carseat & flying - what am I doing wrong?
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Anonymous
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So after a couple recent flights flying by myself with my son and his giant car seat, I've decided I must be doing something wrong. I bought a rolling bag for the carseat thinking it would be the perfect solution. A few problems 1) you have to take the carseat out of the bag and put the bag through the X-ray machine then get the seat scanned separately. 2) our carseat is so fricking big it takes about ten minutes to get in back into the rolling bag. And 3) TSA always seems put out that they have to scan my son's giant seat that can't fit through the X-ray machine. This annoys me because the airlines seem to want you to use the carseat so then shouldn't TSA be used to this? Also I can't even imagine the how much the car seat would be thrown around if we checked it.
What I currently do is gate check the carseat and strap him in with the CARES harness. The problem really is getting this behemoth through security. I've been researching the immi go, but can this only be used in taxis and Uber? Getting the car seat through security and carting it around is almost becoming so much of a hassle I don't want to even bother. Please remember that I'm usually by myself with my not quite two-year old. Thanks so much. |
Anonymous
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We've been traveling internationally with our kids since they were infants, to see our families. Honestly, lugging a huge carseat at the airport and in the plane, and in the railways stations at our destination, etc, was so nightmarish, that we only tried it once. We did plane bassinets and babies on our laps. At our destination, family members come to us with car seats. If they can't come and pick up up, we take a taxi without a car seat. |
Anonymous
| I do the gogobabyz cart and ask for a hand check |
Anonymous
| Sorry OP here again. Forgot to mention that one of the issues that I have is the solution of buying a smaller and cheaper seat. We bought the seat we have because we thought it was best, so why would we put him in a cheaper and smaller seat just because we're on vacation? I know that car seats have strict minimum standards but I still feel weird thinking oh when we're home we want you really safe but not so much when we're on vacation. |
Anonymous
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Simple - you do not bring a giant seat with you. You bring a cheap lightweight travel seat like the Cosco or a few others. You have the right idea with a rolling duffle bag but the seat is the problem, not the bag.
We have the Safety First Go Hybrid. It is equal to the Immi Go. I would absolutely recommend it for travel -its very compact and easy to install. BUT, two issues - I would never put a child under 3 in it as the straps are very high and you would not get a good fit. Also, you need latch so as long as you have latch and top tether, it takes no time at all to use. But, if you do not have both you cannot use the seat. We cannot use it in our one car without latch. Its a really good option but questionable for a child not even two. |
Anonymous
All seats meet the minimum safety standards and will preform well in crashes. The main differences are stability (cheap plastic vs. hard) and padding as well as easy of insulation. They are fine for travel. I would get a Cosco or longer lasting would be the Evenflo Sureride which is highly recommended as it is very long lasting. |
Anonymous
| Why are you taking the carseat as carryon? Just use the CARES harness (which you have anyway), and check the carseat as normal luggage. Even better -- ship it via UPS to your destination. |
Anonymous
Why would you risk your child with an unknown driver without a car seat when you use a car seat in your car? |
Anonymous
1. Because 99% of the time, family members can come with the right car seat. 2. Because I am done traveling with a car seat. Never again. |
Anonymous
+1 we curb check the car seat. Use the cares on the plane |
Anonymous
OP here - genuinely asking how comfortable are people checking car seats? Having watched all sorts of luggage being thrown around, I'm kind of uncomfortable with how damaged the seat could be. Asking this because maybe I just need some perspective, but why am I buying a good car seat just to have it damaged and thrown around? That's why I've been gate checking it. |
Anonymous
| We have never checked a seat. We always used ours on the plane - it can easily get thrown/damaged and you'd never know. They are not responsible for replacing it. |
Anonymous
Even if gate checked, it's going to get tossed aroujnd as you retrieve it (unless you're flying a small plane) at the baggage claim on arrival so it goes through the "system" anyway. How was your car seat boxed to begin with? Ours just came in a cardboard box with little packing material, and I'm sure it got tossed arond by the delivery people on the way. |
Anonymous
According to the hardcore car seat techs gate checking is just as bad as checking at the counter. |
Anonymous
OP again (not much going on tonight LOL) we gate check as we're getting on the plane on the jetway then it's there right on the jetway when we get off. I guess I figure it's less handling than the usual checking at the ticket counter. Thanks to the PP for the gogobabyz cart. That would at least cut down on repacking the carseat into the duffel, even if I have to ignore the terrible product spelling 
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