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elelvee
08-01-2001, 10:27 PM
We are taking a flight with one connection and we must bring our car seat. I am concerned about the seat arriving at our destination and arriving in good shape. Do you check the car seat with your luggage or can you check it at the gate? Do you package it yourself or will the airline provide some packaging or other protection?

alandenisefields
08-02-2001, 10:39 AM
Call your airline to see what their policy is about car seats---some will let you use the seat in an empty seat next to you (if there is one) on the flight. It is ALWAYS safer for an infant to ride in an approved safety seat.

If you have to check the seat, GATE CHECK it. That way you can be assured the seat will get on the plane.

Another idea: if you REALLY want to see your seat at the destination, consider UPS or FED-EXing (ahead of time ) it in a sturdy box. That is safer then sending it along as checked baggage.

Best wishes,

Alan & Denise Fields, Authors
BABY BARGAINS

sarsah
08-22-2001, 10:59 PM
I bought one of the car seat bags specially made for car seats. I found it at a web site that was going out of business, so it was cheap. It's Century brand and I have a Britax car seat. If you could find a large enough duffle bag, that would work too.

The airlines may give you a nice plastic bag to put your seat in, but that's about it. Car seats are pretty durable, so my biggest concern is the fabric getting dirty. If you want to lug it through the airport, you can gate-check it so you can be mostly assured that it will arrive at your destination with you.

Otherwise, you can check the seat with your luggage. You do run the small risk that it will not arrive with you. The risk is the same as your luggage not arriving/getting lost, which I can tell you does happen, but is not that common, in my experience. We travel a lot -- my on is 15 months old and has flown at least 15 times. Also, be aware that if your flight is delayed or cancelled and you are rebooked on a later flight, the airlines most likely will NOT give you your luggage, including the car seat back until you get to your destination. So, if you check the car seat and your flight is delayed until the next day, you most likely won't be able to claim your car seat to use it to leave the airport.

I don't mean to scare you, but that has happened to me. Fortunately, we had a second seat in our car, so it was not a problem for us.

Sarah.....