The most important thing when we talk about riding with kids in a vehicle car seats for littles. Many kids face injuries when they face an accident and sitting without a seat belt. Purpose of these car seats for littles is to safe kids. Different options are available in the market.
If you’ve flown with a baby, toddler, or young child, chances are that you’ve thought way too much about car seats. Car seats are one of the biggest sources of confusion, misinformation, and frustration for parents flying with kids. There are all sorts of logistics involved to bringing (or not bringing) a car seat along in your air travels.
Do you check your car seat or does that introduce to much potential for loss or damage? Do you bring a car seat on board the plane or is carrying it around too much of a hassle?
Do you chance it with a rental car company’s car seat? Needless to say, there are a lot of factors to consider and decisions to make. Prepared with his car seat and an iPad mini for a successful flight!I’ve endeavored to come up with a list that covers every question I’ve ever heard, read, or experienced when it comes to car seats and air travel. Fair warning: it’s quite a long list! But after, my family has done and seen just about everything when it comes to car seats on planes. A comprehensive guide to car seats and airplanes is long overdue here at Trips With Tykes. There is simply no reason for others to be confused or suffer from bad advice on the topic.This guide is divided into three parts, because it just got so long!
Here is everything you ever wanted to know about flying with kids and car seats on planes. Part 1: Car Seats at the Airport (you are here).(Note: this advice applies only to domestic air travel within the United States unless otherwise specifically noted).(Trips With Tykes uses affiliate links which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase through links in this post.
See our full disclosure policy.)Car Seats on Airplanes Part 1: Car Seats At the Airport1. Is there a charge for checking a car seat?No. When traveling with a child. You can check your car seat at the airport baggage counter or wait and check it at your gate.2.
Are there risks if I check a car seat?Potentially. If you fly often, you’ve probably had a checked suitcase damaged at some point. The same can happen to car seats.
While some types of damage would be visible, not all damage necessarily is. As parents, however, we all decide what risks are acceptable to us, and I’ve checked a car seat several times and haven’t worried that much about it. It’s your call. That said, the only way to ensure that your car seat doesn’t sustain any damage during air travel is to buy a seat for your child and bring and use the car seat on board the plane. Sometimes trade-offs like budget or simple logistics, however, make that option too difficult. Cosco Scenera NEXT is an inexpensive and lightweight car seat for travel.If you do plan to check your car seat, I highly recommend that parents buy a cheaper car seat for travel in case it does get damaged.
We have used the with great success with my daughter and have now moved to the (Cosco has recently released the for a few dollars more with my son. Check out my full.
We loved that it is even more compact and lightweight and allows for longer rear-facing use. Consider a protective bag to protect against grime and some damage.3.
Will the airline provide a protective bag for my car seat if I check it? Bag your car seat when you check it to protect from dirt and grime.Sometimes. Some airlines will wrap your car seat in a giant clear plastic bag if you choose to check your car seat when you check your luggage. It doesn’t prevent real structural damage, but it will protect your seat from grease and grime. I’d recommend bringing your own bag just in case. Our family has had good luck with the ($15.99). You might also consider a padded bag for a little more protection (like the padded for $43.99) or one that has wheels if you need to transport a car seat more easily.
Use a stroller frame and infant car seat as an easy transport option with younger babies.If you have an infant, I’d recommend taking your infant seat and a simple stroller frame (like the, or ). Stroll your baby through the airport to your gate. Then gate check the stroller portion as well as the car seat portion if you don’t have a seat for your infant on the plane. If you’ve booked a seat or are given a free empty one at check-in, then take the infant seat aboard and use it.If you have older children, here are the top products to make your convertible car seat more portable in airports (note that prices vary, particularly on Amazon):. ($76-85): This device turns your car seat into the equivalent of a rolling suitcase.
Strap your car seat onto the cart and then your child into the car seat for easy wheeling through airports. Go Go Babyz also makes a ($57.95) and a ($134.17), depending on how many bells and whistles you need. See my full for more information.
Britax Car Seat Travel Cart. ($62.99): Just like the Go Go Babyz Travelmate, but a bit cheaper (both in price and apparently in quality, according to reviews). ($19.99): A simple strap that allows you to connect your child’s car seat to your roller bag. Only works if you plan to take a roller bag with you through the airport, of course! Reviews indicate, however, it can slip on some bags and doesn’t fit all models of car seats. ($76-95): This product is similar to the deluxe version of the Go Go Babyz as it provides a platform with three wheels underneath.
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Use it to push your child rather than pull behind you like a rolling suitcase. ($329.99): By far the priciest option, but the Sit N Stroll is a full convertible car seat with wheels attached. Stroller + car seat in one with the Sit N Stroll.5. Are there reasons to wait to gate check my child’s car seat?Maybe.First, gate checked bags are handled a little bit less, so if the risk of damage really concerns you, your chances may be a little bit better if you gate check your car seat. No guarantees, however.Second, if you are traveling with an infant, a bucket car seat and stroller frame combination makes for a great travel system (see #4). Use the combination as your stroller for transport through the airport and gate check both.Finally, if you are traveling with a lap child, you may want to wait and have the seat with you in case you find yourself on a flight with empty seats. A gate agent may be willing to allow you to have an empty seat for your lap child and bring your car seat aboard to use.
If you are flying, your chances of snagging an extra seat are the highest because of its open seating policy (but just make sure you check with the gate agent for approval to bring your seat on board and claim the extra seat).Stay tuned for the rest of the car seats and airplanes series coming soon!. Part 1: Car Seats at the Airport (you are here).Like this post? Pin it for later reference. We’ve traveled with both of our sons many times on international and domestic flights. Age 6 weeks on up, currently 2 and 4 years old. We usually bring car seats with us, but checked-in, never once brought a car seat on the plane. “The FAA says that car seats have to be the direction they are designed to face based on the age of a child”.
I have no idea if this is true. If it were, than logically there would be a rule that required car seats in the first place (there definitely isn’t).Traveling with kids is stressful enough, If you decide to bring a seat on the plane, don’t be a jerk to fellow travelers (this applies to those not traveling with kids too).
Secondly, and this is just my recommendation, but bringing the seat on the plane seems a tad overzealous. Check it at curbside, and forget it. You, your kids, and the other passengers will enjoy the flight more.
It is true, you paid for that space. You should use it however you want.
To the ones who complain about other people having kids, it’s one trip, you won’t die if you are a little uncomfortable. I promise the people with kids are also uncomfortable. People are too used to their comforts.
Get used to what’s necessary to have. You can always buy a first class so you don’t have to complain about the kids.
It is amazing the disrespectful people in the world towards children. Sure kids can be annoying, but everyone is there for the same reason. To get from one place to another. Deal with it for one trip and get over it. Also, car seats would absolutely be effective in cases where there were people injured from turbulence.
A lab baby would have been hurt the most in that scenario. You cannot rely on you being able to hold them when something like that happens.
Not every flight will explode and crash. The car seat would protect them in a crash where there were survivors. Some of these comments are very ignorant. I have also seen many adults whining more than the children on planes.
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