


To those looking for a better/lighter travel car seat - We have a huge Britax seat that weighs a freakin' ton and I really didn't want to lug it around an airport or fight with getting it in one of those narrow seats so we got a Cosco Scenera-Touriva 5-Point Convertible Car Seat from Wal-Mart for only $39. It only weighs 10 lbs and without the detachable cup holder it is more narrow than many car seats out there. Will it be our main car seat? No - it won't replace our Britax. But it will do perfectly for air travel and rental cars for the next few years and the rare occasion that we might need it for our second car. (easier than taking the Britax out and putting it in and taking it out and putting it in...)

 

[Hannathy]

To the OP - we didn't buy seats when DS was little. Had I known what might happen in the event of a flight problem I would have! Standard protocol for a lap child during a crash landing etc is for the baby to be placed ON THE FLOOR - completely unrestrained. Thank God we never had any problems - and 4 of the 6 flights {3 roundtrip total} there were extra seats available so we were able to use his 'bucket' car seat anyway. But you can't count on getting that free seat.
Here's the story that changed my point of view on this

Please not again! They DO NOT DO this anymore! And not for at least 15 yrs have they done this because that is when I started flying with my DD as an infant. They do not ask you to put the baby on the floor. They instruct you on how to hold it facing you with your arms crossed over it against your chest. This crash occurred 20 yes almost 20 years ago. You will not be told to put your baby on the floor.

 

[beattyfamily]

DD will be a year old when we go in September. I really want to go ahead and purchase a seat for her. I know at that age I don't have to, but planes are so cramped as it is, I don't want to be stuck with a squirming baby in my lap while I'm squished in the tiny seat.

At what age did you start buying plane tickets for your little ones?

I have always bought my DDs seats starting from when we first flew so she was one.

My reasons:

She loved her carseat and felt comfortable in it and so she'd nap the whole way down and back.

Every single time we got our ticket for her for 50% off; you can see who gives the 50% off discount by checking through Expedia.com. It will show you everyone's price with the under 2 year old getting the 50% off. And no, it wasn't based on a higher price; it was based on the going rate. I've gotten the 50% off through AA, United and Delta. Please note, I didn't see the 50% off at the airline's website (it would say I had to call to find out) but I always could see it (and book it) at Expedia.com.

I say go for it!

 

[robinb]

I have a recommendation for getting those bulky car seats through the airport. A traditional metal collapsing luggage cart. We would bungee the car seat to the cart and then tuck in coats, backpacks, etc under the bungee cords. It was a *lot* better than carrying it in one of those car seat bags. The bags come in handy when your child it too big for the seat in the plane (just about 3-years old for my DD) but you still need a seat for the car.

FWIW, you'll still want to buy a bag if you travel a lot. A car seat without a bag will get pretty banged up in the luggage hold. Some airlines will provide a clear plastic bag for your car seat, but not all. We flew AirTran once and they had a bag for our flight to MCO, but no bag for the flight back. In retrospect, we should have saved the bag for the return flight. We didn't have a car seat bag on that flight because Southwest had ruined it on the previous flight. I didn't want to buy another one since my DD was getting too old for a car seat and we went to a backless booster. The booster was missing pieces when it arrived home . Since then we back our booster in a duffle bag with wheels.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

our ds3 has been to wdw 3 times and we always buy him his own seat
its makes the flight easier fo everyone