Carseat for Airplane/travel

I'd just buy the $39 one at Walmart and when you are ready to come home you can just leave it there if you want.
J.

Depending on where you're going, you can also rent a car seat once you're there. Many car rental companies provide them, but there are also some speciality companies that rent baby/toddler equipment specifically for travel. I've never used one, but heard about a couple.

http://www.babysaway.com/locations.html

http://www.thenewparentsguide.com/baby-equipment-rentals.htm

http://www.travelbabees.com/

Honestly, we always buy a seat for my son (even when he was very little) and put him in the car seat on the plane. He was always much more comfortable, napped better, ate better, etc when he had the comfort of his own, familiar seat. As he's gotten older - and he's a very active kid - he's knows that when he's in the car seat, he's not allowed out of it - otherwise I'm certain he'd be swinging from the luggage compartments.)

If you decide to buy a ticket for her, either one of these will make lugging the carseat through the airport MUCH easier.

Allows you to carry car seat like a back pack -
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Allows you to use car seat like a stroller (w/kid sitting in it!)
http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Good luck!

When we went to Jamaica when my son was little, we didn't check his car seat because of just what you said. I had friends whose Britax or other car seats were damaged, the fabric cut or torn, etc. We did check it at the gate though. We thought if there was ever an open seat we would use it, but there wasn't except on one of our flights (out of 6 planes) and it was totally not worth the hassle for that one flight. Also, for our particular trip, we weren't able to use the car seat at our destination at all (the buses didn't have seat belts or anything, and frankly were very crowded, so I just wore him in my sling).

After all that, I would higly recommend getting a cheaper seat and just checking it. It is a lot to have to hassle with hauling that seat from gate to gate, and we had a carrier. I can't imagine with a convertible.

Since I do daycare and have to drive around a van full of toddlers, I have a small army of car seats... meaning I couldn't afford anything fancy. I have one Costco Scenera and one Costco Touriva. Frankly the only difference is the fabric pattern, and like it was said, they came with a plastic cover. I use the cover when I don't need a seat for a while and don't want it to get dusty in the garage. 2 of my daycare parents use the same car seats in their cars as well. I bought my son a $200 Eddie Bauer 5-100lb car seat and it is SO big and bulky, and hard to get in and out. I would NEVER take it traveling for that reason alone.

Also, I am sure you are researching this, but if you are nursing, nurse your baby during take off and landing. It helps keep their ears from hurting. My son never made a peep during any of our flights and I think that was a big reason why.

I would suggest Cosco Scenera that you can buy at Walmart. We needed a 3rd car seat for the sitter and didn't want to spend the money we spent on the ones we have in our cars. It has worked out great. It is not the fanciest car seat but it has the 5 point harness and it got very good reviews. And like someone else said it comes in a thick plastic carry bag. It would be easy to check and i think it was only 45$.

Yes, I have advice for you. We lived overseas for a year and traveled back and forth often. The first time we did it we checked our britax car seat and it was absolutely destroyed!! The airline did nothing to reimburse us(luckily my husbands work did).
We discovered that we could just check our car seat and stroller right at the gate. At the ticket counter they give you a gate check tag and when you get to gate they take it for you. When you get off they bring everything to the gate for you. This way you will avoid having the baggers tossing it around and destroying it.
We would bring the stroller, put the carseat on the stroller through the airport, and put our baby in a sling or bjorn.
DO NOT CHECK IT!!
hope this helps.

You could buy her a seat on the airplane and take your own seat. They are usually discounted for children under a certain age. It is safest to have them in their own seat, even though it's not free, it wouldn't be much more than buying a new car seat. She'd be comfortable and happy. I've flown several times, even with 3 kids under 6 by myself. You can strap the carseat to you stroller while going through the airport (bungee cords on the back) Gate check your stroller and carry (or someone will do it for you) the seat on. Good luck! If you need any clarification or have questions on how I did things, just email me!

If you don't want to go and buy a new carseat, you can take the Britax to the gate and they can check it right before you get on the plane (like they check strollers). Plus, if there is an empty seat next to you, they will let you bring the carseat on and install it so you can have your lap to yourself!
Good luck on your travels alone!

I also have a Britax carseat and I love it. I have taken it on three trips so far (at least 10 different planes), and it is still in great condition. I purchased an Eddie Bauer Car Seat travel bag for about $30.00. It is really durable and has lasted so far on several trips. I highly recommend going this route rather than purchasing another carseat. Just a suggestion.
Also, some people have suggested "renting" a carseat from a car rental company. I have done this twice, and both times, the seat was a bare bones model that was in OK condition (all of the ones available were that way). After those choices, I swore I would never "rent" a carseat again. Much better to use the one that I know is safe and comfortable for my daughter. Good luck!

I bought an inexpensive carseat that was all one piece with the straps built in. I believe it was like $30 at Walmart. It was light enough I could throw the strap over a shoulder and carry it. Most airlines will allow you to install your carseat which is why they ask for people with small children to board first so you won't have to check it and even if you choose to it's only $30. I actually loved the way the car seat straps fit my son. He outgrew his carseat quickly. I have seen collapsible carseats but from what I saw people lugging them around dealt with them folding and unfolding. They looked extremely difficult to handle. You can also request carseats from car rental agencies. The link shows one similar of course it has been four years so the design is a little different. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8207450

You can buy great padded travel bags to check your Britax in. They protect the seats very well.

Check with the airlines because we bought a nice one and it wasn't on thier 'list of approved car seats' and we had to check it. Now that we have two kids it is just too much to manage car seats so we hold the little one and put the other one in his own seat.

We really love our evenflow triumph(i don't think i am spelling it right) It is approved for planes and it is the easiest seat we have found to move from car to car. And the easiest to adjust while you kid is in it. We really love it and I know at least three other mom's who have one and love it too.

We brought our Britax on the plane with us and our daughter sat in her car seat strapped into the plane seat and it was great. She was safe and comfortable in her familiar seat, it was easy to install, and we had it with us on the other end of the flight. I wouldn't buy a used seat becuase you never know its history (accidents, etc.) and it may not be safe. I would advise pre-boarding just to give yourself a little extra time to get the seat belted in without a bunch of people trying to get seated at the same time. Good luck!

I have travelled with kids, as infants & toddlers, and I would say the easiest thing to do would be take a easy fold up stroller for the airport and walk abouts, have her sit on your lap during flights, and use a car seat from the rental company. That has worked best for us! Good Luck.

Depending on where you are going, lots of places rent these things and so do car rental places.
Otherwise, see if you can borrow one from a friend, swap yours for theirs, save $$$!

I travel alot and also own Britax seats and am paranoid they would get stolen, broke, lost and they are so exspensive I didn't dare bring ours.

I have instead borrowed a seat, picked one up from a thrift store etc...

Walmart has a cheap seat the Cosco Scenera which would be a great back up at home for traveling etc. It's affordable, small, easy to use and comes with a travel bag the ones at walmart anyways. And the best part they have one in PINK!

We've travelled quite a bit with our 16 month old. We also didn't take the Britax (the first trip was with his infant car seat) and we checked it at the gate, which we always do with the stroller. The last two trips, we DID rent with the car rental- and had excelled experience with this (was concerned as safety is our highest priority). When we booked our car, I asked which brand seat they provide- and they usually have two models that they use. You can look them up in Baby Bargains or on the Consumer Reports website- I found that they've always been well rated (though not my Britax which I swear by)- but still well rated, and often better than the average $40 cheap purchase (though some of these are often well rated, too- just less expensive as they don't have the bells and whistles). You can purchase a seat, which a friend does, but we chose not to until we have to at age 2.

I just returned from Phoenix last night (UGH...back to the snow!). We brought our two Britax Marathons with us for our two children...and I'm VERY protective our those seats! The key is to gate check them. You don't leave them with the rest of your checked luggage...you lug them through the airport, through security and then check them at the gate where they carefully carry them down to the plane for you. After landing, they will magically appear just outside of the airplane in the tunnel. Same goes for strollers.

It's a pain, but well worth knowing that your child is in their safe seat and that you know quickly how to install it in your rental car. And getting a cart at the airport is key!

Safe travels!

Instead of checking the carseat, see if you can cary it on. When I travelled with my daughter I just carried the Britax on and used it on the plane. Then she had a place to nap and I didn't have to hold her the whole time. It was kind of a pain to get it around the airport, but worth it in the end.

Do you have a seat reserved for your 7 month old? Infants in lap travel for free until 2 years of age. Our daughter traveled in a Snugli attached to me and sat in my seat for both domestic and international flights at ages 4 months and 6 months. We've taken her on several planes and found this to work out well.

If you travel a few times a year it is worth buying one of the car seats that is also a stroller. One Step Ahead catalog sells them. It was the best purchase we made. It can be used as a stroller right up to the door of the airplane, then it can be gate checked or used as a car seat on the airplane (if you purchased a ticket for her or if there happens to be an empty seat next to you) as it is FAA approved. The stroller part is built in and just folds up under the seat when you want to use it as a carseat. This way you don't have to drag along a stroller and a carseat. Ny son used his until he was almost 4 years old. Email me if you want to see ours.

As a carseat tech, I would recommend the Cosco Scenera. VERY inexpensive and usually is compatiable with most vehicles. Plus, it is great to have as a spare seat :) Check out Walmart--they are usually $40.

I would never rent a carseat from a rental company... God only knows what its been through!

I would purchase her a seat and bring her seat on the plane, rear face strap it in and let her ride that way. we always purchase seats for the boys and bring their carseats on board.

If you choose to not purchase a seat for her, then the Cosco Scenera is a great little seat for $40 at Wal Mart. I would try to gate check it as well, since they will throw the seat right into the plane with the rest of the bags, and throw other bags on top of it, and it will get damaged... mcuh like an accident even if you cant' see the damage.

You can also "gate check" the car seat and that will help it not get banged up. You carry it to the gate, get a tag for it and carry it down to the bottom of the landing where you can leave strollers and car seats. They just grab them and put them as the last things on the plane and 1st thing off. We flew last week with 2 britax car seats and everything went great!

If your going to buy a second seat for her I would suggest buying something that is light weight so it is easy to haul around. Also, what I did when we took my son. We gate checked the car seat so that it wouldn't get damaged, plus we wanted to have it for during the layovers for him to sit in...especially if he fell asleep. But I wanted to tell you that I used bungee cords and strapped the car seat to a luggage cart. (I put the bungee straps through where you would normally strap the seat belt and then hooked the "Latch" on as well to make sure the car seat wouldn't fall off. (not to mention we used it when we were trying to hurry across the entire airport to make our connection which we only had 45 min to get to. We strapped him in and ran through the airport with him in tow. Without it we would have been dead from trying to carry him. I think he was about 23 lbs then. IT worked great. Everyone at the airport thought we had one of those expensive things made for traveling when really it was just our everyday car seat on a luggage cart. (you can gate check the luggage cart too) Also, if the plane is not full, they will let you change seats, and you would be able to put her in her car seat while on the plane.

I recently bought the Fisher Price Safe Voyage for my 9 month old daughter. It is made by Britax and is said to be a clone of the Marathon. It is lighter weight than many of the car seats out there, but is still pretty large. I got mine for $129.99 from AlbeeBaby.com. My husband said installation was easier than our infant seat (Graco). It sounds like it might make a good second seat for you, since you already have a Britax. We're very happy with it so far.

We rented a car seat with our car rental at Hertz. I think it was a Graco- it was forward facing. I'm not sure if they rent infant seats or not. It wasn't the best, but it was good enough for the trip, and didn't leave us "stuck" with an extra car seat...

I'm sorry I don't have a suggestion for a different car seat, but I was just wondering if you still have the box for the Britax. If you put it in the box, maybe with something wrapped around it, it would probably be fine. I've checked our car seat before and it hasn't been damaged, but I can certainly understand your concern. Good luck! Have a great trip!

I have also seen "frames" for car seats that act as strollers as you're moving through the airport - picture it as making your car seat into a wheelie bag. That may make it a lot easier for you to take your own seat but still be able to manage.
Good Luck!

If you are renting a car you can also rent a car seat from the car rental company. Otherwise, there are websites that you can rent car seats from. They will have it waiting for you at your destination. If you are visiting family I would suggest to have a family member pick up a car seat for you and just keep it there for every time you visit. We travel a lot with your child, now 2. My husband's family lives in California, so his parents keep a car seat for us at their house. Also, to avoid taking up so much of you suitcase I would go to www.babiestravellite.com and have diapers/wipes, etc...shipped to your location. This makes it so much easier to pack. Good luck.

As an alternative, I have seeen at Babies R Us a heavy duty bag that you can put your new car seat in to send it threw the baggage check in. It will keep it nice and clean and damage free too. I'm just thinking if you are alone, it might be tough to carry a bigger car seat and your 7 month old too.

I'm not sure if you are renting a car or not, but most car rental companies allow you to rent a car seat from them. Then, you don't have to worry about hauling it around, or banging it up.

When my son was 8 months old we flew with him, and I had just purchased a nice car seat for him, but it was heavy and I was worried about it getting broken, so I went to Target and got the cheep Cosco seat, it was light weight (compared to what I have) and if it got damaged it wasn't a big deal. It was also easy to install. I belive we gate checked the car seat - but if I had to do it again, I would check it with the luggage. I had my husband with me so it wasn't bad - but flying alone - I wouldn't have managed. Also I took our smaller stroller which was harder to push - because I thought the one that went with our travel system would have been to big - I was wrong. Everyone has the bigger strollers and they are much more comfy for the kids. Forget the umbrella stroller. Our carseat made it through our trip and we have it as a back up. Well worth the $40 or so. Hope this helps! And try to have fun!!

I was in the same predicament with my daughter the couple times I flew home (from WI to ND) with her. I did just hold her in my lap as she was under a year both times....

I called the county building where I was to be visiting. They had a program where my parents could go to a class on car seat safety and get a convertible seat for only $20! I know not all places offer this, but sure worth it! Another idea would be to call ahead to where you'll be traveling and see if there are any friends of friends that may have one to loan out this time around. You may even be able to contact a hotel and they may have ideas as well.

The best part of my $20 seat was I was able to keep it after the traveling was done....and then we ended up moving closer to my "home" so there isn't the travel any longer.

One more idea, I am really involved with my local MOPS group (www.MOPS.org). You could go on their website and check a group that will be close to where you are there are outstanding women in these groups and one may have a seat to borrow for a few days. It's totally worth a try!

I LOVE my marathon and would never check it as luggage!!! I'd either get a bag AND gate check it OR use a less expensive, but good quality seat that you wouldn't be so upset about if it got lost or damaged. Plus you'd never want to check it like luggage, in the event that they lose it like they lose luggage all the time!
I bought the sit n stroll for travel...it's a car seat/stroller combo. I don't know if your baby is too young for it, but I LOVED IT! I could pick up the seat with him it on the plane, get out and pop out the wheels without taking him out! He was a runner as a 2 year old and this is how I kept him contained during layovers, especially when traveling without my husband. If you don't have the latch system, I wouln't use it as a car seat.
I too have heard good things aboout the Cosco Scenera, but cannot speak from experience.

I would suggest taking the carseat on board with you if you have reserved a seat for your child and keep them in it. If not see if one can be rented on the other end.

what ever you use or buy, make sure it is airline approved or they wont let it on the plane. I believe it should be on the label on the side of the seat. If not just google it to get your starting point.

Good luck

If you don't need to use the seat on the plane, you can get a car seat cover from www.onestepahead.com it is big enough to cover the Britax and it will take all the bumps and tears of travel. We used one with our Britax.
Item #: 13457 it looks like this one even has wheels.