Bulkhead seat with Bassinet vs Britax car seat to Japan

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Most limos do not rent car seats. Car rental places are required to but limos, and taxis, are not.

Most of us would never ever transport a child in a motor vehicle in a rental car seat, though. As mentioned above, very different from a plane.
 
ADS

InternationalMama

New member
We plan on just taking carry-ons to Japan (at least that's the plan) with the one bag carry on (per adult) mentality. We'll see if this can work.

I'm confused about why you want to only take carry-ons to Japan. For an international flight you should get some checked luggage allowance, right? I like to check as much luggage as possible. Otherwise you're lugging all your luggage around the airport, through the x-ray machines, finding spaces for it all in the plane. This makes for a lot of extra work and takes a lot of extra time (at security, getting on and off the plane, etc.) and you don't have as many hands free for your kids.

It sounds like bringing two car seats will work best after all. I would still considering getting something like the Safety 1st Avenue for your older DD to take instead of the BLVD. It's much lighter!
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I have a co-worker who can drive my SUV to LAX and can keep the car at work (which is 2.5 miles from LAX). However, coming back, I'd have to find some kind of transportion to get back to work and then go home.

This sounds like a reasonable option. In your shoes, I would have my husband take a taxi to the vehicle while I waited in the airport with the kids. Then you can just drive and pick them up. My DH and I have actually done this several times even when we were parking at the airport in one of the long term lots.

Melanie
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I have a co-worker who can drive my SUV to LAX and can keep the car at work (which is 2.5 miles from LAX). However, coming back, I'd have to find some kind of transportion to get back to work and then go home.

This sounds like a reasonable option. In your shoes, I would have my husband take a taxi to the vehicle while I waited in the airport with the kids. Then you can just drive and pick them up. My DH and I have actually done this several times even when we were parking at the airport in one of the long term lots.

Melanie
 

Mummy2Summer

New member
just adding my :2cents: I am a frequent international traveller.

Supershuttle will not allow a child in their shuttles without a carseat, at least not in SF anyway. There is no way I would even consider getting in a vehile without a carseat anyway and it sounds like you wouldn't either.

Here in SF taxis do not have "rental seats" but most town cars or limousine services do. I had to take a town car to the airport with my daughter and we were not taking her carseat as we had one to use at our destination.

I have also driven myself to the airport and had a friend collect my car and drive it back to our house (or theirs). They then drove it back to the airport the morning we were arriving, yes you have to pay parking but to us it was cheaper than the $180 cab/town car ride each way.
 

mylittlet

Senior Community Member
Have you looked at the traveling toddler? It connects your carseat to you rolling carry-on. It might be better then the GO wheels.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Have you looked at the traveling toddler? It connects your carseat to you rolling carry-on. It might be better then the GO wheels.

Do you mean the GoGo Kidz Travelmate? :)

I agree, the Travelling Toddler is a great way to pull a car seat around to your destination (using one this weekend, took the train to Flagstaff) but I would not put a kid in and pull it around. That's just not what LATCH straps are designed for. ;)
 

AoiGSR

New member
I'm confused about why you want to only take carry-ons to Japan. For an international flight you should get some checked luggage allowance, right?

Taking only carry ons limits how much we bring, less likelyhood of loss of luggage, and don't have to wait for baggage claim. We can check 2 bags each as long as they are less than 50lbs (anymore and it's an excess charge)

Here's the latest (It seems like this keeps on changing):

Japan Airlines called me and said we cannot have a bassinet seat AND a carseat for our 8 month. So we had to decide which one. We can keep the bulkhead area, so we're requesting no bassinet (we used that to try to keep the seating area). I guess the bassinet spans over 2 seats. Therefore, we will get rear facing for our 8 month (Britax Roundabout provided by JAL no cost).

For our 29 month, we are requesting to see if we can put a car seat in the window side (provided by JAL at no cost so we don't have to lug a car seat at all) even though in the past JAL stated there are no car seats allowed on the window side and that the 29 month could not have one from JAL without dr's permission. If our 29 month is sitting in 46B, this would be a hazard to passenger 46A should there be some kind of evacuation, the seat would potentially be in the way for those trying to evacuate.

JAL originally requested if the seat could be on 46A window side. When JAL responded back from Japan, they said something about that the seat belt will not work for the carseat and that we'd have to get 46K window side (on the right window side) for the 29 month and I would get 46J. In addition, we can get 54A and 54B but this will allow for there to be about 2 people in between my 29 month and my wife. 46G cannot be reserved at all like 46D can be for a bassinet. It's reserved for someone who may need that seat with special needs, but if no one takes it before the flight (maybe call couple days before?), it can be available.

Recently my 29 month is more attached to my wife, even when waking up, she wants my wife and not me to take her down to go eat breakfast.

What we can do as well, is go back to the original plan of using 46B and 46C for my 29 month and myself, then my wife sit in 46D use a rear facing in 46E for the 8 month.
777.jpg


We would either use no car seat for the 29 month or use that other product that is FAA approved called CARES
415o4PpUu7L._AA280_.jpg


What is better, being closer to mom with no car seat, or being a little car away using a car seat? (20 hour flight)
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Are you saying that if you sat the 29 month old near your wife, you could use the CARES? I would probably go for that in your situation.
 

InternationalMama

New member
I am of a different opinion. Given that your daughter is so tiny I just don't see the CARES harness fitting her well enough. You can see pics in this thread and there the author says she can't imagine being able to tighten the seatbelt enough to use it with a 22 lbs child on some planes and your daughter is only slightly bigger than that if I remember correctly.

Also, I just think she will have trouble sleeping if she doesn't have a carseat. I doubt she will be able to sleep in the CARES harness at her size. I think one of the main advantages of having a seat for a child that age is that they get the comfort of the car seat for sleeping and also just for making the experience more familiar. Also, if you can imagine her wanting to unbuckle her seatbelt and move around the cabin during take-off, landing etc. the CARES harness won't prevent her from doing that so that's something to keep in mind. She's so little I think she can still rear face in the Roundabout too, which will be so much nicer for her as far as not losing her toys, being able to see you and interact with you, etc.

It doesn't sound to me like the alternative seating will be very much further away from your wife than she would otherwise be and I just think that if she's close to your wife, but unhappy because she can't sleep, isn't comfortable, feels this whole experience is too strange, etc. (all of which the car seat could help with) she'll be needing your wife a lot more than if she's in a car seat a little further away. Also, I would imagine that you could sit with your 8-month-old sometimes so your older daughter could stay with your wife, right?

That's just my thinking if it were me, but I can certainly see why you might choose the CARES instead. And you know your kids and what would work for them best. I hope whatever you choose it works out well!

PS I imagine you could get your pediatrician to write something up for JAL so you could get a car seat., right? Your DD is tiny. There is no way a plane seat belt will fit her well.
 

AoiGSR

New member
Are you saying that if you sat the 29 month old near your wife, you could use the CARES? I would probably go for that in your situation.

That was supposed to be the plan. JAL called me today. They said even though FAA said it's approved. JAL will not allow it. So it throws that out the door. Since JAL is a Japanese company :mad:

We still have a carseat set for the 8 month and the 29 month. It's just she will be near me, then someone next to me, then the aisle, and possibly another person, then my 8 month, then the mom. So it's kinda far:

777.jpg


The JAL rep said she's a mom of 2 who takes her kids to Japan and knows that she will want to be close to mom. I know that is for sure as well.

We could go 46B,C,D,E but no car seat is allowed.
46D,E, G could be a possibility on the day of the flight if no one takes that seat but no guarantee. Also no CARES harness is allowed either.

Therefore I don't know what to do at this point.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Uh... I think if they fly out of the US they have to allow any FAA approved restraint going out of the country. (Flying in is a different story.)
 

AoiGSR

New member
PS I imagine you could get your pediatrician to write something up for JAL so you could get a car seat., right? Your DD is tiny. There is no way a plane seat belt will fit her well.

No need. JAL will provide the carseat :) It's just a matter of position and with/out the carseat. My wife is insistant that she be closer to my daughter. However, the seating arrrangement can only be done that way with NO carseat, which I want to have.

My wife can sit with my 29 month. that won't be a problem. I think it can work. We don't want her to have a tantrum. Our 8 month is easy going. Not sure how the flight up and down will be for seating.
 

AoiGSR

New member
Uh... I think if they fly out of the US they have to allow any FAA approved restraint going out of the country. (Flying in is a different story.)

Yeah I don't get it. FAA approved but JAL doesn't allow? Something must be lost in translation. We're flying from LAX to NRT (Japan) so it should be okay. Not sure how JAL can not allow it. They probably don't know what the product does and since they don't know how it works, they say don't allow it.

Can't fly with it during takeoff, in the air, or landing.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Can you fax them the FAA approval info, and the rules on what airlines in America must allow, and see if that changes their mind?
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
That is one. There is also a comprehensive guide to approved CRSs that includes information on the CARES. I would start by faxing or otherwise directing to their attention that one, that seems a good place to start.
 

InternationalMama

New member
Just quickly from me: JAL is not an American airline and therefore they don't have to follow FAA guidelines even when the flight is departing from the USA. Sorry. If they don't want to allow CARES they absolutely don't have to.

Can you have two carseats close to each other if you give up the bulkhead row? That's what I would do, but as I wrote above I don't think the bulkhead or the bassinet is that great anyway if you have a carseat with you.
 
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ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
Really, even though they are operating within U.S. airspace? That's not what I've been led to understand... I've heard tales of people allowed to use a restraint on the way out because it's FAA approved, and not allowed on the way in because they're operating under another country's laws going that way.
 

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