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As worldwide travelers ourselves, we always had this question when we took our son abroad. Before he turned two, we already took him onto several long-haul international flights. Should we bring our car seat to the plane? That was the question we always debated. After trying with and without a car seat on board, as well as bringing with us different types of car seats, we had the following conclusion that we would like to share with our readers.
Although a car seat is not mandatory on a plane, the FAA strongly suggests restraining a child on the plane for safety reasons. Most car seats today are approved for aircraft use, but not all are. So, before you bring yours on board, please check the label to make sure it complies with the FAA standards. Most domestic airlines do not check it, since it is assumed that your car seat is safe for flights. However, when we were traveling in Asia, we had an encounter when Cathay Pacific airline had to verify that a FAA approved label was on the seat before we could bring it on board. Car seats and strollers in general are not counted towards the number of hand-carry items that you can bring on board, but you may need a special tag to do so.
If your baby is under 9 months old and is of average size, and you are not buying him/her a separate seat, I would suggest not bringing a car seat with you. You can easily use a baby carrier to hold your baby, especially during landing and take off. Furthermore, if you are taking international flights, you can request a seat with a baby bassinet in the front, so the baby can sleep in the bassinet during the flight. Again, for take off and landing, you will need to secure the baby with your baby carrier, which is a better method than using the tiny extra seatbelt attachment provided by the airline to attach to your own seatbelt.
Although most airlines do not require a child to purchase a separate ticket until after 2 years old, I would consider buying a ticket if your baby is bigger in size or is more active. My son was small in size, but he could barely fit in a baby bassinet at 8 months old. Thus, if your child is bigger, you may want to consider buying him/her a separate seat. When your child is older than two and has his/her own seat, then a car seat is highly recommended. Then, the question becomes whether to bring a car seat with you.
If it is a short to medium haul flight, I would suggest bringing a car seat on board. Reasons: (1) Your child can sit more comfortably and fit better on the seat. We once did not bring our car seat with us, and my 20-month-old kept sliding off the chair and ended up sleeping on the floor. (2) A car seat is better for safety reasons. (3) You will need a car seat in the car at your destination anyway, so you might as well bring one with you.
For a long-haul flight, it is a much tougher decision as to whether to bring a car seat. Since a car seat is such bulky item, you cannot put it away on the plane, so you are stuck with it. But on a long flight, your child would want to lie down to sleep, or may become active and wants to draw or eat. Then, the car seat is in your way and too high for the tray. But without the car seat, a child would just fall off the chair and lie on the floor. So, what are your options?
We once brought a travel-friendly Sit N Stroll (SNS), a car seat / stroller combination in 1 car seat with us, but it was a nightmare. I did my research and read all the good reviews online before I purchased one, but it just did not work for us. Here is why: The SNS is quite wide. It cannot fit through the aisle in most aircrafts, especially for short haul flights. We live on the East Coast and must make several connections before we transit to the 747 aircrafts for our international flight to Asia. For the domestic segment, it was a nuisance to squeeze through with the SNS. SNS also barely fits in the seat even after you get through the aisle in domestic flights. When used as a car seat in an automobile, the seat belt goes on top and across the child, thus making it very difficult to secure it correctly to the car. We have leather seats in our car, and the car seat kept sliding. Finally, when used as a stroller, it sits very low to the floor. SNS also does not recline and does not fold, so it is much less versatile than a regular stroller. I could bear with it to stroll through the airport, but I would not recommend using it on a regular basis, even if it’s just during the trip.
There is another product in the market called GoGo Kidz Car Seat Travelmate, which is a roller attachable to a Britax car seat. This can wheel your car seat and makes it easier to travel with. There are also flaws to this gadget. First, you must have a Britax car seat. Second, the Britax car seat is the bulkiest among all the car seats. It may hardly fit in the smaller aircrafts seats. Also, you cannot put it away once you are on board. Finally, this roller puts the car seat very low to the floor, so you probably would still need another stroller. Thus, this is still not the best solution.
Fortunately, after trying many different things, we have finally found a solution this year. Sunshine Kids has just launched the Radian Folding Car Seat, the first and only folding convertible car seat in the market.
Traveling with smaller kids on the plane is a stressful task and requires lots of extra planning. It took our family many trips to streamline the whole process. At the end of the day, a good vacation makes all the efforts well worth it.
Winnie Liu is a proud mother of two who enjoys finding and testing the latest baby gadgets. She now runs her own website, http://www.littlebabyshoes.com, a children's boutique with designer baby shoes and baby gear. |
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