# Flying with children - car seat?



## FP1976 (Jan 29, 2011)

My husband and two children, aged 4 and 1, will be flying to New Zealand in March. We have paid for a seat for our 1 year old, as she is nearly 2 and would not fit in a bassinet. We are allowed to take her car seat (Maxi Cosi Toby) but wondered if anyone has experience of this? Would you recommend taking the seat?


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## jenswaters (Jul 8, 2009)

FP1976 said:


> My husband and two children, aged 4 and 1, will be flying to New Zealand in March. We have paid for a seat for our 1 year old, as she is nearly 2 and would not fit in a bassinet. We are allowed to take her car seat (Maxi Cosi Toby) but wondered if anyone has experience of this? Would you recommend taking the seat?


Hi

I've flown all over the place with children from the age of 3 months. When we flew to NZ, my kids were just 2 and nearly 4.
Due to the age of your kids, I would try and request "bulkhead" seats (these are the ones at the front of the sections in the central aisle). The worst they can say is no! We didn't use a car seat for them, as remember, those seats are relatively small anyway. If necessary, the arm rests do go up and you can lay them out across the seat (and you) still in the seat belt. It is also more stuff to carry about once the rest of your baggage has been checked. having said that, I remember seeing an AMAZING invention on my travels through US for a set of wheels that clamp onto the carseat, called Gogo Baby Travel seat wheels. Can't post the link due to product advertising...sorry.
Weigh up the amount of baggage you have to carry...if it is a lot, then maybe not bother. If it isn't too much and you can wheel the seat between flights, then I'd say do it. 

Wish I could be more help

Jen


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## NZCowboy (May 11, 2009)

Each airline has different policies regarding car seats, you need to check with the airline you are flying with. When we flew with our twin boys who were almost 2, the car seats we used were ok on one airline but not the next. Car seats need to be FAA approved.


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## saltybroad (Jan 9, 2011)

NZCowboy said:


> Each airline has different policies regarding car seats, you need to check with the airline you are flying with. When we flew with our twin boys who were almost 2, the car seats we used were ok on one airline but not the next. Car seats need to be FAA approved.


We found a couple of problems with flying in a car seat - 1) it takes up so much space that it makes it uncomfortable to sit in the seat next to it, and 2)if your child is not going to sit in it the entire flight, (for us it's 14 hours, so no way) it just ends up being an obstacle for everyone to climb over/pass things around. I wanted to have my daughter in it for safety's sake but it really was a hassle. I would second the recommendation to try to get bulkhead seats, that will help some - but I think when we do it again we will check the car seats.


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## FP1976 (Jan 29, 2011)

*Thank you!*

Thank you for your responses everyone, incredibly useful! We are flying with Singapore Airlines, and know we are allowed to take the seat if we want to. 
I will certainly try to get the bulkhead seats if we can, although I know people who are using bassinets get first priority on these, so we'll see. If not, I think we'll check the seat.

Thank you so much again guys. This is the first time I have used this forum, as we're not in NZ for another few weeks, but I know I'll be posting more questions, so thank you for your comments! Francesca


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## topcat83 (Apr 16, 2009)

jenswaters said:


> ..... I remember seeing an AMAZING invention on my travels through US for a set of wheels that clamp onto the carseat, called Gogo Baby Travel seat wheels. Can't post the link due to product advertising...sorry.
> ....


Yes you can Jen - as long as it's useful information and you don't own the company!!


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