Carseats checked on planes question...

[canmom]

I have always made my best effort to not have my seats checked but my DS's MA and and my DDs seat have had to be checked a couple times (they would not allow me to gate check or bring it on... aircanada for fyi). I know they *could* have been banged around.... should I replace them? Are airlines required to allow you to bring carseats on as carryon?

[snowbird25ca]

I have always made my best effort to not have my seats checked but my DS's MA and and my DDs seat have had to be checked a couple times (they would not allow me to gate check or bring it on... aircanada for fyi). I know they *could* have been banged around.... should I replace them? Are airlines required to allow you to bring carseats on as carryon?

If you've paid for a seat for your kids airlines are required to allow you to use the seat as long as it's certified for use on aircraft - which all CMVSS seats used with a harness are. If you had paid for a seat for your kids when this happened, then I would file a complaint with Air Canada. Provided your child has a seat purchased and you're using the seat according to directions, they are not technically allowed to deny you use of the seat. They do deny it sometimes, but they're not allowed to without cause. And lack of flight attendant education about it doesn't qualify as cause. ;)

As for replacing them, depends on how they're packed, if you can see damage to the EPS foam on the MA or any other visible damage. If they weren't packaged, I would absolutely replace them just in case they were carried by the harness straps. I'd still lean towards replacement just because you don't know how they were treated and it's essentially a seat with unknown history - most airlines aren't too gentle with how they handle luggage...

[Adventuredad]

Unless you can see clear and severe damage I would not worry about replacing a seat. A car seat is not a delicate pice of glass, it can handle lots of abuse.

Personally I always check our seats in padded car sets bags with extra padding of diapers, clothers, and other crap. Has worked well in 50 or so flights around the world and I feel very comfortable with it.

I think the issue with airlines not handling luggage well is kind of funny. A car set delivered to a store is always in a regular box wtihout bubble wrap etc. Guess how that box makes it to your store? By plane, truck, and/or boat. A seat is likely to be banged up as much before you buy it new in the store as after some traveling by plane. :twocents:

[CPSDarren]

Lol nice signature line, but technically it needs to be a bit smaller overall.

[mommyto2angelgirls]

i would personally be concerned checking my carseat. that is without qample padding and protection. if i had to check it you could believe it would be in bubble wrap/diapers/clothes and stuff to the brim in a box then duct taped shut. i have seen the way airline handlers throw bags. i watched one one time try to throw my stepfathers diving bag...weighs almost 80lbs when packed with all gear. it was funny but that is how they handle all bags. it clearly had pink tags put on the airline that said HEAVY. so basically they don't care if your seat says handle with car/car seat bag or whatever. its kind of like the mail ever get one of those packages bent that clearly states don't bend. i would evaluate those seats very carefully....perhaps buy new foam and padding and harness and adjusters if you don't see any shell damage. or i would replace them completely.
fyi this isn't the first post deling with aircanada and car seats. there is another post where they lost someones safeseat and returned it to them 2.5 weeks later beat up.
i personally weigh the price of the carseat vs the airline seat price. and if offered i get the insuranceon anything i check.

[mommycat]

Personally I might be less concerned with how the baggage handlers abuse the luggage and more concerned (or at least equally) with how the sorting equipment abuses the luggage. In some larger airports everything gets thrown on a conveyor and then gets shunted around various levels and loops of conveyors, including drops and clogs and getting caught up on transitions. I remember seeing a video of it someplace. It made me think twice. Look at how this conveyor manufacturer page keeps mentioning how the system is rugged and will not be damaged, eg "The design is strong enough that most jams caused by soft-sided luggage will not damage the Portec conveyor or conveyor belt." http://www.airport-technology.com/contractors/baggage/portec/
Take a look at the CHUTEMASTER® FIBERGLASS SPIRAL CHUTE - carseats would probably be an "oversize" item.

Read "How Your Luggage Travels" here: http://www.americanairlines.ie/content/ie/travelInformation/baggageTips.jhtml

[Neatfreak]

I have to give a small shout-out to Westjet, whose staff I saw gently unloading car seats and strollers on my last flight with them. But don't ask me about the regular luggage ...

[sparkyd]

We are committed to buying a seat for our son on future flights because we are afraid of turbulence and because I think he will be easier to deal with if he is strapped into his seat (but I could be wrong, we've only travelled with him once, with no seat on the plane).

However, getting a seat for your child just isn't an option for everyone; their choice is travel and hold the baby or stay home. We checked our car seat (Graco snugride bucket) on the first leg of the trip we did and it worked out fine. If you have to do this (and you don't have a good bag you can put it in with padding etc as suggested by others), there are some things you should do; (a) write your name, address and phone number on the seat with a black sharpie; (b) make sure the seat goes into a plastic bag that you tie shut and make sure they don't poke holes in the bag to attach the tag (you don't want anyone grabbing the straps and you don't want it to get wet; and (c) no matter how you packed it, make sure the seat gets put in a bin for its trip through the building.

On our way home on that trip we were able to gate check the seat because we were using a stroller frame that the seat clicks into as our stroller, so it counted as part of a stroller. The Air Canada policy about gate-checking strollers had changed while we were away. My biggest fear was the seat getting lost. That in itself is actually a good reason to buy a plane seat.

ETA: I just wanted to add a little note to reiterate that buying a seat is the best way to go, for many reasons. I don't want anyone to get mad at me because they think I'm telling people they don't need to buy a seat or that the seat will definitely be fine if you check it.
Best option: buy a seat
2nd best: Be really nice to the staff and get them to let you bring seat on plane if it isn't full
3rd best: gate check seat
4th: check seat in well-padded luggage/bag in bin and pray it doesn't get lost
5th: do what I said above and pray it doesn't get lost