Car seats and airports

[cruising_rocket_scientist]

We will be cruising next month with our 10 m/o. She will probably still be in her infant car seat, which we will be taking with us on our cruise...since we will need it for transfers and such. We won't be taking the stroller that the car seat attaches to, because it's big and bulky and we don't want to have to store it for the whole cruise. (We have a smaller stroller...no worries there!)

 

Having never travelled with a little person, just curious what most people do. Should I check the car seat with the luggage, or plane side? I know the airlines don't charge for it. Do I need to put it into a bag of some kind? Will it get all banged up like my luggage does? If I check it plane side, is there an easy way to carry it all through the airport? I have seen the toddler straps for the other type of car seat that just straps it to a suitcase. Do they have something like that for an infant car seat? She may be tall enough, maybe we'll just buy her a new car seat before we go.

[jlrn366419]

I would put her in the umbrella or small stroller for the airport and carry the carseat or attach it to a piece of rolling luggage. It is probably easier to lug around an empty carseat, especially in a place like an airport. Gate check the stroller and use the carseat for the plane ride. If you didn't buy her a seat on the plane then I would still take the car seat and hope there was a vacant seat. If not, they can gate check the carseat too.

[Pikaia]

If bringing the baby bucket, gate check it. Do bag it. I'd be most worried that the fabric could catch on something and rip. An infant seat shouldn't be too much at risk, but a large piece of one of our boosters cracked off when we gate checked it, so yeah, they can get banged up.

 

She's absolutely big enough to use a convertible (rear-facing converts to forward-facing) seat. Many of them are appropriate from birth on up, unless the baby is truly a peanut.

 

Look for seat recommendations and installation tips on the car-seat.org forums. :)

[Mom2B&Z]

We will be cruising next month with our 10 m/o. She will probably still be in her infant car seat, which we will be taking with us on our cruise...since we will need it for transfers and such. We won't be taking the stroller that the car seat attaches to, because it's big and bulky and we don't want to have to store it for the whole cruise. (We have a smaller stroller...no worries there!)

 

Having never travelled with a little person, just curious what most people do. Should I check the car seat with the luggage, or plane side? I know the airlines don't charge for it. Do I need to put it into a bag of some kind? Will it get all banged up like my luggage does? If I check it plane side, is there an easy way to carry it all through the airport? I have seen the toddler straps for the other type of car seat that just straps it to a suitcase. Do they have something like that for an infant car seat? She may be tall enough, maybe we'll just buy her a new car seat before we go.

I have travelled many places on airplanes with little ones, and congrats for choosing to bring the car seat! Do consider using it on board the aircraft, I can't tell you how many times I have seen a car seat dropped or otherwise damaged by gate check baggage handlers. I do not even consider checking a car seat as luggage unless I don't even plan on using it again...of course then I might as well save the hassle and just throw it out ;) It is very easy to install a car seat on an airplane, it is the same as a lap belt installation in a car.

For ease of use at your destination I would consider getting a rear facing/forward facing seat with built-in lock offs. Many vehicles in the Caribbean do not have UAS (LATCH in the US but same concept) or ALR seatbelts, so you often need to use a locking clip. Plus bucket/infant seats are notoriously difficult to install with seatbelts (I'm assuming you're not bringing the base). Britax makes several models with this feature, but I've also seen it on the Trufit. You have many more car seat models in the US than we do in Canada, so there may be other options, as someone else already mentioned car-seat.org is a great resource. The built-in lock off is a feature I will pay more to get, as it makes installations a breeze in many different situations. However, if you plan on buying a new seat to go on vacation, DO NOT check it as luggage. If it is dropped from any higher than table height it is unusable and must be replaced. (This would be the equivalent to being in a collision while in a vehicle.)

I'm a car seat tech (CRST) in Ontario, Canada, so if you have any questions just ask ;)

(ETA Love your handle, I'm a cruising neuroscientist :))

[B_Mc]

I think in your situation I'd check it with your luggage. I think most airlines provide the bag and help you get it set up (Westjet did!).

 

Now for some unsolicited advice - have you seen Snap 'n Go strollers? They are basically just a light frame that your infant car seat snaps into. I highly recommend it, especially for traveling. Then you can gate check both pieces, no worries about it being lost and the frame is so small it hardly takes up any space.

[cruising_rocket_scientist]

Thanks all for the replies. Still not sure what the plan will be. She is tall for only 9 months (she'll be 10 m/o when we travel), and has almost reached the height limit for her infant car seat. I hesitate to buy a brand new car seat (convertible) and then have it trashed by baggage handlers only to have to get a new one when we get back. We didn't buy a seat for her, but we will probably carry the car seat all through the airport in case there is a small chance she can use it on the plane. Luckily there will be 3 adults, so we should have enough hands for all the gear plus a walking little person. (She'll be in the stroller until we get to the gate, then she gets some play time before we board.) Good news is we will enjoy our vacation no matter what!

[mikesteg]

I wouldn't worry too much about checking a car seat. We're traveled all over and have never had an issue. We did buy nice heavy bags to prevent cosmetic damage, but remember that car seats are designed to withstand an impact far, far greater than being dropped a few feet or having a 50 pound bag throw on top of them. Of course, if you gate check they are most likely going to be on top anyway (though being an odd-shaped item I'd guess they ride on top almost always.)

 

For many flights, we've gate checked the 2 'buckets' plus the Snap N' Go, plus two umbrella strollers, and none have never sustained any damage. Our $20 umbrella strollers, which are most certainly not designed-to-deflect-legal-liability safety devices, have withstood all that handing.

 

That said, if you're going to buy a new seat I'd travel with the old one even if she is on the margin for it's use. That way if it gets lost, or does somehow get run over by the airplane, you don't need to re-buy it.

[Mom2B&Z]

I wouldn't worry too much about checking a car seat. We're traveled all over and have never had an issue. We did buy nice heavy bags to prevent cosmetic damage, but remember that car seats are designed to withstand an impact far, far greater than being dropped a few feet or having a 50 pound bag throw on top of them.

Yes, they are designed to withstand ONE impact. Transport Canada advises people to replace seats dropped from the height of a table. I have seen many seats dropped from this distance which look fine, but are deemed no longer safe for use. This is a common misconception about car seats, just because they look ok doesn't mean they will still perform to the same standards shown in collision testing.

The exception is some Britax seats, which give specific criteria where they can be used after a collision. The criteria involve specific levels of damage to the vehicle, not a height or degree of damage.

I stand by my suggestion that car seats and boosters never travel as checked luggage.

[mikesteg]

I stand by my suggestion that car seats and boosters never travel as checked luggage.

 

I do too, and I'm sure we'll both post our opinions many more times on these almost-daily threads on the topic. :D

[Dafunkgirl20]

Having worked in auto insurance I agree that car seats need to be replaced in collisions regardless of the size of impact... but I haven't thought about it any further in terms of checking it as baggage and I see your point.

 

We will be traveling with a 3 year old who will be in car seat but we've always checked his car seat. Despite being on 8 flights with our kids we have yet to see anyone use their car seats on the flight - people always check them. We may consider bringing it on the plane this time around.

[khm1]

Yes' date=' they are designed to withstand ONE impact. Transport Canada advises people to replace seats dropped from the height of a table. I have seen many seats dropped from this distance which look fine, but are deemed no longer safe for use. This is a common misconception about car seats, just because they look ok doesn't mean they will still perform to the same standards shown in collision testing.

The exception is some Britax seats, which give specific criteria where they can be used after a collision. The criteria involve specific levels of damage to the vehicle, not a height or degree of damage.

I stand by my suggestion that car seats and boosters never travel as checked luggage.[/quote']

 

I travel with my Radian car seat. See herehttp://http://us.diono.com/en/car-seats/radian-rxt

 

It has a steel frame. It folds and is good for kids 5-80 lbs with a 5 point harness. It is rear facing through 45 lbs and forward facing through 80 lbs with the 5 point, and through 120 lbs in booster mode. It is extremely versatile! When it is folded, it fits into a travel bag. I check it through as luggage all of the time and it arrives undamaged. I don't think that the roughest baggage handlers could affect its performance. It is a bit heavy due to the steel construction. However, I feel that it travels so well that it is worth the trade off. The bag that I have allows you to carry it as a back pack. I remove the straps before checking it. I absolutely love it and would buy it again!

 

I use a CARES harness on the airplane. But I always flew with a car seat until DD was about 2.