Frequent Fliers Please Chime In

bella_1818

New member
I'm trying to come up with the best senerio for my cross country trip ALONE with a 2 year old and a 2 lb dog. We'll be gone for almost two months. I'll be flying Southwest and my son does have a ticket.The dog is required to be in a soft sided carrier, and will count as my carry-on. My son's carry-on will be his diaper bag.

I'm concerned about getting from long term parking to the counter and also getting through the airport.

The current plan is to pack in duffle bags so that I can hang them over the stroller handle for traveling through the parking lot. If I pack the big jogging stroller, the dog can fit in the basket under the stroller. It's also heavy enough not to flip over from the duffles weight.

DS will be in a CARES harness and I'll be checking the Truefit :eek:. I know checking a carseat is not best-practice, but I'm not allowed another carry-on so I couldn't use the gogo and I just can't carry the carseat and push the stroller. The dog gets motion sick so being in the stroller is a better option that carrying her bag I think.

I had planned to check the truefit in it's original box, but it came in a GIANT unmarked box that will not fit in my Carmy's trunk, so I'm thinking about using one of those padded bags with backpack straps and filling any empty space with the airbags that came in the truefit's box.

I already had to buy a Truefit and a Radian this month, so another expensive seat is not an option right now. The only seat in my budget to buy and keep there would be a Serena, but it would have to be used FF for my 26 month old ( he's super tall) and we are going to be gone an awefully long time for him to be FF.

Am I missing an easier or safer plan?
 
ADS

freqflyer

New member
I'm sure others will be along shortly to help out, but if your son has his own seat then the car seat doesn't count as a carry on. Plus you are allowed two carry ons per person, not 1. They technically say a personal item (such as a purse) and a briefcase, but many purses I've seen are larger than a purse.
 

vonfirmath

New member
No dog. But I went alone across country with a 2-year old in September and this is how I got stroller, car seat (Britax Roundabout 50), and boy through the airport. He had his own seat and the car seat was installed on the airplane (FFing one direction under duress, and RFing the other).

4047433519_b229594053_b.jpg


The bags: Checked 1 suitcase. Had a backpack on my back that was his diaper bag. That little backpack was his snacks (a "purse" sized object). And a larger duffel type pack with toys in it.
 

Pixels

New member
PP is correct, the carseat will not count as carry-on for a child who is riding in the seat. And you are generally allowed two carryons.

Have you considered wearing the Radian as a backpack, and using it on the plane? The TF and RN are the same weight but folding plus backpack straps makes the RN much easier to travel with.
 

InternationalMama

New member
Do you already own the Go-Go Kidz?

The PP is right that if your son has a seat the carseat doesn't count as carry-on. If you did want to bring the Go-Go Kidz that could be his personal item. His diaper bag would be your personal item. The dog is your carry-on. And then you still have one more carry-on left. :thumbsup:

I would also explore whether you can strap the TF to your stroller, as the PP mentioned.

Also if you happen to be at Sears you could look and see if they have any Avenues still around and on sale. Sometimes they go on sale for almost as cheap as the Scenera and I heard they are being discontinued so... Would your son fit RF in an Avenue?

That's all I can think of to help right now. I'll be back if I can think of more.
 

Jan06twinmom

New member
I would also use the car seat on the airplane - and check the stroller instead. We used a luggage rack and strapped our car seats to the luggage rack. We put our children in the car seat and used that as our stroller through the airport. Our car seats have not counted as carry on luggage. We've always carried the luggage carts on the airplane and not had them count as our luggage, but the other option would be to gate check the luggage cart. We always have had to take our car seats off the luggage card when we were loading on the plane.

I'm not sure about the dog though. It could ride in the car seat if your child is walking. Maybe you could figure out another way to attach the carrier to the car seat to get through the airport.

Can you have someone come help you get through the airport and to meet you on the other end? It won't help if you have to make a transfer. But I know that getting through security on the way out and picking up our luggage when we arrive are pretty challenging and an extra set of hands would help.

Another option - take the Radian and use if ff on the plane and rf at your destination. You can do what you already suggested with the stroller and dog, but carry the radian as a backpack.

If you decide not to take a car seat on the plane, then I would recommend mailing it to your destination instead.

HTH

Melanie
 

bella_1818

New member
I have to take the Truefit. The Radian doesn't fit in one of the vehicles that I'll be useing at destination.

I know the carseat wouldn't count as a carry-on, but the gogo attachment would, plus having to pull the gogo while pushing the stroller. I also kind of really hate my gogo. I used it for our last cross country trip to not have to check my seat and every time we took a sharp turn or went over uneven surfaces the carseat shook loose from the gogo. It didn't fall off, but it was enough that I had to adjust it. It was REALLY hard to get the carseat back onto the gogo at our layover and I'd really like to not use it again.
 

TXAggieTech

Active member
I know the carseat wouldn't count as a carry-on, but the gogo attachment would, plus having to pull the gogo while pushing the stroller. I also kind of really hate my gogo. I used it for our last cross country trip to not have to check my seat and every time we took a sharp turn or went over uneven surfaces the carseat shook loose from the gogo. It didn't fall off, but it was enough that I had to adjust it. It was REALLY hard to get the carseat back onto the gogo at our layover and I'd really like to not use it again.

You don't take the GoGo off during flight, just for use in cars. You install if with the wheels still on.

I'd call GoGo, ours has flown over 50 legs and it has never needed adjusting. We also have used it with a Marathon as a stroller for city walking. It sounds like something is off with yours! I know when we replaced a screw one came threaded wrong and wouldn't work.

Is your the bolts or the ratchet strap?
 

bella_1818

New member
:eek:
You don't take the GoGo off during flight, just for use in cars. You install if with the wheels still on.

I'd call GoGo, ours has flown over 50 legs and it has never needed adjusting. We also have used it with a Marathon as a stroller for city walking. It sounds like something is off with yours! I know when we replaced a screw one came threaded wrong and wouldn't work.

Is your the bolts or the ratchet strap?

I have both the bolts and the ratchet strap. I played around with the gogo a lot before our last flight and was just never in love with it. I'm glad it works well for you. I think if I had someone to hold/watch DS while I messed with it I would like it a lot better.

:question:
If the two choices were checking the seat or FF in a Serena, which would you all advise?

If you check the seat, how would you pad the bag?
 

TXAggieTech

Active member
I'd go with the Scenera for use in flight and on the trip. Light weight and cheap.

Otherwise I would pack clothes around the seat to pad it.

I'm thinking that other people weren't loving putting it on/off either because they have changed them on newer models.
 

InternationalMama

New member
If you really feel you can't get the True Fit on the plane then that means you probably can't get it to gate-checking (since once you're at the gate you could just take it on the plane), which means the only option would be to check it with regular luggage, in which case you'd need to package it very well. That would make it very hard to transport from long-term parking to the luggage counter. If you managed to figure out a way to do that you'd probably feel better taking it on the plane...

So given that, if it really seems like there's no way to get the True Fit on the plane (Strapping it to the stroller like the PP won't work? what about taking a roll-on and the "Traveling Toddler", does the True Fit attach to that? And he's outgrown RF or you can't afford the Avenue?) I would personally take the Radian and order a Scenera online and have it shipped directly to the one vehicle in which you can't install the Radian. That way you have an undamaged RF seat with you at your destination and you can use that hopefully as much as possible during the month and then when you can't use that you'll have the Scenera for the car you need it in. You could just leave the Scenera with whoever you are visiting. Hopefully they'll have a use for it!

How does that sound for a plan?
 

bella_1818

New member
I was able to get the carseat strapped to the stroller! Thank you so much for the idea! No idea why I couldn't have thought of that :doh: I used his old infant travel system stroller with the truefit strapped to the frame. I still have the stroller for the dog and can now get everything to the plane. I haven't used the travel system stroller in ages, so if it gets ruined from gate-check that's okay.
 

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