Flights to Europe should be OK but we just returned from trip to Mexico and though we paid for seat the Aeromexico flight from Atlanta did not allow us to use seat! We had bought a new one specifically for this trip making sure it was approved but they made us gatecheck. We had to hold our DD and napping was ridiculous. CARES harnesses are pretty worthless IMO - I had for my first and except for a 1hr flight I truly do not see the point.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Heck yeah! My DD knows she can't get out of her car seat and she's 100% happy being stationary in it. In a regular seat she's up and down every minute.

Not trying to be snarky, but do you think she would sit in her seat for 9-10 hours happily? As I said, we don't drive much, so I don't think my son has even been in his seat for more than half an hour or so. I worry that an overnight flight may not be a good time to test out whether he will sit still!

Yes. We just took a 17 hour roadtrip overnight and she slept for nearly all of it. She's 18 months. It's like a big comfy bed and it reclines.

What kind of carseat? I've traveled with a kid in a FF lightweight carseat many times, through age 3 (maybe 4 for one of the kids?), and comfort hasn't been an issue because there was room to sit crisscross, move arms, etc. A more enveloping seat, especially an infant seat or something with big headwings, could be more restrictive. As a PP mentioned, a really big convertible seat could also put their legs too close to the seat in front. That wasn't an issue with the seats I've used (a Safety 1st and an Evenflo). On a long flight there would be times when we get out of the seat to walk around, use the bathroom, nurse if that's still applicable, but I did try to mostly keep them in the seat with the harness on (not as tight as in a car) after encountering some nasty and sudden turbulence on other flights. If the seatbelt sign is on, they are supposed to be in their seat.

Make sure your car seat has the sticker on it that indicates it is safe to be on a plane. If i5 has be$n removed they may not let you use it. Btdt.

CARES harness. A 20 month old in a car seat is going to be kicking the seat in front of them non stop.

Do you have one of the big Britax car seats? It's really hard for them to fit on a standard plane seat. (Maybe the international flights have bigger seats?)
Here's the problem I had -- the seat lifts them up and forward. As a result, the tray table can't come down, so they don't have a place to put snacks, drinks and toys. And, worse, their legs are jammed into the seat in front of them. If they move at all, they are kicking the seat in front of them, and they really can't move their legs at all. It's extremely uncomfortable.
This is based on standard seats in domestic flights, where there is now VERY little room between rows. If you're in business class, or on a more high end airline, it might be a totally different story.

What time is your flight? It's much easier for my kid to sleep in his car seat. We took him to Europe this summer @16 months and used the carseat. It SUCKS dragging it through the airport and installing and uninstalling it on the plane, but worth it if it helps your kid sleep (especially if you need it at your destination anyway). You can also try the CARES harness if your kid is within the weight limits but IME it doesn't work that well because there's no crotch strap so they slide/wiggle down. But it's way easier to carry.

Anonymous wrote:CARES doesn't work for the majority of kids who are technically within its weight limits, because it can't prevent smaller/lighter kids (less than about 40 lbs) from sliding out under the airline seatbelt. So if your kid is between 40 lbs and the CARES limit of 44, you're good to go.

Otherwise, take the car seat on the plane. It will be more familiar to him and there are times when you just plain have to have the kid harnessed down, period.

This means you're doing it wrong--you're basically saying that any toddler can get out of just a lap belt, no matter how tight. It takes practice, but the key to installing CARES is to tighten the lap belt first, before you adjust anything else. If you try to do the shoulder straps first, you end up pulling the lap belt up, creating a gap. LAP BELT FIRST.

I've been using CARES since my child was 20 months.

We flew to Europe with a large 18 month old that slept very well in the car seat.

FWIW, I think the car seat's ability to kind of slide and recline is important for comfort overnight.

Anonymous wrote:Heck yeah! My DD knows she can't get out of her car seat and she's 100% happy being stationary in it. In a regular seat she's up and down every minute.

Not trying to be snarky, but do you think she would sit in her seat for 9-10 hours happily? As I said, we don't drive much, so I don't think my son has even been in his seat for more than half an hour or so. I worry that an overnight flight may not be a good time to test out whether he will sit still!

CARES doesn't work for the majority of kids who are technically within its weight limits, because it can't prevent smaller/lighter kids (less than about 40 lbs) from sliding out under the airline seatbelt. So if your kid is between 40 lbs and the CARES limit of 44, you're good to go.

Otherwise, take the car seat on the plane. It will be more familiar to him and there are times when you just plain have to have the kid harnessed down, period.

Heck yeah! My DD knows she can't get out of her car seat and she's 100% happy being stationary in it. In a regular seat she's up and down every minute.

If big enough and you plan on more travel with him as a toddler and preschooler, go with the CARES harness http://kidsflysafe.com/

Yes, he needs to be in a car seat

https://csftl.org/leaving-on-a-jet-plane-the-csftl-guide-to-safe-air-travel-with-children/

We are flying to Europe this summer with our son, who will then be 20 months old. We are planning on buying a seat for him for the trip. Should we plan on bringing his car seat on the plane with us? I worry that he may feel too restrained in the car seat and if we don't have it, we have the option of having him sit on his seat, passing him back and forth between our laps, having him stand on the floor in front of his seat and using it like a desk, putting up the arm rests and letting him lie between us, etc. Those are all tricks that have worked for us in the past, including overnight to Europe when he was 9 months. We live in the city and don't drive much, so he isn't in his car seat that often. The car seat seems like it would really limit some of his movements and change of positions, which really help pass the time, but I am open to other opinions. If we take the car seat he would probably have to be in it for the duration of the flight, right? Advice from those who have BTDT?