Are carseats necessary on planes?

[Anonymous]

So I've seen a lot of comments about how wonderful it is to have carseats on airplanes, but I'm a frequent flyer and I don't recall ever seeing anyone with a convertible carseat on one of my flights. I'm taking DS (24 months) on his first flight...and we're headed to Hawaii, so it's a long trip. My husband is arguing pretty hard to leave the carseat at home. We have the Britax Boulevard and I'm worried by some of the comments that the Marathon does not fit since the Boulevard is even larger. Any thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Are you renting a car in Hawaii? And will you be renting a carseat too? If that's the case, then, I think it's fine to fly with a 2 yr old without a carseat on the plane. It's so much easier getting around the airport, security, on and off plane without a carseat to lug around. The nice thing about not having a carseat on the plane is that you'll actually be able to use the pull-down tray in front of your child's seat for eating, coloring, etc. The down side to no carseat, is that it is more difficult for your child to take a nap without one.

You might also consider buying a smaller, cheaper carseat for airplane travel. For the cost of renting a carseat for a week, you could buy one.

[Anonymous]

Car seats are not necessary, but definitely make the flight more enjoyable for all.

We just flew this weekend without a carseat for the first time with my 2 yo. WIth the carseat, he naps, plays, relaxes. Without it he really could not get cozy (and this was for a 2.5 hour flight).

We did buy the CARES harness, which I've used for my 4.5 yo. I think a 2 yo is a bit small for the harness - it didn't fit him well.

Check with your local police station. Ours (Bethesda) has travel carseats for just this reason. I would not take the Boulevard, but a smaller carseat will make your plane ride easier (but does suck in the airport)

[Anonymous]

We did almost all our travel with the Marathon - it fits. We also usually put it in the stroller or on collapsible luggage wheels to roll it through the airport, so we didn't have to carry it. Since then, I've seen special carts for rolling them around (called Go-Go Baby or something like that.)

Yes, it is a PITA. So is a lot about child-rearing and child safety. But it is worth it to keep the kids safe.