Flying with a car seat

[mousemelon]

So, littlemouse and I are taking a 4 hour flight solo on Saturday since we're moving. I want to bring his car seat with us ON the plane so he can sit in it and I can strap him in so he has to sit in one place. I can't figure out how I'm going to manage a stroller, 2 year old, carry ons and a car seat by myself so I'm tempted to just check the car seat. I guess my question is is it worth lugging the car seat through the airport or would you just check it? Is there something I can buy to make it easier to handle? Should I just give it up and have him sit in his seat without the car seat? WWMMMD?

[sometimesrunner]

What about buying one of those wheelie contraptions for the car seat? If you search on Amazon for "car seat wheels" there area bunch of options.

[pugz]

we bought this strap on amazon that allowed us to attach the carseat to a rolling piece of luggage. We gate checked the umbrella stroller and then took the carseat on board

[shanwalk]

Go go kids for airport and then install seat. The Go go kids can slide under the seat in front of you.
Check the stroller or buy cheap when you get there

[NandaB]

Bring carrier for kid, backpack for a carry on, perch car seat on stroller. If you need to put him in the stroller carry car seat by straps awkwardly until airport employee takes pity on you

[NandaB]

Car seat on plane was a lifesaver for us because they were contained and in something familiar

[mousemelon]

Mar 6, 2016 22:55:36 GMT -5 pugz said:

we bought this strap on amazon that allowed us to attach the carseat to a rolling piece of luggage. We gate checked the umbrella stroller and then took the carseat on board

I bought a strap like thing on amazon too (it gets delivered tomorrow) but H and BIL think the carseat will be too big for the carry on. That's my first plan, and I guess a rolley thing is our next option. 

[frlcb]

Fwiw both my kids HATED sitting in car seats on planes, and they fly a lot. What about a CARES harness?

[hbomdiggity]

What carry ins? When I did this I checked all luggage. My carryons were diaper bag and purse. I gate checked the stroller.

[motzie]

Check the car seat and get a CARES harness for the flight. That is a lot to juggle otherwise and you can't always count on help.

[UnderProtest]

We bought the roll thing and we loved it. It was great to drag the kids through the airport and they were safely strapped in and held their own bag. But it wasn't easy to install in the airplane (we were in business class and the buckles are different). We do have a large Britax carseat so others might be easier. Do double check that your carseat is FAA certified before you go to all that hassle.

The roll thing we have.
www.buybuybaby.com/store/product/britax-car-seat-travel-cart/1018444887?Keyword=britax

[curbsideprophet]

Do you need the stroller? I would probably try to wear the kid so I had my hands free.

Not sure a two year old would be big enough for a CARES harness.

[thebreakfastclub]

My 2yo just sat in a seat with the seat belt on and ate dum dums the whole time. He did great and slept a lot.

[steamboat185]

We use a caberiner to attach the carseat to our roll aboard carry on. DD can ride in it and we never bring a stroller. I just bring a backpack for a diaper bag and toys and we are good to go.

[lattelady5]

What seat are you bringing? I travel with lighter seats (usually a sureride and a tribute) and just bungee them backwards on my rolling luggage. I've put them on top of the stroller before and that worked fine too. A lot of people use rolling carts and have no problems.

CARES only fits kids at the upper end of the weight limits (around 40lbs or so)

Give yourself a little extra time and honestly IME, People literally go out of their way to help parents with kids. I always have random people offer to help wheel bags or hold/entertain kids while I install the seat. And flying with a seat almost always guarantees my kids sleep on the plane. Everybody wins.

[pinkpeony08]

I flew alone to NYC with my 15 month old with the car seat for the plane... I wore my toddler in the carrier, checked my bigger bag and brought just a small backpack as a carryon. I put the carseat in the umbrella stroller (upside down actually) and strapped it on with a bungee cord. Worked great. The only tough part was getting the seat on and off the plane with the baby in tow. I think a flight attendant helped me. Worth it to have the carseat on the plane as she did great in it.

[NandaB]

Mar 6, 2016 23:34:32 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

What carry ins? When I did this I checked all luggage. My carryons were diaper bag and purse. I gate checked the stroller.

Lol what a weird response. Your carry ons were your diaper bag and purse. That's two carry ons.

[NandaB]

Lots of this stuff is kid specific too. Like, my kids do well in the car, so car seats on the plane made sense for us. Also a stroller IS another thing to lug, but if I was alone with my kid I wouldn't want strapped to me or running feral through the airport to be my only options, so I would bring the stroller for sure. If only to have another place to secure them

[lolo]

When I flew solo with J + car seat, I did:

J in carrier
Back pack diaper bag
Small purse with tickets, ID, etc.
Carried car seat
No stroller

[tootsie]

I check the seat. No way am I going to lug 100 lbs of kid crap through the airport and onto the plane. DD sits in the seat just fine.

[hbomdiggity]

Mar 7, 2016 9:44:46 GMT -5 NandaB said:

Mar 6, 2016 23:34:32 GMT -5 hbomdiggity said:

What carry ins? When I did this I checked all luggage. My carryons were diaper bag and purse. I gate checked the stroller.

Lol what a weird response. Your carry ons were your diaper bag and purse. That's two carry ons.

I don't think it's weird. Yes, I had two small carry ons. Anything bigger would have been unmanageable, which was my point to op.

[smock]

Ditto @fivedogs; I attach the car seat to the stroller so I can wheel DD around the airport in the car seat. That gives me an arm free for my carry-on bag/purse. I gate check the stroller and awkwardly carry the car seat and kid to our seats on the plane. This is only manageable because we travel with a light-weight car seat, so that might not work if yours is heavier.

[frlcb]

Mar 7, 2016 8:47:10 GMT -5 lattelady5 said:

What seat are you bringing? I travel with lighter seats (usually a sureride and a tribute) and just bungee them backwards on my rolling luggage. I've put them on top of the stroller before and that worked fine too. A lot of people use rolling carts and have no problems.

CARES only fits kids at the upper end of the weight limits (around 40lbs or so)

Give yourself a little extra time and honestly IME, People literally go out of their way to help parents with kids. I always have random people offer to help wheel bags or hold/entertain kids while I install the seat. And flying with a seat almost always guarantees my kids sleep on the plane. Everybody wins.

CARES is 22 lbs minimum

[lattelady5]

Mar 7, 2016 12:53:20 GMT -5 frlcb said:

Mar 7, 2016 8:47:10 GMT -5 lattelady5 said:

What seat are you bringing? I travel with lighter seats (usually a sureride and a tribute) and just bungee them backwards on my rolling luggage. I've put them on top of the stroller before and that worked fine too. A lot of people use rolling carts and have no problems.

CARES only fits kids at the upper end of the weight limits (around 40lbs or so)

Give yourself a little extra time and honestly IME, People literally go out of their way to help parents with kids. I always have random people offer to help wheel bags or hold/entertain kids while I install the seat. And flying with a seat almost always guarantees my kids sleep on the plane. Everybody wins.

CARES is 22 lbs minimum

Right but it doesn't fit children properly until closer to 40lbs. There's no way to reposition the lap belt and smaller kids can wiggle under it.

[stretchad]

This is the strap that we use for our car seat: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JHN3AS?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
We didn't use it WITH DS in it, since we brought the stroller. Works really well. If I were you I'd get this thing, wear your son, and bring on a backpack as diaper bag.