Flying - Multiple Car Seats

Buy a car seat bag and check it if you feel you must bring your own car seat. We have done this a time or two (when we were visiting family and not renting a car) and everything was fine. Car seats are meant to survive a crash...I think that they will survive the baggage handlers.

You don't need car seats on the plane! Some airlines won't even let you bring them on. Check them as baggage if you need them on the other side but don't waste your energy trying to lug them on the plane.

My son traveled to 10 countries by the time he was four so I have tons of experience. It's just not worth the trouble.

I am not sure about the car seat fit, but I do know that on american airlines the car seat must be on the window seat so they do not block anyone's exit in event of emergency. However, I just used a CARES seatbelt for my 16 mo old on a flight and it was a fantastic change from carrying the car seat on the plane. Check it out, they are about $60 on amazon or I heard you can rent them on ebay. No more lugging the car seat on the plane and off the plane. She stayed in it just fine and it fits in your purse.

I would not think the 5 year old needs to be in anything other than the regular seatbelt on the plane.

As far as checking car seats, I have not had any problem with them being damaged but I did buy a bag on amazon that holds my car seat. It is dark gray and you just stick the car seat in it. I have a Britax marathon and it is a close fit but it does fit. The bag has straps on it so that you can wear it as a backpack and also has wheels which are very handy. The bag makes it much easier to get through the airport with and also protects the seat.

Good luck!

Have you thought about something like the Gogokidz?
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=265882...

They aren't cheap, but WELL worth it.

When my son was four and five I flew cross country with him twice by myself. It was SO nice to be able to just buckle him in his carseat and pull him through the airport.

Even if you don't actually pull the kids in them, it makes the seat really easy to pull along with you.

As for the seats in the row... I think the FAA says carseats have to be in the window seat (so that in an emergency no one has to get by it). If that's the case, you'd have to split up and put each one in a window.

The 5 year old could comfortably ride without the carseat on the plane at this point. Perhaps gatecheck her seat (somehow I trust that more than checking because it goes on last and comes off first).

There are also carseat bags you can buy to protect the fabric from rips or stains when you check.

Hope this helps.

T.

I am almost certain that you cannot put two car seats in the same row. I think they are a hazard and it creates blocks so you cannot reach a child. Every flight I have been on car seats are only allowed at window seats.

That being said, I do not see a reason you need to have your 5 year old in a car seat ON the plane. Just check that one in (its free) and have it in CA. You can purchase bags to put the car seat in to check....or layer with a bunch of big garbage bags. I would never ever rent a car seat.

I agree with Jessin....I would just drive :) It is such a hassle to get the car seats into a rental car....and it takes forever.

I don't have time to read through all the answers, but I have kids the same age and the same car seats. We check one and use this bag to put it in: http://www.amazon.com/Childress-Ultimate-Seat-Travel-Blac.... We've used it several times and never had any damage to the seat. You can also gate check it in this bag. (we also used a Childress bag to gate check our expensive stroller). It has wheels and straps to make it easier to hook to a carry-on or wheel it around the airport. We take the other car seat with us on the plane for the crazy 2 year old. These things are great and saves you needing to also haul around a stroller: http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Acces.... All expensive, but worth it I think.

Don't use the car seats on the plane, and check them. You can buy padded bags to check your car seats in, or what I did was buy a $60 Evenflo for travel, so if I checked it and something happened we weren't out a lot of money. I don't like the idea of renting a car seat, but when Virgin America lost our car seat, they gave us one to use and it was almost brand new and it great shape. The did find our car seat and we got it back that night.

Hi There,

We have a Britax Boulvard as well and I will not rent a car seat when we travel. I purchased a heavy duty cover for our carseat from Loan Star Baby. They have a website you can order from if you do not live close to one. It cost about $40, protects the seat when it is checked and has wheels to make it easier to move. It worked great when I was flying by myself with our 18 month old daughter and we had a plane/taxi/train transfer.I do not know if 2 will fit on the airplane in the same row as we have only traveled with 1. I hope that helps.

We have 4 kids, with 3 in carseats....it sucks, but it is what it is...and we travel A LOT. I won't rent someone's nasty car seat. Sorry, it might be the OCD in me.

You can bring the Britax for your 2 year old and that HAS TO GO NEXT TO THE WINDOW, *BUT* we brought ours and there was NO room for our 11 months old's legs. He kept pushing on the seat in front of him, so we turned him sideways and then checked the car seat for the ride home. All of us were happier. Pack a booster seat for your 5 year old....and both will fit into one bag for under the plane. *BUT* booster seats are not allowed for use on the plane.

We check our car seats all of the time and they come back just fine. It's the strollers that get destroyed, until now! I finally got some bags that rock! The car seat bag is also a backpack...and the stroller one allowed our stroller to come back in 1 piece with all of it's wheels and no cigarette ash burns from the employees loading the strollers.

http://www.amazon.com/Childress-Ultimate-Seat-Travel-Blac...

http://www.amazon.com/Childress-Padded-Umbrella-Stroller-...

Do not fly with the car seats. Your kids will be SO much happier just sitting in the regular plane seat. Buy a bag for your car seat and check it. If you have your kids in the seats, they cannot use the pulldown tray. They will do nothing but kick the seat in front of them. Everyone will have less space to move around and you'll all be less comfortable.

I won't answer any of your questions. But my suggestion is to DRIVE. Would be cheaper than airport, plus you can make fun stops along the way. Then when you get to CA you will have your car to drive around (no rental, no relying on friends/family to drive you places).

We've driven from TX to CA once now, when my son was 3 yrs 2 months old. We're driving again here in another month or two. I am not sure where Allen is, but if you leave San Antonio area around 8am, you get to LA area around 2 or 3 am (driving straight thru stopping just for potty breaks and food and gas). Then you can sleep from 3am till 9 am and not really lose much sleep.

You won't be able to put more than one car seat in a row (it has to go against the window) and you won't want either carseat on the plane anyway. Carseats on the plane are WAY more trouble than they're worth. Check both of them (you won't pay a fee for either one - child-necessity items are checked for free on all airlines). We check our carseat everytime we fly (several times per year) and the carseat comes out great every time.

NOTE: we use a carseat travel bag to protect the carseat (this also allows us to check extra items inside the bag - diapers, favorite ball, bike helmet - whatever fits into the seat). We're on our second carseat travel bag "with wheels" and it no longer has wheels - the airlines lopped those off a long time ago. The company replaced the bag once, but not the second time. regardless, it's still far better than putting it in a large plastic bag and crossing my fingers, IMO.
http://www.amazon.com/Childress-Ultimate-Seat-Travel-Blac...

We always check our Britax and have never had a problem. On our last flight we checked 3! We use travel cases (soft sided zippered bags). I think we got them at Babies R Us and they're made by Eddie Bauer. I am super overprotective when it comes to car seats--my oldest will be 7 in July and he's still in a 5 pt harness (he is small for his age), but I don't make him fly in a car seat. He and I are flying to FL next month and he'll just sit in the regular seat with a seat belt.

Check them! You can check them for free. The airport will even put them in a plastic bag for a little protection. We didnt have any problem checking ours that way and no damage to the seats..

I'm not sure how they would fit on the plane- those are BIG carseats. You may need to call the airline. However, you CAN put them on luggage carts and pull/push them through the airport. They are like strollers! I've seen toddlers happily cruising through the airport on them.

Our Britax Boulevard does not fit on Continental/United planes. At least not in the plane we were on. We had to check ours at the gate. We loosened the straps as much as possible & my husband used the straps to carry it through the airport on his shoulder like a gigantic awkward purse! LOL Then we got it all the way to our seat on the plane, only to discover IT DIDN'T FIT! They are free to check, and ours were fine when we got them back. They tie them up in a huge plastic bag so nothing falls out or gets lost.
You know it could have been our Britax Frontier 85 SICT and not the Boulevard, now that I think about it.....Whichever it was, one was checked with our luggage and the other at the gate and both were fine upon arrival :)

There is another option of using a special seat belt called CARES-check out website www.kidsflysafe.com We've used it with our child and it is lightweight and pretty easy to use. It does take a little extra time to set it up on the plane. If you need the car seat when you are going somewhere else, then you could ship it by UPS instead (might be pricey), that would be easier than carrying it thru the airport.
I've only had one child, so we've only taken the booster seat on an airplane. The other times we have gone to another state, my Mom has always borrowed a car seat for us to use when we are there. That might be an option you might want to think about. If you have family or friends in Calfornia, maybe you could borrow some from them or see if they would bring them to the airport to help you.
Going thru the airport, I know at DFW airport they have the carts that you can rent, so if they have those, I would rent those to put the car seats and your luggage on. You could possibly ask someone at the airport to help you-maybe go to information and ask. I see different type of vehicles in DFW that help the handicap and maybe they would help since you have kids and the car seats. Hope this helps and good luck!

I'm not an expert on all the flight info but I can tell you what our experience has been. We have a 5 year old and twin 2 year olds. Last summer we flew to Boston and the car seats had to be in the window seats - so my husband sat on one side with the 5 year old and one twin and I sat in the middle with the other. Another passenger sat on the aisle. It was fine. Our 5 year old has traveled extensively with us and we have never used a car seat for her. She's either been lap or just sat in the seat. This past President's Day weekend we flew to California and did not use the car seats on the plane. It is EXTREMELY difficult to get 2 car seats, a diaper bag, 3 kids, carry on bags, etc... onto the plane. So as soon as I felt the girls could travel without getting in and out of their seats I did it. If you're worried about safety on the plane - you can buy special plane seat belts for kids. I used it once with the oldest, but I've never had a problem just buckling my kids into the seats. We've rented car seats and we've checked seats in the past. Personally I'd rather pay the rental company than hall seats around but now that there's two that gets expensive. I have not had a problem with our car seats being damaged - you can buy special bags to put them - which we did when we went to Ireland.

U don't really need your carseats at all. My kids are same age and I fly back and forth btwn CA and tx all the time and I always just check the seats in for free. They don't charge for seats. The 2 yr old can also fly for free and sit in ur lap or next to 5 yr old. If u really want to take the seats they sell a wheel handle combo that simply attaches to the toddler carseats and u roll it like a stroller. I would suggest just bringing a backpack with all the snacks and footing. Oils so your hands are free in case you have a run a way :-)

Yes, 2 car seats can sit side by side in a row with the responsible adult sitting on the aisle. Remember there must be an FAA approved for airplane use label printed on seat. I am not familiar with this brand of seat as my children are older now.

As a flight attendant and mom of 4, I highly recommend that at least your toddler ride in the safety seat. Children are used to riding in their car seats and riding in an airplane should be no exception. I also suggest taking as little as possible on board with you. You will be less stressed trying to keep up with everything. Enjoy the flying experience and have fun in CA!

Website with links on air travel with car seats. You seem to be a very safety-minded mom! Good for you!
http://www.thecarseatlady.com/airplanes/airplanes.html
I will put in my 2 cents about checking car seats...I checked in a Britax Marathon. The gate agent wrapped it in a plastic bag. I thought it was all good and they knew what they were doing. Well, on the return trip, when I went to install it, I noticed the base was cracked. When I got home, I called the airline and they said the car seat should have been in an appropriate shipping container. I'm assuming that would be the box the seat came in? So, no the plastic bag that the airline does not protect it and they are not liable for damages. I have never seen the car seat travel bag in person, but looks like it's just made of nylon? I doubt that would be an appropriate container. Also, think about the impact checked luggage goes through on those conveyor belts and can you trust the bag boys to handle your car seat with care?
Just reading the other answers-you could just bring /rent/ buy a backless booster for your 5 yr old when you get there.
And if you put the 2 yr olds rear-facing, they can't kick someone else's seat.

Get your 5yo a backless booster for the trip. Check both car seats along with your baggage (they will not charge for checking them). No need to have them on the plane.