Community› The Bump Message Boards› Parenting
Parenting
New Discussion

Airline travel with carseats?

tigger1800tigger1800
in Parenting

I am flying with my kids on Saturday to Florida :)  I was planning to bring my kids carseats with (convertible and booster) because we will be renting a car while we are down there.  I checked with the airline and they will check them for free, but what is the best way to check them?  I don't have any type of bag that is big enough that they fit in. Can I just check the seats themselves?  I'm not too worried about the seats themselves, because they are not our nicer ones (we have just a Scenera in and a Evenflo booster in DH's car because the kids only travel a few blocks a week in that car in the winter!) but I want them to make it there ok and be able to be checked. Also, I'm traveling alone with my two (and my mom) so I want to be able to transport them as easily as possible. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Report Reply to Post

Re: Airline travel with carseats?

  • veloelleveloelle member
    Some airlines put clear plastic Bags over them. We just flew on Delta, and they didn't cover the seats, but came out the other side just fine. When you get to your destination, put the carseat face down over your luggage so it's basically leap frogging on your luggage. Hold the straps with the luggage handle. That's how we've carried them, works well.
    DD 7.28.06 * DS 3.29.10
    image

    Christmas 2011
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • jnicks19jnicks19
    We have flown tons of times with our carseats so we got a car seat travel bag.  Cost about $40 but it works great.  The strap is long enough to hook onto your luggage so it pulls right with you or it also has it's own wheels and you could pull it on it's own.  After 5 years, it's definitely showing wear but we won't need it for much longer.  WELL worth our $40!!
    Report Reply
  • emiliemadisonemiliemadison member
    They're both over age 2, so they have their own seats on the plane. I wouldnt check the seats at all- bring them on the plane and have the sit in them. Not only is it much safer, but the kids will be more comfortable and will likely sleep. Car seats are damaged and lost all.the.time on planes, and the best way to avoid that is to use them :)  You can attach the seats to your luggage and just bring them to the gate with you.
    Report Reply
  • Starr57Starr57 member

    imageemiliemadison:
    They're both over age 2, so they have their own seats on the plane. I wouldnt check the seats at all- bring them on the plane and have the sit in them. Not only is it much safer, but the kids will be more comfortable and will likely sleep. Car seats are damaged and lost all.the.time on planes, and the best way to avoid that is to use them :)  You can attach the seats to your luggage and just bring them to the gate with you.

    This. When & if I ever fly with DS now that he has to have his own seat, I will just bring it on the plane.

    imageAlternaTickers - Cool, free Web tickers
    Report Reply
  • JenGKJenGK

    Car seats, to my knowledge, have to be placed near the window.  I don't know if you could put both kids in car seats if only one parent is flying.  Also, I'm pretty sure booster seats are not FAA approved, so you couldn't use the booster on the plane.

    If you are going to take the seat on the plane, I highly recommend the GoGoKidz wheelie thing.  If you are going to check, we just do curbside check-in so we don't have to lug them too far.  The airlines I've flown on always just put them in a plastic bag.

    Warning No formatter is installed for the format bbhtml
    Report Reply
  • bls27bls27
    We just came back from flying with our two girls.  I would definitely recommend using curbside check-in for the seats.  WAY worth it and hauling them through the airport would be a huge PITA.  We cover ours with an industrial trashbag and tape large signs, printed from our computer, that say CARSEAT- FRAGILE.  We've done this three years in a row and have never had a problem.
    Report Reply
  • jnicks19jnicks19
    FWIW, our kids who are awesome travelers in the car do MUCH better in the regular plane seat.  And if for whatever reason one of your kids doesn't want to sit in the carseat, your screwed because you can't put them anywhere else.  Plus, they're excited to sit in the regular seat, have their drink and play with their stuff.  Not so easy in a carseat.
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"