Traveling with the stroller & car seat

[MomToOne]

Need some guidance here. I have traveled with just the stroller so I know I can roll it up to the gate and they can toss it around for me and possibly break a wheel off or some such ;) But what about the car seat? Do I check it? Do I have to pay extra? Is there a bag I'm supposed to put it in?

Thanks for any help :)

[Dr C]

Yes, people check carseats all the time, but I personally would be a little worried that they would get banged up (and I wouldn't know it) and safety would be compromised.

How old is your daughter? If she is over about 6-10 months (depending on her personality) and if you can afford it and have time to do so, consider getting her her own seat and having her sit in her carseat on the plane. This is not just for safety (I figure if the plane goes down you're all in big trouble anyway, though the carseat is admittedly safer in the event you encounter some wicked turbulence). Mainly it's because she will know that she cannot get out of her carseat and be less likely to pitch a fit when you won't let her crawl all over the place. In my family, our sanity is worth the extra money.

If you can't buy her her own seat on the plane, do you have anybody from whom you could borrow a carseat at your destination? That's what we do now for DS (3 years old and can be bribed to sit still in an airplane seat with the belt fastened).

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yes, people check carseats all the time, but I personally would be a little worried that they would get banged up (and I wouldn't know it) and safety would be compromised.

How old is your daughter? If she is over about 6-10 months (depending on her personality) and if you can afford it and have time to do so, consider getting her her own seat and having her sit in her carseat on the plane. This is not just for safety (I figure if the plane goes down you're all in big trouble anyway, though the carseat is admittedly safer in the event you encounter some wicked turbulence). Mainly it's because she will know that she cannot get out of her carseat and be less likely to pitch a fit when you won't let her crawl all over the place. In my family, our sanity is worth the extra money.

If you can't buy her her own seat on the plane, do you have anybody from whom you could borrow a carseat at your destination? That's what we do now for DS (3 years old and can be bribed to sit still in an airplane seat with the belt fastened).

:yeahthat:

I'm always leary though of borrowed carseats unless you really know and trust the person. Some people don't follow the safety things with their carseats and may have cleaned the harness with cleaner, the seat could be expired, it could have been in an accident...just make sure you really trust them since it's your dc's life.

With ds1 I didn't always buy him a seat (I do buy one for ds2 now though) and I preferred to gate check the seat so odds were in my favor that my seat would be there when we arrived, rather tha risk it being lost.
Beth

[Dr C]

ABSOLUTELY agree that if you borrow one it must be from someone you know well and trust!

[ilfaith]

Yes, people check carseats all the time, but I personally would be a little worried that they would get banged up (and I wouldn't know it) and safety would be compromised.

I've gate checked both car seats and strollers on airplanes, and never thought much of it until I was sitting on a plane looking out my window when I saw baggage handlers drop a car seat as it was being loaded onto the airplane at the next gate. It must have fallen about 20 feet, and while I couldn't tell whether there was any apparent damage to the car seat, I wished there was some way I could contact its owner to let them know what had happened.

[MomToOne]

Well it's a vacation, so there's no one at our destination that I know to borrow a seat from. Buying another seat on the plane isn't an option. I know I can have a seat come with the rental car, but I had a really bad experience with that last time we traveled, I feel more comfortable bringing my own. I just want to know how to go about it. Can I gate check them both? Do I have to pay extra to check the seat? Do I have to put it in a specific kind of bag?

Thanks for the replies and the help

[SnuggleBuggles]

We did check ds1's seat once with all the luggage. I bought a bag for it at Target. The bag might not have been necessary from the airlines POV but it made traveling with it easier.

I was never charged for checking it there or at the gate.

Yeah, never get a rental car's seat. Dangerous, dirty, not guaranteed to be there or be appropriate (like a forward facing only seat for a 6mo)...way too many negatives there.

I think it would be wise to call and double check with your airline though b/c some are sneaky and really into charging fees. Things seem to change all the time too.

Beth

[DebbieJ]

Even though the airlines are charging for luggage, they DO NOT charge to check car seats. We checked DS's seat last April and it came out fine. We bought a $20 car seat bag from Babies R Us, which came in handy b/c we were flying from IL to FL, so we were able to stuff our coats in the bag with the car seat, too.

Gate check is also free, but then you have to lug the seat through the airport on both ends. Not fun.

ETA: This is the bag we bought: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3091046

[JBaxter]

I USE my carseat on the plane. Ive never checked one yet. Im sure that I will have to check a booster this summer Nathan is now 6 and uses a Parkway. You can gate check them w/ no fee along with the stroller.

[hillview]

gate check both. No fee. I wouldn't put in a bag -- some off chance they might be nicer to it if they see it is a car seat.
/hillary

[MomToOne]

thank you all I just ordered the one from the link