Air travel with a infant

[sparty04]

When traveling with a lap infant (ours will be 6 months for example)- what do you do with the car seat? Check it? Can you put it with overhead luggage? We want to take a trip soon and the car seat situation is what is holding us back (we also have a 3yo and will need to check a seat for him)

[frlcb]

You either check with luggage or gate check it. It will not fit overhead.

[SJ]

I have used the (infant) car seat + SnapNGo stroller in the airport to hold bags while I wore DD. Then I gate checked both pieces.

[anna7602]

I try to have a car seat on the other end, if possible. But if I have to, I check the car seat. For a convertible seat, I have the GoGoKidz wheels to get it through the airport. For my DS's bucket seat, I just borrowed a Snap & Go stroller frame for a trip we're taking in 2 weeks.

[House4Me]

I would gate check it b/c maybe there is an off chance that a empty seat opens and they let you have it and you can have the baby in the car seat on the plane.

[magdala]

Mar 24, 2015 14:46:14 GMT -5 House4Me said:

I would gate check it b/c maybe there is an off chance that a empty seat opens and they let you have it and you can have the baby in the car seat on the plane.

We have flown three times like this. For 5 of the six legs, we were able to claim an empty seat between DH & I for the baby.   We were flying mid day in hopes of this happening.  

[Shreddingbetty]

Mar 25, 2015 9:33:46 GMT -5 magdala said:

Mar 24, 2015 14:46:14 GMT -5 House4Me said:

I would gate check it b/c maybe there is an off chance that a empty seat opens and they let you have it and you can have the baby in the car seat on the plane.

We have flown three times like this. For 5 of the six legs, we were able to claim an empty seat between DH & I for the baby.   We were flying mid day in hopes of this happening.  

You are lucky. We fly a ton and we have never had any luck with that when DD was still a lap child. Our flights are pretty much fully booked or overbooked every time we fly. 
I do always gate check the car seat, not because I want to use it on the plane at all but because I figure the chance of it getting lost is a lot smaller than if I check it with the luggage. Plus I like to think it takes less abuse. A bucket seat weight next to nothing so I would just carry it. We quit traveling with the stroller after our trip to Europe at 4 months. We finally realized it was too much of a pain in the ass and I used the ergo most of the time anyway.