Bulkhead seat with Bassinet vs Britax car seat to Japan

InternationalMama

New member
Ketchupqueen - The people you heard those tales from probably misunderstood what was happening. Sometimes people think their flight is run by X airline, but it's actually a codeshare with that airline. For the purposes of carseat rules it matters who is -operating- the flight, not who you bought your ticket from. So those people may have thought they were flying USAir on both flights, but they were actually flying USAir leaving the US and Lufthansa on the way back, or some such thing. They attributed the difference to the country of departure, but that wasn't where the difference actually was. When you buy tickets through Expedia etc. you can look at the section that says "operated by" to see whose rules you will be subject to.

If you do a google search you will find many disgruntled passengers wondering why they weren't allowed to use their FAA-approved car seats on various flights leaving the US (usually BA, Virgin etc. cause the most problems because they don't allow rearfacing seats so no infant buckets).

This is the biggest area of confusion when it comes to using car seats on planes. If you want to be sure you will be allowed to use an FAA-approved seat or device on an airplane you have to fly American, no codeshares. You -may- be able to use those seats/devices on other airlines, but you can't produced an FAA circular to prove that you can. If you are flying on an American airline you are always under FAA rules no matter what the country of departure is. The flight attendants still may not understand those rules, but -that- is where your FAA circular comes into play. :) (And I know this from experience because I've haggled with the head flight attendant over the wording of the FAA rules on flights departing Europe and heading for the US.)
 
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AoiGSR

New member
Latest update: The JAL representative did print out and send to them the FAA documents to them as well. The policy is not changing at this point and we cannot use that CARES device. This is a US product and should Japan eventually adapt this, their policy can change.

I think we cannot give up the rear facing seat because if we have it anywhere else in the plane, JAL said it's going to block a passenger from reclining but not sure how true that is. I can see it though because when we had our Britax rear facing, there is less room to recline (That's true of our Graco Snugride as well in our 2006 Civic).

We either have her sit in 46B or C with NO CARES, sit in 46D with no CARES, or sit in 46K with a car seat (provided by JAL), or no CARES in 46J.

I'm sticking with a car seat in 46K as my wife could sit with my 29 month in 46J (I don't think you will object right? Our 8 month will need support during take off and landing though). It will be more comforting than no CARES and they will want to release the buckle I think. She will say "Take off". With the Britax, she won't say take off. I'd rather bring my own Britax but it will be less load after the flight since we don't need it in Japan. I could bring the Pink covering from our BLVD and swap it out to make it "famliar" as I don't think the Roundabout will look as pretty.

My wife thinks if we give her a DVD and a lollipop (which I dont like lollipops because of the sugar but I guess just once for take off and landing should be okay?) during take off and landing will be fine but I don't think you can play DVDs while you're taking off/landing anyway.

Best thing is to wear the 29 month down at the airport by exploring around I think. Then when she gets on the flight, hopefully she will sleep.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
You can't play DVDs until you are at cruising altitude. But a lolipop is a good idea, and you can play games.

The Boulevard cover won't nearly fit on the Roundabout though. ;)
 

AoiGSR

New member
The Boulevard cover won't nearly fit on the Roundabout though. ;)

I didn't think so :)

I swear we don't leave until 28 days and things seem to change daily regarding seating/transportation.

I just found out my sister lives in an area where it's very mountainous and they don't have DSL for internet access. They have dial up :O Not sure if I'll be able to do my timesheet electronically over 56k. i can surely try, but will work that out. Maybe go to an internet cafe somewhere.

Anyway, that area, you need to have a car to get around. Public transportation is not available until we go to the next city.

We might end up bringing our seats anyway if we're going to drive in Japan.
 

AoiGSR

New member
12 days until Japan. We have 2 rental Britax roundabouts provided by JAL but now we really are considering driving in Japan. My wife does not want to lug our Britax Blvd for our 29 month daughter or even the Graco Snugride for our 8 month daughter.

We can ride in a taxi in Japan to avoid renting a car to drive to the train stations or around the area we are in. No chance in renting car seats from a baby rental place since we will be in a really remote area and I do not know the condition of renting car seats in Japan from a car rental company.

At this point I will sacrifice anything to bring my seats to Japan or any recommendation for an alternative. When we get to Japan, we can ship the seats through a shipping company although not sure how sfe this is. We will take a 2 hour train ride from the Narita airport so not sure what to do at this point.

We will only bring the MacLaren stroller and my wife said we will wharebthr duties of carrying the 8 month.

Any thoughts or recommendations on the situation?
 

InternationalMama

New member
I'm a bit confused about what you're asking for recommendations on at this point. You now are sure you'll be driving in Japan and need to have your carseats with you, right? But your wife doesn't want to bring either the Boulevards or the Snugride, right? So, are you looking for suggestions on other carseats you could purchase for your DDs for the trip?

Sorry, I want to help, but I feel like we've already discussed pretty much every possibility out there for your situation! Maybe if you could clarify where your remaining questions are...
 

AoiGSR

New member
I'm a bit confused about what you're asking for recommendations on at this point. You now are sure you'll be driving in Japan and need to have your carseats with you, right? But your wife doesn't want to bring either the Boulevards or the Snugride, right? So, are you looking for suggestions on other carseats you could purchase for your DDs for the trip?

Sorry, I want to help, but I feel like we've already discussed pretty much every possibility out there for your situation! Maybe if you could clarify where your remaining questions are...

Yes we're pretty sure we're going to be driving in Japan. If not, then take taxi's to Ashikaga station which is about 7.9 km or 5 miles (21 minutes) from my brother in law's place.

If we take taxi's, we'd be stuck with the car seats when we go to the train station so not sure if this is good idea anyway because what do we do with the seats when we get to the station? . We could ride with no car seats in Japan but that doesn't make sense right from a safety standpoint.

If we rent a car, we would park the car at the stations, but not sure how much that costs to park for the day(s) as well but can use the car seats.

My wife does not want to bring our car seats to Japan. We can use the car seats in the airplane provided by JAL (Britax Roundabouts) no charge. It's just after her sister's husband picks is up in thier vehicle, we will have no car seats to use unless we bring our own.

We can't "rent" car seats from baby rental places because we are out of the delivery zone. We might be able to rent car seats from car rental companies but not sure if we should risk that as well. I feel safer with our car seats.

I think my question is how to convince that we should bring out own car seats. I think everyone will agree we need car seats when traveling even to and from the train station. She thinks if we can rent from the rental car company, it's all good.

Maybe I over worry.
 

InternationalMama

New member
I think I understand the issues now. Although I'm a bit confused, is this one car ride and one train trip? Where will you be at the other end when you disembark the train? Or is this a daily car ride and daily train trip, for example into the city for a day of sightseeing?

So you will be driving in Japan. Taking a taxi is still driving and you still need child restraints as taxis are still cars and still get into accidents. So it seems clear to me (and anyone here, I think) that you need to bring your seats. I still vote for the Snugride with a snap-in stroller and something like the Coccoro or Scenera for the oldest. You can see pictures here of how to attach a Scenera to a stroller like your Maclaren. If you do need to walk around with the carseat you could do that. But we've also discussed almost all the other possible scenarios for your situation. :)

The only other alternative I see in this situation is that you have your BIL/SIL buy carseats that would fit your children in Japan for you to use while there. Perhaps you could then gift these seats to family who have children when you leave? This would probably be much more expensive than bringing your own, however, and may be hard to organize with them if they are not very knowledgeable about child passenger safety.

As far as how to convince your wife, I suppose you can show her crash test videos, statistic, heart-wrenching stories from this website or other internet forums, or simply discuss with her that motor vehicle accidents are the #1 cause of death for children like your own. And if none of that works, just bring the carseats anyway and handle the fallout. If you believe strongly it's the safest choice for your family, which it is, then it is worth it. I speak from experience.

I personally would not rent carseats or ship carseats or check carseats when you have the option, which you do, of using your own and having them with you at all times with minimum hassle or expense.

Good luck!
 

AoiGSR

New member
I think I understand the issues now. Although I'm a bit confused, is this one car ride and one train trip? Where will you be at the other end when you disembark the train? Or is this a daily car ride and daily train trip, for example into the city for a day of sightseeing?

I personally would not rent carseats or ship carseats or check carseats when you have the option, which you do, of using your own and having them with you at all times with minimum hassle or expense.

Good luck!

Thanks for replying. When we get to Narita airport in Japan, we will take the train to my SIL. And then, our BIL will pick is up from the station to go home. No car seats.

Then if we want to rent a car, we need to go to a car rental place, which rents out car seats as well (Toyota Rent A Car) looks very promising but not sure about the car seats. We cannot go without car seats if we rent a car.

We will on occasion drive the car around town but may visit my MIL/FIL as well, which we can drive there if we wish. This will eliminate us from having to take a taxi or have them pick us up at the station.

I think my wife will go the car seat rental route because we don't have to bring our own seats. She does not see anything wrong with renting car seats. I on the otherhand worry what that car seat has been through and I know she will think I am "too much".

If we don't lug the car seats from the airport to our SIL/BIL, then we will need to carry, which I know my wife is reluctant to carry. I think it's just part of the deal when traveling with children.
 

InternationalMama

New member
Won't you need to drive to your BIL/SIL's place and then also to the rental car place?

Well, it sounds like you are set on renting so I wish you the best of luck with that. My only advice would be to call the rental car company and try to get them to confirm that they will provide appropriate restraints for your children. I know some rental car places will only provide them if they happen to have them available, like with cars, and if the customer before you took the last ones you are out of luck. Also they may only have infant seats or only have boosters, so make sure they know you'll need a harnessed seat for both kids and a rear facing one for the youngest (or preferably both :)).

Also, don't forget to ask for a manual for the car you rent. Often rental car places don't have manuals in every car and you will want to look at the car manual as well as the carseat manual to make sure you are installing your carseat appropriately.

If you can, find out what kinds of carseats they usually provide as rentals so you can look at the manual ahead of time and are prepared to install it correctly.

Please come back and update after your trip. I'm sure it will help someone else in the future to know about your experience! :thumbsup:
 

katiesmommy

Active member
FYI, I flew JAL for the first leg of my trip back to the states and the flight attendents didn't have any problem with my putting DD in the window seat.

On the way there they told me the carseat wouldn't fit, which it did.
 

AoiGSR

New member
Won't you need to drive to your BIL/SIL's place and then also to the rental car place?

Well, it sounds like you are set on renting so I wish you the best of luck with that. My only advice would be to call the rental car company and try to get them to confirm that they will provide appropriate restraints for your children.

BIL/SIL and probably the rental car place as well although now you bring that up, I wonder how that will work since they only have a sedan.

My wife is set on renting. I am throwing my arms up and accepting maybe this is the only way to do it. I personally still want to bring my own seats.

It would suck if we go there, no seats available, then we're stuck with buying seats for 2 weeks.

I don't think she's insterested in the GoGo Babyz to help transport the kids (to the destination). I see it as way to carry them from the trains to the cars. One less thing to worry about.

She will carry the 8 month with the Baby Ergo in front. I think that's fine. She will ship one of her bags in Japan so it will arrive the next day. We could do those for the seats as well but not sure if that's good or not.
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
It sounds like, in your situation, shipping your seat ahead may be the best thing to do. It would be dreadfully expensive, though.
 

jasminegrl

New member
BIL/SIL and probably the rental car place as well although now you bring that up, I wonder how that will work since they only have a sedan.

My wife is set on renting. I am throwing my arms up and accepting maybe this is the only way to do it. I personally still want to bring my own seats.

It would suck if we go there, no seats available, then we're stuck with buying seats for 2 weeks.

I don't think she's insterested in the GoGo Babyz to help transport the kids (to the destination). I see it as way to carry them from the trains to the cars. One less thing to worry about.

She will carry the 8 month with the Baby Ergo in front. I think that's fine. She will ship one of her bags in Japan so it will arrive the next day. We could do those for the seats as well but not sure if that's good or not.
the japanese do not see car-seats the way we do in the states, its extremely normal to see little kids just riding in the car, because of this i would make sure you find somewhere to rent them in advance. Also be prepared that if you do end up purchasing car seats they are very expensive over here.
 

jasminegrl

New member
another option is to bring your seats with you on the plane as checked bags in boxes, and then once you get to the airport have them shipped through black cat to your families town, they should know if they have a black cat location in their town, they are a reliable shipping service, i'm unsure of the cost though.
 

AoiGSR

New member
another option is to bring your seats with you on the plane as checked bags in boxes, and then once you get to the airport have them shipped through black cat to your families town, they should know if they have a black cat location in their town, they are a reliable shipping service, i'm unsure of the cost though.


Yeah our plan was to use our own seats so that we didn't have to "check them in". This is to avoid waiting for the baggage claim so we can bypass that step. Then when we get to Narita airport in Japan, ship it with the black cat (kuro neko) service. We planned on shipping one of our carry ons that way...

Shipping car seats from Japan doesn't sounds like a good option either. I really need to convince her to do it. The issue with taking a Snug ride is we'd have to carry the base with us and not use it until we get into Japan. We have 2 Blvds as well so the base is built in. We'd have to get 2 GoGo Babyz luggage cart type things to wheel the seats around though. I personally think we can do it.
 

InternationalMama

New member
The issue with taking a Snug ride is we'd have to carry the base with us and not use it until we get into Japan. We have 2 Blvds as well so the base is built in. We'd have to get 2 GoGo Babyz luggage cart type things to wheel the seats around though. I personally think we can do it.

You can install your Snugride without the base. There's really no need to bring it with you. Just practice installing without the base a few times before you go. :)

Also, I highly recommend just getting a Scenera for your oldest. Much lighter and easier to carry around. I think you can buy one on overstock.com for about $35. Or since your trip is very soon just buy one at Target, Kmart, or a similar store. You could attach it to your roll-on using something like the Traveling Toddler (sold on Amazon) or you can just attach it to the stroller as the person in the thread I linked to before did.

It really isn't that hard to bring your own seats and for the peace of mind it is so worth it.
 

AoiGSR

New member
You can install your Snugride without the base. There's really no need to bring it with you. Just practice installing without the base a few times before you go. :)

Really? The Snugride, I don't think you can use in the car though in Japan without the base. At least that is what I thought.

Hrm... that Scenera looks as big as a Blvd but the weight probably is lighter as you mentioned.

We don't have roller luggage at this point. I was thinking the GoGo Babyz, we could use that as the roller by putting our light luggage into the seat (the size of a maximum carry on).
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
You absolutely can use it without a base, in Japan or here. Practice installing with lap only belt, and with lap/shoulder belt with locking clip, before you go, and that will cover you. :) There's nothing special about belts in Japan that means you can't use them for the SnugRide without the base, though you may need a locking clip, so practice first, as I said. :)

We are going on a trip this Friday and I picked up 3 good-quality rolling carry ons for $7-10 each at the thrift store.
 

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