When you’re planning for a trip that includes a flight, it seems that there are 101 things to worry about. Well, here are numbers 102 and 103: Will your car seat fly and do you really need it? Unfortunately, there’s no simple yes or no answer to those questions.
A car seat that has FAA certification label is approved for airplane use, and most car and infant seats are certified for flight. Did you notice that word in italics? That might be your predicament. What’s important is to find out right now, before you’re standing at the check-in counter, if your car seat will fit in the allotted space. Unless you’re flying first class (where seat bases are a lot wider), a seat in economy class gives you only so much space and a car seat that is wider than 16” is just not going to fit. Heck, some people can’t even fit their own derrière in the seats in economy.
If you’ve checked your car seat instruction manual and found that your seat is good to go (literally and figuratively), the next step is to buy a ticket for your child. It’s true that some airlines don’t charge for infants, except for a nominal fee (they never give anything away for free, do they?), but without a proper ticket, you’ve no assurance that a seat will be available for your child. And that nominal fee does not entitle your child to a seat, by the way, it just gives you the right to hold your child in your arms; that’s certainly not the safest environment, and definitely not the most comfortable (for either of you).
One final consideration: You wouldn’t think of driving around town with your child out of his car seat, would you, or affordable auto insurance? Then how can you even consider it 33,000 feet above the ground?
Comments on this entry are closed.