Hi. I'll be flying w/my 21 mos old next month (just Chicago to FL, not too long of a flight) for the first time. What is required for their seating? I know carseats (if FAA approved) are safest and allowed. I did purchase him his own seat. If we decide not to take the carseat, is an additional harness required by the airlines or is a standard seatbelt considered adequate for a 30lb toddler?
We'll probably end up using the carseat since I've read a ton of previous comments on the safety but IF my husband says we should check it, I wondered if we needed to purchase that additional seat harness beforehand.
Thanks for your feedback!!!
Yes, if they are in a seat, they either need a carseat, or an airline approved harness.
We flew with my almost 30lb 17 month-old daughter last summer from California to Michigan. We purchased a seat but did not take a car seat on the plane. (She does not sit still for very long and has never, ever napped in one even as an infant.) We did not have to purchase any additional harness.
The couple in front of us bought a seat and brought a car seat for their daughter, who was maybe a little younger than our daughter. She screamed and refused to sit in the car seat, so she ended up on their laps the whole way, and they couldn't use her seat for extra space.
So, my point is, know your child. If he will sit willingly, consider the car seat. But if he will be too excited to use it, just check it through.
It might depend on the airline. I have flown Southwest TWICE now with my kiddo. At age 12 months he sat on my lap and slept the whole 3 hour flight.
At age 24 months, we HAD to buy him a seat b/c their rules state age 2 and up must buy a seat. We did NOT bring our car seat (I was all by myself and couldn't handle lugging him/stroller/carry-on/luggage/car seat). He did NOT need any other harness. I was glad that the flight was not very full, as the two of us took up and used all three seats. Had someone come and sat down next to us we would have been fine, but it was nice to have the 3rd seat for him to wiggle more in. (He didn't sleep at 24 months).
Bring a dvd player and lots of new games, books, snacks, etc. Sticker books from the dollar store were fun for my 24month old too. Try to tire him out at the airport so he will nap on the flight. But to answer your question - no harness is needed, just the lap belt (on SW at least).
If he is under 2 and you purchased a seat for him, you must use an FAA approved carseat.
Trust me it's worth the few minutes of hassle! He will sit still and understand he needs to stay in his seat just like he does in the car.
We flew both before and after DD was 2 and always purchased a seat for her and took the carseat with us. She ended up sleeping 3/4 of the flights.
We took 2 trips to Cancun (3.5 hours nonstop from Chicago) before my younger son was 2yr and bought him a seat for both trips. The first time, we didn't bring his carseat and used the CARES harness that other people referred to. It was a disaster! He was really too small for the harness, wanted to explore too much (playing with the tray table, standing up and pushing the button for the light) and couldn't get comfortable in the seat. For the last trip, I insisted we take his carseat and it made a world of difference. He was comfortable and secure and familiar with his seat. No screaming, and he fell asleep for the last 2hrs of the flight.
Good luck!
You won't need a car seat... if you are comfortable with you child in a regular seat belt, they will be fine with that. We use a harness system approved for flying. You can find it on the web. It is called CARES Child Aviation Restraint System. We fly quite often and have gotten a lot of use out of it, so I wasn't bothered by the cost.... and I didn't want to lug around a car seat! My almost 5 year old would still be using it as well. A regular seat belt just doesn't seem safe enough for turbulence, etc.
I think it is a good idea to bring the car seat. The baby is used to it and will be less distracted in it than if you just put him in the seat. He'll be less likely to squirm around. Also if you decide to bring it, make sure you install it into the window seat. That is the rule. We didn't know and we installed it into the middle seat, only to have the attendant tell us we had to move it after we already got comfortable.
Good luck.
