Flying with 2-y.o.--car seat on the plane or not?

Heather6907

Hello,

We just booked what will be our first flight with our kids, going to Boston next month.  We will have an infant in arms and then our just-turned 2-year old.  We need her carseat at the destination (we don't need the baby's there-they have one), so we are bringing it.  Any advice on checking the car seat or taking it on the plane?  FWIW, the plane is 2 seats across with an aisle and then 2 more seats so our 2-year old will have the window and then me or DH will be next to her and then there will be the aisle.  She is average-sized. 

Thanks for any suggestions!

vtkgirl77

I've only taken one trip with the big carseat. We were going to Jamaica so I took the carseat on the plane because I wanted to be sure that it arrived to our destination since I wasn't sure if we could rent one if it got lost. We just checked it right before we got on the plane.

I'm not sure what the rules are as to whether you can put your 2 yo in the carseat on the plane but if that's an option, I would definitely do it.

Regardless of what you decide, if you are looking for an easy way to carry the carseat around the airport, I highly recommend this strap which allows you to strap the carseat to your suitcase. I don't recommend trying to put a child in the carseat while on your suitcase (I have no idea why they advertise that option) but the strap does make it super simple to wheel the carseat around because most of them are so big and bulky.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JHN3AS

 

 

amh_navyblue

We have always checked the car seat when we checked our luggage...mainly because I hate carrying anything extra with me to the gate when kids are in tow...only once in 4+ years of regular traveling with kids has the seat not made it to our destination when we did.  [If that happens, the airlines do have loaner seats--they will not be as good as the one you have, but it's likely that it will just be the ride from the airport to your destination (hotel, grandma's house, whereever) that you'll use it.]  If you check it, bring a big garbage bag to cover the seat, then poke a hole in the bag to have the straps come through so that they can put the tag on the seat itself (not the bag).

I know some people are big fans of using the car seat on the plane because it helps keep the LO contained, but IMHO it's not worth lugging it through security and on the plane.

 

Sofka

we did this exact trip with 2 kids this age in November!

We did not bring carseats on the plane, we checked them (it's free) and then rented a car and DH installed them in the rental car. My 2 y.o. loved sitting next to the window in her own seat, we talked up flying and airplanes before the trip and she had a great time and it's a relatively short flight. We had a double-stroller for the airport and gate-checked that.

 

LMH1209

We have used the car seat on the plane with pretty good luck getting DS to sleep, but we're going with the CARES harness for our next flight.  DS is tall enough now that the car seat puts him too close to the seat in front.  He'd be in perfect position to kick the seat through the whole flight.

The FAA recommends using a child restraint on the plane until a child is 40 pounds. The CARES harness is the one approved restraint that is not a car seat. It connects to the seat belt to make a harness.

More info. from the FAA:  https://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

 

BabyHatch

 For such a short trip, I think you'd be ok without it. But, if its just you solo with the two kids, the seat might be nice.

We're leaving for annual FR trip on Sat and the airline we're flying won't allow anything other than an infant car seat. I'm pi$$ed bc DD sleeps well in the seat and its going to be a crap shoot since we don't have window seats to distract her with cool plane stuff. (Shakes fist at SAS airline). Then again, for those who remember last summer's "projectile vomit at  30,000ft" story, our expectations for smooth travel are low. :-)

Also, for those who travel internationally, some airlines outside of the FAA don't allow CARES harness (BabyHatch shakes fist AGAIN at SAS).

smacb

I just put him in a seat when we fly.