Babies: 6 - 9 Months

Did you fly with your carseat?

I posted on the baby gear board about a recommendation for a car seat travel bag, as I thought something with wheels would help with getting the car seat to the gate, but I was informed that checking the car seat, even at the gate, can severely compromise the integrity of the car seat.   I'm pretty sure DS will be able to sit in the car seat on the plane, although I am taking him as a lap child and not a paid passenger so it isn't guaranteed.  

Have you flown with the car seat?  Did you gate check it?  Did you have any kind of travel bag/wheels to transport it?  I am taking the stroller system but DS much prefers the stroller to the car seat.  

Second, did you take the base with you?  If so, how did you travel with that?

 Thanks in advance for the advice!  

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Re: Did you fly with your carseat?

  • I've flown with the carseat & base 8 times & never had a bag for it. I gate checked it every time & was only allowed to put it in an empty seat twice. I kept the base attached & carried my son in the Ergo. If you are bringing the stroller you can put the base in the stroller basket until it's time to check it then just attach it to the carseat. That being said, you don't have to bring the base. You can install using the seatbelt.
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  • We just flew last week for the first time with my 6 month old and we have three more flights booked within the next two months....

    We brought our travel system through security (the car seat AND stroller had to be placed on the conveyor belt to go through the X-ray machine) and I wore DS in my Ergo.  We gate checked the stroller and car seat.  I purchased the Jeep car seat travel bag mainly to keep the grunge off of the seat.  Nothing fancy, no extra padding but it worked great at keeping the seat clean and it folded up super small in the bottom of the stroller for rolling through the airport.  

     The airline wasn't very helpful when I asked if we could bring the carseat on b/c they said it was a full flight and there was no guarantee with my "lap-seat" ticket.  Oh, and new policy with no early boarding with children.  Good times.  As they scanned our tickets they said we could bring it on but by then I had already zipped it up in the bag and it was easier just to leave it be.  Oh well.

    We flew to my parents house so I purchased an extra base on amazon and had it shipped there just to make it easier to get in and out of the airport.  This weekend we are flying for a vacation and I just grabbed the directions for the car seat to remind myself how to strap it in the rental car with just the seatbelt.  (Rental car companies also will rent you a car seat so you can forgo bringing yours altogether if you like.)

     All-in-all, it was easier than I had imagined to travel with the baby but I also had my husband with me.  When I fly alone next month with DS, I may rethink gate checking the stroller/car seat and just check it all with my luggage.  Most airlines won't charge to do that but I am on the fence about that for fear of it getting lost/broken/mangled.... 

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  • imageSoftSpot:
    I've flown with the carseat & base 8 times & never had a bag for it. I gate checked it every time & was only allowed to put it in an empty seat twice. I kept the base attached & carried my son in the Ergo. If you are bringing the stroller you can put the base in the stroller basket until it's time to check it then just attach it to the carseat. That being said, you don't have to bring the base. You can install using the seatbelt.

    This.

    I just got off the phone with the airline because DH, LO, and I fly out on Thursday. I don't want any surprises at the gate. 

    I flew in March on a different airline that we are using this time. I was by myself with LO. We have a system where the car seat hooks to the stroller or the base, but the base doesn't hook to the stroller. Because of that, I had to check a bag. This time, I'm not bringing the stroller and the car seat and base are going hooked together. I inspected my car seat before putting LO in it upon arrival, and I found no issues.

    Good luck on your travel!

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  • We've checked it with baggage once and it was fine.  We also flew and bought him a seat on the plane (over 2 at that point) and used his carseat on the plane.  I'd check dd's if we flew with hers and she didn't need a purchased ticket.  I will say, when he was in the infant seat, I didn't bother bringing the base on the trip because it can be hooked just as safely in a car without it and I didn't need one more thing to lug along.
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  • I bought the Brica cover guard car seat travel tote. It has wheels and straps. It's great, especially if you're traveling "alone". 
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  • imageNellaone1:

    We just flew last week for the first time with my 6 month old and we have three more flights booked within the next two months....

    We brought our travel system through security (the car seat AND stroller had to be placed on the conveyor belt to go through the X-ray machine) and I wore DS in my Ergo.  We gate checked the stroller and car seat.  I purchased the Jeep car seat travel bag mainly to keep the grunge off of the seat.  Nothing fancy, no extra padding but it worked great at keeping the seat clean and it folded up super small in the bottom of the stroller for rolling through the airport.  

     The airline wasn't very helpful when I asked if we could bring the carseat on b/c they said it was a full flight and there was no guarantee with my "lap-seat" ticket.  Oh, and new policy with no early boarding with children.  Good times.  As they scanned our tickets they said we could bring it on but by then I had already zipped it up in the bag and it was easier just to leave it be.  Oh well.

    We flew to my parents house so I purchased an extra base on amazon and had it shipped there just to make it easier to get in and out of the airport.  This weekend we are flying for a vacation and I just grabbed the directions for the car seat to remind myself how to strap it in the rental car with just the seatbelt.  (Rental car companies also will rent you a car seat so you can forgo bringing yours altogether if you like.)

     All-in-all, it was easier than I had imagined to travel with the baby but I also had my husband with me.  When I fly alone next month with DS, I may rethink gate checking the stroller/car seat and just check it all with my luggage.  Most airlines won't charge to do that but I am on the fence about that for fear of it getting lost/broken/mangled.... 

    Just curious, how was the airline not helpful by not giving you a seat for a child you didn't pay for when the plane was full of paying passengers?

    When we flew we brought the infant seat and umbrella stroller and gate checked.  I supposed something could still happen to your car seat in the cargo area of the plane but our tickets were $600 each and we weren't paying that for our 6 month old.  We didn't bring the base because you can safely install it in the car without the base.  If our tickets were cheaper we would have just gotten DS a seat for the car seat because babies are squirmy on flights.

    I'm glad that we didn't check it with our luggage because our new luggage got two broken wheels and sliced between checking it and the carousel. 

    Just curious, if you didn't bring your carseat what would you do when you arrived at your destination?  I certainly wouldn't trust the car seat from a car rental agency.

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  • How would gate checking the car seat compromise the integrity of the car seat? I can?t prove it but I?m pretty sure the gate checked items are handled with maybe a little more care than the checked luggage? Just because they have less distance to travel, and they are usually items that mean a lot- car seat, stroller, etc.

     I have flown 8 legs with my LO. 5 of the 8 legs there was empty seats and they were able to move us around to have him be able to be in his car seat (without paying for an extra seat) but you just have to wait and find out at the gate if there are openings. I always ask right away and then check again when they?ve assigned all the standby passengers seats. I gate checked my stroller and car seat (BOB stroller with car seat attachment). I will NOT travel without gate checking those items. It made it SO much easier to get around the airport with the stroller to hold the diaper bag, car seat and sometimes LO. I would carry him on and off the plane with my ERGO, then he either sits with me, or in his car seat next to me. I?d suggest gate checking, but if you are positive there are no seats then check the seat at the luggage counter. I would definitely check it if there was not a chance he?d be able to use it, but flying in and out of Alaska there are always multiple legs and chances are he may be able to use it and it?s worth lugging around to have my hands free, and him to sleep comfortably.

     We fly again in October and he?ll probably be out of his infant car seat, in which case I?m not planning on lugging a convertible car seat to the gate- and will be checking it.

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