Seat for flying with 5yr-8mos old??

I think I'm one of the few people I know that still has my 5yo-8mo child in a 5-point harness carseat that he's had since infancy! He is fine in his Britax Marathon, but it's time to move on. We will be flying next month, going to the Caribbean, and thought it would be easier to bring a booster on the plane & van; however, the boosters mostly seem to work with shoulder belts and, yet, planes are all lap belts, I believe (have not flown in 5+ years). DS is about 40lbs and is 43 3/4 inches tall (I'd have to double check if it's too close to what the restrictions are).

Do we go with no seat or bring the Marathon(ugh) or something else? Hard to weigh safety vs convenience!

Thanks!
Michele

A 5 yo won't need a car seat in the airplane, but you can gate check it. I would suggest an Evenflo Maestro - a combination seat that converts from harnessed seat to booster. Great for travelling because it is quite light and inexpensive. My 5 yo is 44 inches tall and weighs about 42 pounds and he fits really well in a Maestro.

http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Maestr.../dp/B004GXA6XS

I'm pretty sure the FAA recommends seats for kids up until they are 4 years old and 40lbs. I'm a stickler for carseat safety and we flew cross-country when DS1 was the same age as your DS. We were moving though, and not going on a trip, so we just gate checked his Frontier and he sat in the airplane seat with nothing. If we were going on a trip I would probably just bring a high back booster (either gate check it or put it in the overhead bin since you can't use it with a lap belt) and then use it in the van. You can get a highback Turbo Booster for just $35 at Costco. If you're in the market for another seat I'd suggest either the Britax Frontier 85 or the Graco Nautilus (but not to take on your trip since they're too heavy). DS1 is 8 1/2, 52" tall, and 67lbs and is just about to outgrow the harness in his FR85. The harness height is lower in the Nautilus (would probably last till 7 yrs old). The Maestro is a good seat too, BUT it is outgrown in booster mode at the same time as harness mode since the headrest doesn't go up, so at nearly 6 years old, I don't think it would last you very long and you would still need to buy an additional highback booster for full time use.

Yep, no boosters on planes.

Check the expiration on the Marathon. They're only good for 6 years and if he's been using it since birth, it may be very close to expiring.

Yes, he will be perfectly safe on the plane without a car seat and they do not allow boosters. Is the van you are referring to a shuttle from airport to hotel? If so you may want to check on the seatbelt situation if you can. It is likely there will not be seatbelts so bringing a booster would be pointless. If it is a bus type shuttle then I personally would be okay without a booster and there would likely be no seatbelts anyway. If you are renting a car then you could either bring the MA & check it or buy a booster to bring.