Why use your child’s car seat in flight?
- A child riding on your lap could be torn from your arms in a crash or even in rough air!
- “Clear air turbulence” (rough air or a sudden drop) can happen without warning. Most car seats (child safety seats) are tested to hold a child securely if this happens.
- The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends car seat use in aircraft by all children up to 40 pounds.
- Your child is likely to behave better on the trip if he or she is riding in a familiar, comfortable car seat.
- You will enjoy the trip more without a restless baby in your lap.
- The car seat will be ready for use at the end of the trip.
- You don't need to worry about loss or damage that could happen if the car seat is sent as checked baggage.
- Your baby can ride to the airport and from the airport in a car seat.
On the plane, use the car seat correctly!
- Follow manufacturer's instructions as closely as possible.
- Tighten the lap belt (see back for hints on belt tightening).
- Keep the harness buckled around your child during flight.
Before you fly...
- Buy a ticket for your child of any age and get seat assignments ahead of time. Ask airlines if they have discounts for young children.
- Know that the FAA requires airlines to allow the use of a certified car seat if the child has a ticket. The FAA strongly recommends, but does not require, that children under age 2 ride in a car seat. Check out the FAA website for their recommendations.
- Make sure your child's car seat is allowed on airplanes.
- Car seats are allowed only in window seats in non-exit rows. Check with the airline if traveling with two children in car seats. They may have to sit in separate rows.
- Ask for bulkhead seats if you will be using a rear-facing convertible car seat, which would needs extra space.
- If you choose not to buy a ticket for your child under 2:
- You are more likely to get a free seat if you fly at off-peak times. Check with the airline ticket agent.
- Check with the ticket agent to make sure the airline will allow you to use an empty seat for your young child.
Which car seats can be used on airplanes?
- FAA rules allow use of car seats that have a label stating that they are certified for use on aircraft. Infant car seats, convertibles, and forward-facing car seats with harnesses can be used.
- Car seats less than 16 inches wide will fit in most airplane seats.
- NO booster seats or child vests are allowed, even if labeled for aircraft use (see below).
- No "belly belts" made to hold a child on an adult’s lap (allowed in some other countries).
- Car seats with tethers can be used without the tether anchored.
- Aircraft seat belts should be used by children over 40 pounds. (An aircraft lap belt usually will fit a child better than a seat belt in a motor vehicle.)
- Foreign car seats can be used if they are labeled as meeting the standards of a foreign government or the United Nations.
Why can't boosters and vests be used on board?
Aircraft seats are different from motor vehicle seats, so some auto products work differently and fit differently in them. Crash tests have shown that car safety vests and booster seats with shields may not protect a child in an aircraft seat. Therefore, they are not allowed during take-off and landing, even though some have labels saying they are certified for aircraft use.
- A vest with a rigid plate behind the child allows too much forward movement.
- Some aircraft seats have backs that fold forward. In a crash, a child in a shield-booster could be crushed against the shield.
- A belt-positioning booster seat that uses a lap and shoulder belt in a car cannot be used, since in an airplane there is no shoulder belt for upper-body restraint. If the booster seat has an internal harness and your child weighs less than 40 pounds, you can use it that way on aircraft. For a heavier child, use the lap belt alone.
Hints for easier travel with children
- If the car seat base is wide, raising the armrest will add space.
- To install a forward-facing car seat, recline the aircraft seatback. Put the belt through the car sat belt path. Buckle the belt with the buckle flap toward the airplane seatback, so you will be able to release it. Tighten the seat belt and then raise the seatback.
- If two adults are traveling, one can board first and install the car seat. To reduce restlessness, the child or children can stay in the boarding area with the other adult until the last call.
- Bring a pacifier or a bottle filled with water. Sucking helps keep a baby's ears from hurting during take-off and landing.
- Bring along diapers, wipes, snacks. Bring small picture books and quiet toys for your child to play with.
- To get to and from the gate easily, some seasoned travelers use a car seat with a stroller base.
- A looped tether strap can be used to haul a seat.
- A car seat bag with carrying straps can be helpful. It can also hold toys and supplies.
How to Escape with a Child in an Emergency
Emergency information cards do not include tips on escaping with a baby or young child. The FAA has done escape tests with child dummies.
The easiest and fastest escape method is:
1. Hold your child in front of you with both arms. Protect an infant’s head with one hand.
2. If escaping with a child through a window exit, hand your child to another person outside before climbing out yourself.
3. Jump into the emergency slide. Sitting first takes too much time. You could lose your grip on your child. Others behind could push you and make you lose your balance.Products to Make Traveling Easier
Child Restraints
This seat may look like an infant seat, and have the convenience of an infant seat – but the baby won’t outgrow it like an infant seat. Unlike most infant car seats which babies tend to outgrow around 6-9 months of age, this seat will accommodate virtually every baby until 12 months, and most kids until 18 months or older (baby must weigh less than 30 lbs and his head must be at least 1 inch below the top of the car seat).
This seat is perfect for parents who do a lot of traveling in vehicles besides their own – taxis, rental cars, airplanes, etc. Since this seat fits onto most snap n’ gos and stroller frames that accommodate infant car seats, it's a breeze to get your child and car seat to where you're going – just wheel them on the stroller (no need to carry the car seat and baby).
This is a convertible car seat (birth to 30lbs. rear-facing and 22-40lbs. forward facing). The car seat has a stroller built into it. Please note the following complications associated with the Sit n' Stroll:
- Rear-facing: The Sit n’ Stroll typically sits too upright for infants without adequate head control. When used rear-facing it's often difficult to install securely enough (so that there's less than 1 inch of movement) as the seat is very wide (it's wider than the LATCH anchors in the vehicle’s seat crack).
- Forward-facing: Unlike other forward-facing car seats, where the belt (safety belt or LATCH) that secures the car seat to the vehicle is behind the child’s back or just alongside the car seat, the belt path on the Sit N’ Stroll is across the child’s upper chest. This difference means that the child must be secured in the car seat BEFORE you install the seat in the vehicle AND that the car seat must be uninstalled BEFORE you remove the child from the seat. This isn't a problem if you're going in a taxi or other vehicle that you use for one-way rides (and therefore will not be leaving the car seat in regardless). However, if you're renting/sharing a vehicle and using that same vehicle frequently throughout your trip, installing and uninstalling this car seat for every ride may become cumbersome.
Are you traveling in the US or Canada with a child who weighs more than 30 pounds? If so, then this extremely portable car seat is a great option. It installs quickly and easily, so when you get to grandma’s car or your rental car, you can be on the go in no time with your child extremely safe in a 5 point harness. It also comes with a convenient travel bag and weighs just 10 pounds.
This seat is not FAA approved (because it requires a tether or a shoulder belt, neither of which is found on an airplane), but will easily fit in an overhead bin on the plane. Your child will use the lap belt on the airplane just like an adult (note: the airplane seat belt fits much better than that in a vehicle).
Just remember – you MUST use the tether strap when using this in the car seat mode (kids 30-60 pounds). All Canadian vehicles have had tether anchors factory installed for many years, and factory installed tether anchors in US vehicles have been standard since model year 2000. Most countries outside the US do not have tether anchors in their vehicles – so in those situations you would use this seat as a booster if your child was more than 40 pounds (or a different seat if your child was less than 40 pounds).
This seat is not FAA approved (because it requires a tether or a shoulder belt, neither of which is found on an airplane), but will easily fit in an overhead bin on the plane. Your child will use the lap belt on the airplane just like an adult (note: the airplane seat belt fits much better than that in a vehicle).
Just remember – you MUST use the tether strap when using this in the car seat mode (kids 30-60 pounds). All Canadian vehicles have had tether anchors factory installed for many years, and factory installed tether anchors in US vehicles have been standard since model year 2000. Most countries outside the US do not have tether anchors in their vehicles – so in those situations you would use this seat as a booster if your child was more than 40 pounds (or a different seat if your child was less than 40 pounds).
- Backless Boosters
These are appropriate for kids AT LEAST 40 pounds (and at least 3 years old). Many boosters have lower weight limits of 30 or 33 pounds – but it is strongly recommended that kids use a 5-point harness car seat until reaching 40 pounds.
There are many backless boosters for sale: Graco Turbo Booster, Evenflo Big Kid, Evenflo Right Fit, Cosco High Ride, Combi Everest, Britax Starriser.
Car Seat Bags, Backpacks, Strollers, Etc.
This device allows you to strap a car seat onto your rolling suitcase and pull it through the airport or hotel. Your child can sit in the seat while you go.
This product attaches to any Britax convertible car seat (Roundabout, Marathon, Boulevard, Decathalon and Wizard). Instead of carrying your car seat and child through the airport, this product allows you to wheel them. New models for Graco, Evenflo, Cosco, and Eddie Bauer car seats coming soon.
- SafeFit Car Seat Cover’n Carry – can be a backpack or a rolling duffle bag
- Sunshine Kids Easy Tote
- Cheeky Monkey - Pac Back Car Seat Carrier
Entertainment
- Sticker books
- Coloring books (remember to bring crayons)
- Dry-erase marker kids’ book
- Magnadoodle/Etch-a-Sketch
- Little People
- Matchbox cars
- Playdough/Crayola Model Magic clay (can not be reused though)
- Small plastic animals
- Wrap new toys like presents – but wrap them multiple times so part of the fun is just unwrapping them.
- Portable DVD player