Ever taken your carseat on a flight?

FullHeartMama · April 2012

I know DS is only 11 months old and technically is able to ride on the plane free, while seated on my lap, but this doesn't seem safe to me. Am I being paranoid? Just seems like if we hit turbulence or something else that he'd be safer strapped into his carseat. Right?

I'm aware that if I take him on the plane with his carseat that I'd be buying him a seat. I'm okay with that if it really is safer and I'm not just being a nut about something that's not that big of a deal.

My brother is a pilot and he said that the carseat needs to be an FAA approved seat. How do I find out whether our carseat will work? We have a First Years True Fit C670 Convertible (and I'm seriously dreading lugging that damn thing around an airport and beyond with us).

Any advice? Thanks! Big Smile

PolishWonder · April 2012

Most car seats are FAA approved. There are websites online that will tell you if yours is ok to use. I flew with DD 14 times in the last 21 months and we used her car seat 10 times. We used her stroller and used that through the airport. Then gate checked the stroller. She slept most of the time though on those flights. Now that she's mobile, she's tougher to handle. We're flying next week with a CARES harness.

FutureMrsCaesar · April 2012

I think it depends how long your flight is. If it's like an hour or maybe two you could probably get away with holding her, if it's any longer then I would definitely consider getting her own seat and taking your carseat. The way I look at it, she knows what to 'do' in her carseat, ie she knows what to expect and what is expected of her. If she's in your lap (and shes like my kids) she will want up and down and up and down and to go on walks, etc. Also it will be nice to have your carseat once you arrive at your destination and I personally don't trust the airlines with checking my expensive carseats.

To answer your question, yes, it is safer for her to be in a carseat on the plane. There have been incidents were turbulence has caused serious injury to lap infants and even death on at least one occasion.

cchill01 · April 2012

If you plan to bring a convertible onto the airplane, I HIGHLY recommend buying a Go-Go Babyz. It turns your car seat into a rolling seat. It makes getting through the airport so much easier.

https://www.amazon.com/GoGo-Babyz-Kidz-Travelmate/dp/B004MDZVD2

frlcb · April 2012

We have done both, including international lap child flights, so 9+ hours. It is definitely easier if they have their own seat, and yes it is safer. The seat should say it is FAA approved on it.

christine_marie · April 2012

I'm a CPST. It's WAY safer to have your shild in thier car seat on a plane. It's safer for them and everyone else on the flight. It's also a bad idea to check your car seat anyway. After a car seat has been checked on a plane, you might as well consider it crashed because you have no way for knowing how it was handled. As far as konwing if your seat is FAA approved, check the seat for stickers or the manual

JenniCollins · April 2012

I did this recently. I didn't purchase a ticket, there was an empty seat each time so I was able to just bring it on the plane.

Attach the carseat to your rolling suitcase. Put the latch straps thru the forward facing holes and sit the carseat fully upright. Place the front of the suitcase up to the back of the carseat. Wrap the latch straps around the suitcase and over the suitcase. I connected the three latches with a metal ring that I bought at Lowes (for about 50 cents). Caribeners (sp?) would also work for this.

And voila...stroller. It was great since I traveled alone and I could sit her in the carseat while I attached it to the suitcase after security.

Edit:

They also have a strap that does this, but I didn't see the point in spending $20 when it was so easy to use the straps that are connected to the carseat.

leneae10 · April 2012

I've flown 8 round trips with LO while a lap child. DH works for an airline so we fly cheap and have to go standby, but I'm going to chance the carseat and hope for an empty space on our next flight in a couple of weeks. At this age, I don't think holding him is going to be an option. He's so big and squirmy and will likely be awake the whole flight, where in the past he'd sleep in the baby bjorn most of the flight. Not looking forward to this.

I bought a Cosco Scenera ($39.00) at Wal-Mart that we use for travel. I used to keep it at my destination where I have family, but this time will be bringing it with us on the flight. It may not be as comfy but it's just as safe as his Safety 1st Air protect that I don't want to lug through the airport. Also I won't have to reinstall the Safety 1st in our car when we get home. Just a thought if you plan to do this more than once. He is still RF'ing but I will FF him on the plane.

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