Should I Use Car Seat on Plane?

I would use a carseat on a plane, though a CARES harness is also appropriate for that age. I rear-faced my 1 and 3-year-olds on the plane in a Scenera. It's a smallish, light seat that's under $40. My 4 and 6-year-olds were in Maestro carseats. Extra protection is always worth it to me, where travel is involved.

"The Federal Aviation Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommend that you use an FAA-approved child restraint device. That means either an approved car seat or the CARES harness."

If you don't want to lug the ca rseat on the plane, then the harness is sufficient.

Well I don't know what a CARES harness is, but based on the others' responses, it sounds pretty good. 3.5 hours is a long time. If your kid is a good kid who will just hang out and not be too wiggly, etc. then I'd go with the harness. If you think your kid will want to drag you up and down the aisles of the plane and be ready to sit in everyone's lap (like my kid would do) then I'd say bring the car seat because it is familiar and most kids understand that once your'e strapped in you stay put.

Most car seats are FAA approved. It says right on the side if it is, so just check it out, but I'm willing to bet that all Britax seats are.

Lugging it on and off the plane is a hassle, but to me it's worth it for my wiggly child. My older child is just fine, but the little one stresses me out! ;)

Check with the airline, not all car seats are FAA approved.
Either way, bring it, you can check it at the gate and you will need it once you get to your destination.

Just so you know if you use a car seat on the plane it must be FAA approved and they usually only approve infant carriers, they will have you gate check it. Riding on a plane is very different from riding in a car, as long as your child wears the seatbelt he will be just fine.

I prefer not to take the car seat on...it's a pain! They will let you check it for free.

I looked at the "CARES" harness and it looks awesome-5 point restraint system, the child all the way up against the seat, looks amazing and most important-SAFE! I would just make sure that the adjustments on the straps are perfect-and maybe take something to go around the baby's neck in case they fall asleep. Safe travels!

The Britax won't fit on many planes (I know - I tried it). And it will perfectly position your son to kick the seat in front of him. Plus, it's a major pain to lug on the plane, install, etc. We switched over to the CARES harnesses when our girls were 2 and it was the best decision. I absolutely love the harnesses; they're super light weight (a handfull of car seat straps), easy to install, and work great. No way could a child wiggle out of them, they hold the child as securely as any other car seat type harness. If you don't already own one, you can rent on eBay for $20, I think.

Do you have the harness? Then use it...if not, use the car seat. I do tend to think kids like the familiarity of the car seat and understand when strapped in it they are supposed to stay put.

Also the cosco scenera is only $40 and is perfect for flights and travel. Super safe and lightweight. Had this car seat just for airplane and vacation travel

We just completed my kiddo's 19th flight (I didn't go on a plane until i was 15; he is only 4!) and I have never flown with a car seat in the cabin of the plane. With the exception of one trip, we have always brought one and gate checked it. We use the GoGo Babyz attachment to turn it into a stroller/wheeled luggage cart and use that to easily push it around the airports. The whole thing gets checked at the gate for free.

I have also never used the CARES harness so I'm not sure how that works.

As someone said, it is a lot different to be on a plane than in a car. In fact, we always ride trains, planes, subways, busses, taxis, etc. without car seats. Pretty much any public transportation. However, do what works for your peace of mind and safety.

I prefer having my daughter's car seat on the plane when we fly together. Mostly because she's comfortable in it and she can't move because it has a three point harness. I've never tried the CARES harness, but that might work just as well. It's a pain to lug the seat all over the airport, that's for sure, but you're going to need one when you arrive at your destination, right?

I would personally bring a car seat. When my daughter was little we always did. Also if the car seat is padded it saves from them complaining about how their bottom hurts from sitting to long. I know when my daughter got out of a car seat and sat on the airplane for a while soon she started complaining about this. Hope this helps!

Unless you actually need the carseat on the other side, leave it at home. If you need it, than check it at the gate. Car seats are a pain on the plane.

IMO, consider it, IF they allow it, but if not, then get a bag for it and check it. We took our Marathon to the UK and Ireland but were not allowed to use it on the flight and DD did fine. She was 3 at the time. I just strapped her in with a regular belt. Mostly, we took the seat for the rental car.

I've only flown with my son twice, but both times I used his car seat. I just felt safer that way. We used the Go-Go Kidz to get it through the airport. Of course, his car seat is approved for use with Aviation, and I don't know if the Marathon is.

Good luck!

We have a marathon, but we stopped using it on the plane in favor of the CARES harness by the time he was 18 months. He has flown to Europe 3 times this way, and back and forth across the US (3.5 hrs at least) 4 times. I have been happy with the CARES, but when he was smaller, I did bring a small pillow for him to sit on.

The biggest cons on the marathon on the plane is the hassle of dealing with it, and that it put his feet in the perfect position to kick the person's seat in front of him. If you are on the bulkhead, this isn't an issue, but the potential for seat-kicking relegated the marathon to the baggage compartment on all future trips.
Have a good trip!

I would not bring a marathon on an airplane, especially for a two year old. At that age, my son sat with nothing - just the regular airplane seat belt. I hear good things about CARES but never invested in one. We are flying soon with my kids - youngest will be 23 months and we are not planning to bring her a car seat on the flight.

Whoever said only infant carriers are FAA certified is wrong. There's a sticker somewhere on your seat - or was! - that has a plane on it. That's what you need. If your seat has been sufficiently abused (as ours have) that the sticker is gone, then you're out of luck.

If you're mentally okay with your kid not being in the seat, then it's about your kid. Will they sit happily in a seat in the same position for 3 hours? Or would it make him/her happier to be able to wiggle around in the regular seat? Ours are so much better on the latter -- particularly before takeoff/after landing, when they can get down on the floor. And then when they want to sleep, they just curl up; doesn't matter that there's not a seat. We only bring carseats if it's a redeye and they're going to sleep the whole time.

I have put a lot of thought into this myself. I am going to be travelling with my 2 y/o soon too. What I think I ve decided to do is use the cosco scenera seat and attach it to my carry on with this thing I discovered on amazon called the travelling toddler that was about $12. It is just a simple strap that connects the two so you can roll it around the airport easily. I just feel like my son will sleep better in a seat. And the harness is pricey as I recall and doesn't look cozy but I ve never used it.

When my daughter was almost 3 we flew from AZ to VA. We decided to bring her car seat on the plane. We also have a Marathon. She was just more comfortable it it especially when she fell asleep. Plus, we didn't want to check it and worry about how it would be handled by the baggage people nor did we want to use one from the car rental company for the same reason (not knowing how it'd been treated). I just felt better having our own car seat with us. It was a bit challenging to get in the seat but my husband managed to get it strapped in and let me tell you, it wasn't going anywhere! :) So if you're traveling alone, it may be a challenge for you to install in on the plane but if you think you can or another person you're traveling with, I say bring it.

I've had good and bad results with car seats in planes. For starters, your kid will have no leg room.

We are traveling to ireland in a few weeks and skipping the car seat. It's just too big for the plane, and we spent the whole time on our last flight trying to get our 2 year old to not kick the seat in front.

I do recommend one of those gadgets that turns the car seat into a stroller. We then check the car seat at the gate.