[Helga]

Hi all,

Can anyone help? I have been told that some children's car seats (not the baby seats but next stage up) can be taken onto aeroplanes and actually strapped into the plane seat. I imagine they must have integral harness to hold the struggling beast still but I don't know which sort they are - does anyone know which brands/styles they are? I know the one I have has a huge base and would definitely not be right but it sounds like a grand idea for an only just two year old at time of flying - she would be able to get a comfy sleep etc. And we would be able to read the paper - ha ha only jokingl!!

Helga

[catjlin]

Helga,
I don't know brand names, but the airline moght be able to tell you for sure. I have friends that have used their carseats and the main criteria is that the base is small enough to fit on the seat with the armrests down and that the seatbelt can be fed through the bottom to secure the unit. Don't know if this will be of any help.
Cheers,
Cat

[clg]

Car seat manufacturers will have some sort of indicator on the car seat (or with the documentation) that says it is OK on an aircraft. We just use our standard car seat and use the planes seatbelt to fasten it to the seat. I can't think of any front facing car seats I have seen that will not work on a plane. Ours is big but fits OK.

Hope that helps.

Chris

[DrPhred]

We did that with no problems.

The little guy felt so comforatable in his own car seat that he fell asleep as soon as we took off and didn't wake up until we landed! And we worried that we would be the ones with a crying baby....

Didn't know that there where brands that you couldn't use, ours was evenflo.

[Helga]

Thanks guys - this is music to our ears!! Sounds as though it's very commonplace - I've obviously been too busy trying to catch/hold onto my children on the plane that I've never noticed everybody else's is tied down :oops: :oops:

I went to a specialist car seat place today but they didn't have a clue so I guess I need to try somewhere else or contact the airlines - thanks for the advice.

Helga

[clg]

Most do work just fine so I don't think you will have any problem. Our problem is that our daugher will not stay in her seat for more than about 1/2 hour unless she is sleeping so we will still be walking up an down the aisles. We are heading to London for a wedding in two weeks and I am really not looking forward to entertaining her on the flight.

[Carol]

What a great idea.......when we travelled last - our wee lassie was just 3 months old so we used the aircraft cot.
She was a little treasure..........no problems at all.

THis time......hmmmm...well she is 5!
aaargh!

[Babette & Andy]

Hi guys,
We used a booster/car seat for our 5yr old back in April. I called the airline (Singapore Airlines) before hand to ask their policy, and checked the width of the seats. Very helpful staff.

The seat we took was from Argos, and consists of 2 parts (that can be detached by a zip), about £18 if I remember right. Basically this meant that the airline seat could still be reclined no problem, and the top (backrest) part of the car seat would simply recline with it. Used the airline waist strap across my daughters waist no problem. She was very comfortable for the journey and felt very grown up.

Benefits of this seat - it basically made it into a smaller version of an airline seat with head rests at the right hight for a child. Should be able to get a similar one in Wellington Carol I'm sure, ready for your next trip.

Helga - this type of seat is probably a stage too far for your 2yr old. My youngest has just turned 2, and it would have been too big for her. Still suggest you call 'your' airline though and find out their policy and seat widths.

One other benefit of taking a car seat on the plane - ready to strap it into a taxi/minibus/hire car at your destination. Happy travelling!
:nice1
luv
Babette

[eric_amanda]

Helga

When we flew out in August we had two children in car seats. one 6mths the other 16mths.

I did lots of research into this and made several calls to the airline regarding it (singapore airlines) In the end they told me the following

1 Must be either Brittax or Mothercare
2 Must be forward facing
3 Must be able to strap onto airline seat using lap strap only

We visited Halfords in the end and the only seat suitable is the Brittax Eclipse. At the time Halfords sold them for about £90. Since I was buying two I sourced them via the internet and managed to buy two for £149.98 incl. delivery!! I bought them from www.kiddicare.co.uk in the end and they arrived within days.

What the airline did not tell me during any of my conversations was that they will not relieve you of the car seat at any point and it must be carried as hand luggage!!!! This proved very difficult for us as when in Singapore airport we had 5 pieces of handluggage, 3 children and double pushchair, plus two car seats!!! However we did eventually find a left luggage are close to all the shops, so managed to be without them for a while!!!

I see no reason why the Eclipse should not be suitalbe for your 2 yr old, both of mine still use theirs. It has a reclining position and was great for sttling them to sleep during the flight. The airlines provide blankets also which is a bonus for kiddies.

Hope this is of help, it is one of those grey areas that not many people know about.

Amanda

[Iain & Liz]

hello we flew NZ air and wasn't allowed to take the booster seat( it was a small one) i dont know why this was ?
we could have sealed it into a bag and sent it with our luggage.
also we were allowed to take our umbrella stroller as hand luggage on the first leg of our journey lon-lax but on the second leg of our journey lax-chch we had to leave it at the gate and collect it with our luggage on arrival which was a pain.
my advice is call them and check.

[Babette & Andy]

Hi Liz, I think it's simply Air NZ being awkward! After the excellent Singapore Airlines experience we had Manchester-S'pore-Perth, we then flew Air NZ Perth-Auckland. Similar to you they wouldn't allow Lianne's car seat / booster seat on at first, but after arguing our case only removed it for take off and landing. The purser told me that it was because of IATA (think that's what it was, the airline governing body) rules and regulations. Didn't want to get into a full blown argument with him asking why with SA there were seemingly different rules :no

So yes agree, call the airline you're travelling with prior to your journey.

luv
Babette