Car Seat on Plane

[trash]

I did not buy an extra seat for 9month old baby for flight.If there are no extra seats available when I inquire at checkin, would you then just check in your carseat instead of lugging it all the way to the gate?
So I would just put her on my lap? Is there any other vest or something else I should get instead for safety. Is it quit safe for her not to be in a child seat?

[AddiesMom]

Unless the flight is over-sold, I would bring the seat to the gate. My husband flies every week and he is always doing standby for an earlier flight, so seats on your flight could open up at the last minute. One thing you can do if there are 2 of you flying, you book the window and the other person books the aisle. Odds are the seat in the middle will book last. If it remains open then the car seat goes in the window seat. Just let them know right away at the ticket counter, some airlines will but a 'block' on the seat so it gets booked last in the event people are getting late seat assignments. The first time DD flew it was on Southwest which is non-assigned seating and they let us pre-board, next was US Airways who 'blocked' the seats.

I have had DD on two round trip flights and so far I am 100% for getting her a free seat! I just make sure I fly at times that are not as busy. Just an FYI, in the US you can not use a flight vest during take off or landing, only during the flight.

[Momof3Labs]

Only check your car seat if you don't need it at your destination - I've had too many problems with baggage-checked baby items (and once with a gate-checked stroller) not making it to my destination. If you bring it on the plane with you, you know that you will have it when you land!

[stillplayswithbarbies]

> Is it quit
>safe for her not to be in a child seat?

No, honestly it is not quite safe for her not to be in a car seat. If there is severe turbulence, she will be torn from your arms and hit the roof of the plane. If there is any incident upon landing or take-off, you have no way to protect her.

Holding her on your lap means that you are relying on statistics and hoping that nothing happens on your flight.

If you do a search in this forum, you will find many discussions about flying with babies and links to safety info.

The vests are not safe because they basically turn the baby into an airbag for the adult. That is why they are not permitted to be used during take-off and landing, or in an emergency situation.

[kbudsberg]

It all depends on how you look at it. Yes, the safest place for a baby/child is on a plane in a carseat no doubt about it. However, a baby/child is safer on a plane than in a car in a carseat, whether or not they are in a carseat on the plane. A plane is always the safer option, carseat or not. I was a flight attendant for 9 years and I never bought a seat for my dd when we traveled. I guess I'm cheap but I've always felt very safe on a plane. I did always bring the carseat to the gate, whether the flight was oversold or not. Everytime I was able to get a seat for her and used the carseat. If you are unable to, they will allow you to check it at the gate and then bring it back to the gate for you upon arrival. Do not check it w/your luggage it is much more likely to get damaged or lost that way.

[bargainonboard]

>It all depends on how you look at it. Yes, the safest place
>for a baby/child is on a plane in a carseat no doubt about it.
> However, a baby/child is safer on a plane than in a car in a
>carseat, whether or not they are in a carseat on the plane. A
>plane is always the safer option, carseat or not. I was a
>flight attendant for 9 years and I never bought a seat for my
>dd when we traveled. I guess I'm cheap but I've always felt
>very safe on a plane. I did always bring the carseat to the
>gate, whether the flight was oversold or not. Everytime I was
>able to get a seat for her and used the carseat. If you are
>unable to, they will allow you to check it at the gate and
>then bring it back to the gate for you upon arrival. Do not
>check it w/your luggage it is much more likely to get damaged
>or lost that way.

Soooo...why do I as an adult need to wear a seatbelt on the plane? I am safer in a plane than in a car as well, no? Why can an innocent, fragile infant get away with not wearing one when I have to obey whenever the captain turns on the seatbelt sign?

Let's be real, the rule that allows infants not to be in a carseat on a plane makes no sense and is based on someone's statistics that some families would drive to a destination rather than fly if parents were forced to buy an extra seat for infants, and statistically we are safer on a plane.

We can argue back on forth on the merits of this analysis, but logic alone (if not common sense) tells us that this is a stupid exclusion that needs to be eliminated... or maybe we should get rid of all seatbelts... oh but then that would really be dumb.

I do not frown upon parents who don't buy a seat for their infants as I assume they are just ignorant about the safety issue and are doing what they are allowed to do. But just like you could not expect otherwise average individuals to buckle up in a car until laws were passed to make it mandatory, I don't think you will necessarily see more parents using car seats on a plane until it is required... or sadly, until there is coverage of a trajedy.

[momtoB]

I so agree with Bargainonboard! I've had that thought several times - if I'm wearing a seatbelt then why doesn't my child have to?

I know on our last flight the pilot warned us ahead of time that we would experience severe turbulence on our descent into the airport. I was so glad my ds was in a car seat. It just gave me a feeling of comfort that he was belted in securely and I didn't have to worry he would fly out of his seat with one sharp bump. Granted he was over two at that time so I HAD to buy him a seat, but he was still pretty little weighing less than 30lbs. Some parents in my situation wouldn't want to bother bringing the car seat along, since it's not required. I don't know if the under 2 "lap baby" rule will ever change but I sure do hope that airlines will start offering that harness for child use I read about a while ago (called "CAReS" Child Aviation Restraint System). That will at least alleviate some of the objections we hear all the time about car seats on airplanes. It would be nice not to have to lug one all the way through the airports, but I'll continue to do it until my ds doesn't need it any more. I just think it is worth the effort.

Cheryl

[bubbaray]

Hmmm. A good friend of ours is a commercial pilot and he was one of the convincing factors in helping me get DH agree to get DD her own seat when we flew with her in February/March, just before she turned 2. He said if it was his child, he would DEFINITELY buy her a seat.

I heard that the lap child rule is changing, that all children will have to have paid seats. Can't remember if I heard that here or elsewhere.



Melissa

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[carryingandstrollingabout]

Irecommend buying the seat, both for safety and because if you have to share a row with other passengers and your child can't be restrained, it can get pretty ugly. Before I had my own kids, I had the flight from hell while sharing a row with lap kids who would not sit in laps. Now with my own kids, I know that they wouldn't sit still the whole time without that dandy 5-point harness.