nemloc

I've flown with my twins on a couple of round trips across the US and have taken their car seats both times. Since the last time, they've graduated to the toddler seats (Britax) which are bigger then the infant carriers. They're also more comfortable sitting on their own, walking, getting into and out of chairs since that last flight.
I'm looking to fly in a month with them (they'll be around 16 months) and will be buying them each a seat but I'd like to check their car seat as luggage and have them fly in a normal tiny coach seat like the rest of the family.

Recommendations? experiences?

CDTraveler

My son sat in his safety seat on the plane until he was 5 and too big for it. He prefered to use - with it, he could easily see out the window, without it, he couldn't. I prefered to use it because that way, no matter how the airline screwed up the luggage (and they did!), the safety seat was always immediately available in undamaged condition when we landed.

BrokerGal

Depending on flight length, they are still small enough that sleeping is likely going to be more comfortable in a car seat.

BillScann

...never will.

jonesing

We use Britax as well and until a few months ago used the GoGoKidz Travelmate attachment to turn the Britax/kid into a piece of rolling luggage. Worked great when we had to go from B84 to B17 at DEN after a last minute gate change that was announce prior to our flight landing!

Lately we've been checking the Britax (housed inside an Eddie Bauer car seat bag) and switched to the AmSafe CARES harness instead. He can ride on top of my rollaboard if we have a tight connection but I try to build in plenty of connection time to account for his little legs.

One thing about the CARES straps vs. car seat--the car seat gave him a much better view out the window. He's got a total fetish for airplanes, ramp operations, airports, really anything to do with airplanes! He was really irate about not being able to see well except on the R80

GBeckman

Here's my $.02 as the mother of a well-travelled 19 month old: take the car seats. There is little to no chance that my son would sit still in an airplane seat without being fully restrained in his five point harness, and he's definitely smart enough to figure out how to undo the seatbelt. When he's in his carseat on the plane, he pretty much knows that he has to sit there and can't get out, since that's how it works in the car. The last trip I took with him as a lap child was when he was 13 months and he was all over the place. I was lucky that on 2 of the 4 legs, there were extra seats available and I was able to take the carseat onboard, and on a third leg the flight attendant moved the gentleman sitting next to me to the only open seat on the plane (unfortunately after the carseat had been gatechecked) so at least we had a little more room. The last leg (with him actually on my lap, or the floor in front of us, and a passenger next to us) was miserable (for me, not anyone else, he was perfectly happy climbing all over mom).

One more thing to think about...I absolutely will NOT check my carseat as checked luggage. I don't trust the airline not to lose or damage it, and I've heard and read horror stories about the loaner/rental seats that people have been given. I take MY seat vs. renting because I know the seat, how to install it, where it's been, the quality of it, that it's not expired, etc. I don't want to have to struggle with trying to figure out how to install a loaner seat at the end of a long day of travel. Even before I bought my son his own seat on the plane, I would at the very least gate-check the carseat so it was that much more likely that it would make it on the plane. It's definitely a hassle lugging it to the gate, but well worth it, IMO.

Along the lines of the hassle-factor...the Britaxes are great seats (we have a Boulevard as our primary seat), but they are HUGE and heavy. I bought a cheaper, lighter seat as both a travel seat and for the second car which my son seldom rides in. I have the Safety 1st Uptown, but the Cosco Scenera also gets good reviews for this purpose. You can get a Scenera for under $50 at Wal-mart. It doesn't have the great features of the Britaxes, but it will serve the purpose at a reasonable price, and be lighter and easier to haul around.

Sorry for the novel...carseats are something that I've become pretty passionate about since having my son. I spend a lot of time on carseat forums and have learned a ton of great information from the helpful carseat techs there, so I tend to feel like it's my duty to pass it along. Use it as you see fit!

nemloc

I may go the route of the GoGoKidz Travelmate. How well do the Britax seats fit in the continental coach seats? what happens when the passenger in front of you reclines? The last couple of flights were using the smaler infant carriers which we setup rear facing.

nemloc

Thanks for all the info. I didn't think about the kids unbuckling the airline belt but that makes perfect sense as they've taken anything else apart given the right amount of time. That puts the Cares harness out of the running. A second seat might be work especially with the gogokidz travelmate roller. The second seat also allows me to leave theirs setup in our car which was always the haslle when we flew back and I had to spend 15 minutes extra setting up two car seats and bases. (I got proficient at it)

KebaNYC

I agree 100% with Gbeckman for all of the reasons that they stated above. We used the car seat as long as we could and don't think we ditched it until he got close to 3 y.o. The only thing I would add is that the Britax seats are heavy so we took the advice of someone here on FT and got a super light seat to travel with.

Basically he was more comfortable and secure in the seat which meant an easier time for everyone.

Keba

nemloc

Which light seat did you get and do you recommend it?

zansu

Another in complete agreement with GBeckman.

However, we *do* travel with two Britaxes for our 3.5 and 5.5 year olds. The GoGo Kidz goes on the Roundabout and the Marathon goes onto the RA. The kids fight over who gets to pull it around the airport.

We have the Cosco Scenera (available at Target and Walmart for under $50) for use as a spare seat, but we don't travel with it b/c the entire family has been trained on proper installation of Britaxes, and the Scenera is a little tougher to use.

The Britaxes are also much more comfortable for the kids (better padding and softer covers).

When the oldest kid outgrows the Marathon, he will be allowed to use the regular seatbelt. Until then, they stay strapped in just like the adults.

GBeckman

Another great reason to have a second seat, which I forgot to mention! It saves so much time not having to uninstall the seat from the car you took to the airport and then reinstall when you get back. Especially when you're exhausted from hauling the kids across the country all day!

I know a lot of people do like the GoGoKidz attachments and from what I've heard, they work well with the Britax seats. You shouldn't have any problems installing with the GoGoKidz attached, as long as the armrests are movable and can be put up for installation. Also, even though my son is still rearfacing in the car, I put him forward facing on the plane. It prevents the problem of the person in front of you not being able to recline, and it's a little bit easier of an installation.

ETA: I decided to get the Safety 1st Uptown over the Scenera as our second seat because it's a little plusher and seemed more comfy. It was a little bit more (I think closer to $80) but still relatively cheap. I've been fairly happy with it overall. It definitely isn't quite as easy an install as the Britax, but it's not bad. Just make sure that if you go this route, you practice installing at least a few times before your trip so that you feel comfortable with how to do it!

KebaNYC

The seat I used was a Century 1500 STE which is no longer made. It was the perfect travel seat because it was light, simple, FAA approved and easy to install. (Thanks to FWAAA who originally recommended it on this forum). I would check out your nearest Babies R Us/ Wal Mart / Target for a very basic Graco model.

They still have a picture at:
http://www.buy.com/prod/century-1500...200778851.html

Keba

baglady

They fit fine - even on RJs and CRJs. Rear facing is indeed more difficult, though doable but the person in front really can't recline. Forward facing, the person in front can recline and will be right on top of your child (okay, perhaps I'm exaggerating this point).

CDTraveler

Nope, no exaggeration. One on 737, when the guy in front reclined, his seatback touched my son's legs. It took the FA to persuade him not to recline.

In retrospect, I should have just let my son kick the seat until the guy pulled it forward.