car seat on plane

Our fall trip to Maui will be our first plane trip with our three year old. I was wondering how well car seats work on the plane. Any problems we should know about?

I%26#39;d rather he sat in his seat rather than checking it. That way it%26#39;s familiar.

car seat on plane

contact your airline if they will permit this...not all car seats work or are certified by the FAA.

otherwise the seat will be a carryon... and as a 3 yearold he gets 1.

car seat on plane

Yes, check to make sure the car seat is ceetified for ';aircraft';.

As far as needing it. Two things we always thought about when deciding....

1. will our kid listen or will he move around, getting off his seat, always getting up. I am probably sounding mean, but it is just like in a car, he is buckled into the car seat and knows he has to stay put - and he is comfortable.

2. If renting a car, how much will the bill be for the car seat from the car company.

We finally decided last November when he was still 3 1/2 years old that we no longer were going to lug around the car seat. He has been a good boy on every flight and I tell you, not having to lug it around is AWESOME!

I would recommend doing plane side check in for the car seat-that way you don%26#39;t have to pay for it.

I flew with my 2 year old (he was almost 3) and had the same concerns. (It was a 4 hour flight)

The fact is-the airplane will be so different-a car seat won%26#39;t make a difference. Plus it really gets in the way. My son was so amazed by the entire flight experience, he literally sat and watched out the window the whole time. Except for his 1.5 hour nap.

And DO NOT rent a car seat from a car rental place. Those are filthy. I wouldn%26#39;t want to sit in one myself-much less have my son be strapped into one.

Our son was quite comfortable on the plane in his car seat at that age. He was able to see more and getting him up closer to our eye level made it easier to entertain him as well. Further, I expect he would have wiggled out of the regular seat belt in short order.

You should check with your airline regarding what types of car seats are allowed in the cabin (not all are) and whether or not it counts as a carryon piece; it varies not only by airline, but, at least in Delta%26#39;s case, also by the type of ticket your child is flying on. With rules about luggage changing so rapidly, checking with your airline is the only way to get current information.