Should I Bring the Car Seat on the Plane?

Many airlines will give you a bassinet for overseas flights. They seat you in the first row where there is room for it to hang. That would be a better place to set your little one down. Check with your airline!

hey gal -
BOTH the kids will probably sleep much of the night away and they'll do it MUCH safer and sounder if they're in their carseats! bring yourself a pillow, prop yourself between them and sleep the flight away hee hee
good luck and best wishes, hope you bring the seats :) we've NEVER been sorry we brought the seats -
S.

I did not bring a car seat for my 10 month old on our flight recently just got back Monday. It worked for me. She has a fit in the carseat, its like she hates it. She was content to sleep with her head on my chest, the way she likes it. On our way back the middle seat was empty so that was great. I guess it depends like someone said on the child's temperment.

I traveled for 18 hours from SFO to Asia with my then 7 month old daughter. On the way to Asia, I did not bring the car seat -what a huge mistake. My daughter slept only 2 hours out of the 18 hour flight. She would not even rest in the bassinet provided by the airline. It was a miserable flight for all of us. On the return flight, we brought the car seat on board and she slept 80% of the flight. I highly recommend bringing the car seat. It's very familiar for the babies, so they are more relaxed when sitting inside it.
Good luck!

Do it. It will be the best choice you ever made. We did SFO- SYD with my 1 mth old and it was just invaluable. In any case, you will need it at the the end anyway. It is way too hard to strap an 8-mth old in using the airplane seta buckle without the carseat.

It seems like its been a whole since you travelled, because most airlines now actually insist on it. Many airlines do not have the extra strap for the baby to strap to the parent, and you have to remain strapped in the whole flight. I don't see any way around not taking it quite honestly.

Indeed I would even think about a car seat for your 2.5 year old too. You could call the airline and ask.

P.

Yes, bring the seat. Your baby is much more likely to sleep well that way (and without your arms falling off. It's not a guarantee that your baby will sleep, but the chances are much better. Also, it's the safest way for your baby to travel on the plane if you hit turbulence, etc.

this site has a lot of practical advice for taking children on airplane flights - the author is a mom who also worked as a flight attendant for 13 years, so she has experience as both a parent and as an airline employee:
http://www.flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com .

I am not familiar with Graco car seat size but have traveled quite a bit with my 4 month old in her Chicco car seat. So far we haven't purchased a ticket but had the good fortune to have a seat available free of charge. The advice I would give is to bring it, not only because you will need a car seat if you drive anywhere in Europe but also because the car seat is an excellent opportunity to have your baby safely sit/sleep while you go to the bathroom, drink water, eat a meal, etc. I took my little girl on only one flight where we didn't get a seat so I checked her car seat and the flight was 5 1/2 hours (roughly the equivalent to Europe from east coast) and it was much more difficult (I was also flying without her dad). My advice would be to bring it, you can always gate check it if there are no free seats.
Good luck!

Hi L., We have also traveled with and without the car seat, although the farthest we have flown with our son is Chicago. I don't have any great words of advise re: which is best, although if you really want to use the seat, you should bite the bullet and buy a ticket. Whenever we fly with our son, we try to sit with other families, especially when we had the car seat on board with us. We'd try to have him sit behind another child, who is not likely to want to try to recline his/her seat. That way, the person in front of us didn't complain about not being able to do so.

Unless you've purchased a ticket for the 8 month old, you most likely will not get a seat on the plane to put the car seat into. Keep that in mind..they usually will let you try..but will hold you back until everyone is checked in and seated and then possibly make you gate check the seat. Always makes me leary gate checking when i see them throw the luggage on..if they throw the car seat the same way..it's the same as it getting into a car accident.

I have always brought the seat and can't imagine not having it. My daughter is a wiggly one. The seat gives both you and your little one a chance to relax.

I would be very interested in what you end up doing. I am taking two little ones (3 months and 2 years) on a much shorter flight (still 4 hours) and am wondering the same things.

I recall that it is required to bring a carseat for an infant under 2 if you have purchased a ticket for the infant. Otherwise, you would not need one. I travelled alone with my 4 yr old and 1 yr old without a seperate infant ticket and found that both times the flight attendents were extra helpful. They even asked passengers to exchange seats with us so that we have a seat for my infant (given that was not a full flight). Good luck with you.

Hi L.,

We traveled to Italy when my son was 5 months old and did the bassinet thing like the other poster mentioned. It worked out well. However as he got older we always bring the car seat. Both my kids had trouble on the airplane in their regular seats. They were uncomfortable for them and they refused to wear the seat belts. My daughter used to squiggle down under the belt and end up constantly on the floor. Very annoying. But the car seat is something familiar to them and my kids often fall asleep in the car. That made it easier for them to sleep on the plane, not to mention they could sit comfortable and play with things on their tray. But remember that you will then need to purchase a ticketed seat for your child, where you could otherwise keep your son on your lap.

I took a sit and stroll on our last europe flight and it worked really well. But it is designed to fit on airline seats and I don't know that every seat would fit. I'm also not sure how helpful airlines are about telling you, either.

I would say it is useful if you can and if it fits. Worse case you can then gate check it if it is too big, I suppose.

E.

In addition to deciding on bringing a car seat on the plane, another thing you may want to keep in mind is will it fit in the car. Cars in Europe are smaller and the large car seats will not always fit.

If you paid for a seat for the baby, you should check the airline's rules as to at what age they would no longer need to be in a carseat. They may require the baby to be in the carseat. If the child sleeps, it would DEFINITELY be easier. You should see if your carseat is approved for airline use as well. Some are not, and since you say it is pretty big, it may not be.

We have gone on flights with and without carseats. We always brought one along, even though we didn't pay for the seat, because if we had the seat the airline would give us a seat if the plane wasn't full. Without the seat they would not. So again, I suggest you check to see at what age the airline will let the baby fly without a carseat.

I would think that on such a long flight the baby will sleep at some point, and it is hard to hold them for long periods of time in the small space of airplane seats.

Yes, yes, yes. After traveling to New York with my daughter when she was 1 1/2 without a carseat I will forever recommend bringing one on the plane for each child. We recently went to Hawaii and even our large Alpha Omega Elite convertible carseat fit on the plane. I don't think our now 2 year old daughter (or my husband and I) would have slept as well without it. Look in the manual for your carseat and it will have a section on airplane compatibility.

I have flown w/ my young kids w/ and w/o carseats... either way I was busy. Ithink the time I used the carseat, it was easier. But I think also matters the temperament of the child.

I would suggest that you all the airline and make sure you can even bring your brand/model of carseat on the plane, they need to be FAA approved. My sister in law who travels w/ her young kids all the time w/ carseats, was told on a recent trip that her carseat was not approved and she could not bring it. Surprise to her since she has used that same carseat many times before on the plane. Since her kids were used to traveling by plane in carseats, and this time they did not, it made for a difficult flight.

A lot of long international flights have tools to help travelling with babies and kids. I am always suprised by what they come up with. You should call and ask them what they offer. Air New Zealand was the best with no lines for families ; sleeping cots with blankets for babies and organic baby food jars. Also, gift bags and individual TV/video game players for the older kids. If the airline does offer a cot you need to reserve the proper seats for their use (the bulkhead row) and they come and take the cots if you aren't using them and store it for you. It becomes very cumbersome to have the car seat along. I know my kids wouldn't have sat in them for long. Another trick for long flights if there isn't a cot available is to put your tray down and place a soft pillow on it (I bring along a soft down pillow that squishes into my bag easily) ; the pillow serves as a mattress and they sleep well on the tray. Now that my baby is a toddler we just put down 2 trays and put a blanket between them so there's no gap. Have a great trip!

L.,

We Just go back from a 15 hour flight to Australia- we did not take a car seat- nor did we get a seat for my 10 month old- we did request the bulk head seats and the airline bassinet- the bassinet on United is weight rated to 25 pounds so as long as your little one is small to average- it works okay- allows the baby to lay flat. Only problem was that when the seat belt sign is on- you have to take the baby out of the bassinet- on our flight back it felt like the light was going on every five minutes so in the end I ended up just holding her and she slept in my arms.

The good thing with the bulk head seats even if you don't get a bassinet (and with or with out your car seat) is that there is extra floor space in front of you and no seats in front of you (more important to the two year old!)- down side is that during take off and landing you have to put all your carry on in the over head.

Just a side note- I don't know if the Safeseat will fit- check your owners manual- the seat has to say that it is FAA approved- may find this on line- The base of the seat hs to be less then 16 inches to fit....

Have a great trip!

M.

For me, car seats on the plane are INVALUABLE! I buy a seat for each of my kids. We travel to France and the East coast to visit in-laws. When we only had one baby, we tried it without the car seat and I swore I would never do it again. I didn't get to sleep or eat and my arm and butt were numb from holding the baby for hours while he slept. We now buy each kid a seat on the plane even though it costs us a fortune so we don't run the risk of not getting an extra seat. Little ones are comfortable and RESTRAINED in their familiar seats. Our seats even have cup holders that we use for snacks and toys. If you can manage carrying the seat around the airport (I paid an airport valet to help when I traveled alone) and the expense, I would recommend it. You will have a much less stressful flight and even get to eat, go to the bathroom BY BY YOURSELF, and sleep or read while the baby sleeps. Good luck!

We did a 9-10 hour trip to Japan when our son was 10 months old. We did not buy him a seat nor bring his car seat, but in the end it was us who suffered. Holding him for 10 hours (split between the hubby and I) was torture. He was hot and sweaty, we couldn't sleep that well, nor could we move. But our son did very well. He slept through most of the trip both ways, and was quite content.

If I had to do it all over again and knowing what I know now, I'm not so sure if I would buy him a seat. I'd rather not pay the extra seat if I can help it, but then again 10 hours is a lot less than 18 hours.

We have the Safeseat as well and it has fit fine on the plane. I say take it and hope that there is an extra seat on the plane! If not, you can always check it in.