s/o flying and carseats

cmsdouglas · May 2013

I saw in the earlier post about flying with a toddler and a carseat where somebody said that checking the carseat is the same as if it were in a wreck. Is this true if it is packaged in the box it was shipped in? My thought is that the shipping companies cannot be any gentler on boxes and packages than the airlines, right?

I've saved the box for this purpose and I would really like to not have to carry the carseat through the airport, but DD's safety is obviously my first priority.

abbyplaninsek · May 2013

They say that if you are going to check your car seat that to bubblewrap it and put it in its original packaging.

J+MS · May 2013

Is she riding in your lap? It's really best to bring the seat on the plane with you and strap her in it, as turbulence can be hard on the LOs and you know your seat is not being chunked around.

MooOink · May 2013

JMS:
Is she riding in your lap? It's really best to bring the seat on the plane with you and strap her in it, as turbulence can be hard on the LOs and you know your seat is not being chunked around.nbsp;

...if you have an extra 400 lying around that is.

Snow1010 · May 2013

When we flew a few months back and LO was about 20 months, we bought a seat for her and brought her carseat on the plane. For us, that was a disaster. We were on a big United plane and have a Britax Boulevard....the carseat was way too big and barely fit in the seat. LO was totally squished and miserable.

So on the flight home we just checked the carseat. Like the PP, they put it in a clear carseat bag and we noticed absolutely no damage to the seat.

During the flight home, LO sat on my lap during takeoff and landing and during flight sat on our laps or in her own seat.

brazzale · May 2013

I went against everything that the internet said & checked it last weekend on one of our flights. I packed it in a car seat bag by the manufacturer (it had backpack straps, so it was easier for me, flying solo, to carry it to the check in counter). It turned out totally OK. Also, this was DS's 10 round trip, 1st w/ the convertible seat. We checked his infant seat the other 9 times with no problem (same thing as PP said, they put it in the clear plastic bag).

With that said, on the flight home, I took his car seat on board just to see how it would go (the flight wasn't full). It was really nice to not have to contain him on my lap. I actually enjoyed a pop on the plane.

ktpaladino · May 2013

Checking cars seats has gotten a bad rap lately because of a YouTube video circulating that shows a car seat being kicked and other luggage being mishandled. Not every airline and employee is going to treat baggage this way. Yes, it's better to be safe than sorry, but personally I think it's an overreaction. I think if you box it up as you were saying, or invest in a nice padded car seat bag, you will be totally fine. J.L. Childress makes a really nice padded protective bag that fits all car seats.

JENandJEH · May 2013

Based on previous responses it seems my opinion is the unpopular one but I wouldn't check our car seat and trust that some random baggage handler I don't know treated it properly then place my child back in it. In a crash, you can't always physically see the damage to a car seat but almost every car seat manufacturer requires immediate replacement following a crash. Even the slim possibility that a baggage handler even accidentally dropped it isn't worth it to me. I believe the OP asked about packing it in the original box and that would be fine if using it on the plane is not an option but that would be my first choice.

LatteLady5 · May 2013

JENandJEH:
Based on previous responses it seems my opinion is the unpopular one but I wouldn't check our car seat and trust that some random baggage handler I don't know treated it properly then place my child back in it. In a crash, you can't always physically see the damage to a car seat but almost every car seat manufacturer requires immediate replacement following a crash. Even the slim possibility that a baggage handler even accidentally dropped it isn't worth it to me. I believe the OP asked about packing it in the original box and that would be fine if using it on the plane is not an option but that would be my first choice.

This.

I would consider bubble wrapping and putting in original box but definitely wouldn't check it in a plastic bag. No way.

sunnyday016 · May 2013

JENandJEH:
Based on previous responses it seems my opinion is the unpopular one but I wouldn't check our car seat and trust that some random baggage handler I don't know treated it properly then place my child back in it. In a crash, you can't always physically see the damage to a car seat but almost every car seat manufacturer requires immediate replacement following a crash. Even the slim possibility that a baggage handler even accidentally dropped it isn't worth it to me. I believe the OP asked about packing it in the original box and that would be fine if using it on the plane is not an option but that would be my first choice.

Absolutely agree. The original box is made to protect the seat, so if you check it in the original box, I would consider it safe. However, checking the seat in the box doesn't keep your LO safe on the plane, or keep others safe if your LO were to become a projectile.

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