advice carseat for airplane or not

[Anonymous]

I have a question to those who have taken the plane with their 2.5 yrs old and have traveled like 8 hours. did your child accommodate in the plane seat and sleep or would you have preferred the carseat? We (mother with son) have traveled with the carseat before and it was a big hassle and stress to travel so I don't know what to do and carry it along again or would my son just be fine without it, any advise? thank you!

[Anonymous]

At that age, I did not travel with the car seat, and DC was actually more comfortable for the 8 or 12 hour flights, depending on destination. He had more room to stretch out, with the arm rests well padded with pillows/blankets. He also slept on me Snag all the extra blankets that you can for padding and warmth - planes can get terribly cold.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your message; this sounds reasonable to me that he may enjoy more space, thanks!

[Anonymous]

For safety, we always used the car seat. My husband is a former airline pilot and he insisted on it.

[Anonymous]

2 yr old DS and I are about to take two long flights alone. First flight is 7 hours and the second is 5 hours. Although we have flow many times before (including an 8 hour flight when he was 10 months) this time (for the first time) I have decided to bring his car seat on board for 2 reasons:

1) I'm flying alone - no DH to help and I need to know that if I fall asleep, DS will be safe.

2) Flew with DS 2 months ago (w/o car seat) and he kept escaping from his seat belt and wanted to wander around the plane. Airplane seat belts are a joke - no way they can restrain a crafty toddler. I need to know that he will stay in his seat when I need him to (take off, landing, turbulence, etc).