My husband and I will be traveling in a few weeks on a 4.5 to 5 hr. direct flight with our three kids--ages 5.5 yrs, 3 yrs and 5 mos. We have never brought car seats on a plane before. Since our baby does have his own seat and will not have to be a lap baby, we are bringing his infant seat--but I bet we'll hold him most of the time anyway! Someone suggested we bring the seat for the 3 year old though she's flown lots of time before and never used one since she has been old enough to need a ticket. Maybe we should try it. Is it too much to try to wrangle 3 kids and two car seats through the plane aisles? I can't even imagine. And the airplane seats are so upright they almost make you slouch forward when fully upright. Would that work with a toddler seat? Thoughts? Thanks!
We were thinking of bringing the car seat for the three year old because she is very active and it would be great to have the five point harness, not because it would be safer necessarily. I did borrow some of the CARES harnesses from a friend once but they did not work well for her. They keep the child's shoulder's back which is nice but since there is not strap between the legs, she could and did slip right out--intentionally, not accidentally. In my opinion, the straps in grocery carts may as well be for decoration. They've never kept my kids from climbing out! I am not sure what we'll do yet but thanks for all the advice!!
Too much to carry! I'd skip the car seats. Especially if they've flown before. Rather get a movie or two for them to watch or some new toys/books to keep them entertained. I couldn't imagine toting 3 kids and 3 car seats through the airport even with two adults. You'll have more than enough w/ all the baby stuff/stroller and two toddlers. Best of luck!
I've been on a plane before with toddlers and I wouldn't do it. A car seat is designed to protect the child from impact. Do you honestly think the car seat is going to protect your child from a plane crash? Maybe it would give them the comfort of something familiar, but if she's been on a plane before then I doubt it will be needed. A stuffed animal and some stuff to do would probably work a lot better.
I've flown a lot with my kids and i say no to carseats. They are big and a pain to carry through the airport and on the plane. The are also big and will give you all less room in the isle you are in. Plus if the plane is smooth your kids can stand and movie around a little if you don't have carseats. So yeah I wouldn't take them.
To be honest, that sounds like a headache to me haha Unless the airline requires your 3 year old to be in a car seat, I wouldn't bother with it. I know that they have standards on what type of car seats they deem acceptable. So, if you decide to go that route make sure it meets their requirements otherwise you have to pay for one of theirs :/ If you think your baby is going to be on your lap for the flight, do what we did and check in the car seat at luggage (it is free), and likewise for your 3 year old if you need a car seat for where you are going.
I have no personal experience flying with my kids, but I trust the information from the certified child-passenger safety technicians at carseatblog.com - they have some helpful tips on safe air travel with small children (including suggestions for how to tote those car seats if you bring them along) in these two links:
http://carseatblog.com/6599/airplanes-carseats-and-kids—w...
http://carseatblog.com/6635/airplanes-carseats-and-kids—w...
We have flown a lot with our now 3 year old daughter. From about 12 months on we have bought her a ticket and brought her car seat. My thought is that she knows she can't get out of her seat in the car, so she won't ask to get out of it on the plane either. She is a spirited and energetic kiddo, and she has never once asked to get out of her car seat. I'm certain that she would constantly be up and down if she was just using the seat belt.
As for lugging them through the airport, we have a luggage strap that we use to attach the seat to our rolling carry-on suitcase. You can buy wheels specifically for putting a car seat on, but attaching it to the suitcase keeps at least one hand free.
Good luck.
I have always brought the seat. She can sleep better, she's buckled in and you'll need it when u get off the plane into a car. Remember though, both carseats will have to be in a window seat.
Be sure to check with the airline on which you'll be traveling. There have been lots of rule changes in regards to luggage. A car seat carried on board may also be considered luggage.
I have difficulty wrangling just myself and my carry on down the aisle I can't imagine moving a baby, 3 kids, carry on luggage, and car seats.
I am obviously in the minority, but I have always gotten my kids their own seats. I feel it is the responsible thing to do. Yes, really bad turbulence is rare, but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I made it through a flight and my child didn't cause I couldn't hold onto them tight enough. If I can't afford to buy them a seat then I don't go. I think it is bizarre that cargo is safely stowed under seats and in overhead bins but precious baby cargo is okay to be sitting on your lap. I'm just sayin..
But your question was really about whether to bring car seats and for the 3 and 5.5 year old that I would say no. What we did with my two oldest 4.5 and 2.5 is get them a CARES, the Child Aviation Restraint System. It is for kids 22-44 pounds. Once they are out of that range, I will just use the belt on the plane. It is kind of expensive, but we've used them enough times now to make it pay for itself in no seat hassles. Your oldest may already be out of that weight range. If you are wondering, the belt is super easy to install -quick and fits in a diaper bag. As far as car seats go. Yes, you can check them usually for free with luggage. But, keep in mind that they may have hundreds of pounds of luggage thrown on top of them, thus making them less safe. I would carry them and check em at the gate. I usually put my youngest and infant seat in a stroller frame and have my other two walk. Then my husband carries the two seats and wears a backpack full of stuff to do/diapers. If needed, I will also have another bag under the stroller to carry on. Yes, it's a lot of stuff, but worth it to me. Hope that this helps you!
I have checked the car seat pretty much since my daughter outgrew the infant seat. I tried taking it on board once, but all it did was make us both uncomfortable. I know many parents say they will be sitting in their car seats more contently, because they are used to it from driving... but my daughter starts complaining about being strapped in during a half hour drive... 5 hours in the car seat on the plane were hell for us... and once you have it on board, there is no way to get rid of it (store it somewhere) because it doesn't fit in the overhead.
Ever since then we just check it and are happy about not having to lug it around. I just flew last month and the checked car seat was not counted towards our luggage allowance and was not charged for (AA).
Good luck.
We have 3 children, the youngest being twin daughters. We found that using the carseats when they were really young was quite helpful. However, by the time they were 3 years old, the car seat put them in a position where if they kicked at all, their feet were at the back of the seat in front of us (and they were on the small side for their age.) At that point, we made the change to no car seat on flights. In fact, we changed it for our return trip as the trip out had been so frustrating trying to keep them from kicking the seats in front of us. It wasn't that they were trying to be bad, they would just bounce their feet/legs out of boredom or restlessness.
Best of luck on your trip.
