a travel ?, sort of.....

kidnurse · Feb 22, 2010

The kind of travel question I have is more related to the traveling of the car seat, not the kids that use it. I know that it is generally thought to be risky to check your car seat during air travel, and that there is concern of the seat being handled roughly and the integrity of the seat possibly being compromised. So, what is the difference between a car seat being checked on an air plane, and one that is being shipped either upon purchase new from an e-tailer or from a purchase say here thru the swap section?

Maedze · Feb 22, 2010

Shipped purchases are generally treated with a great deal more respect than baggage items. Baggage can easily be thrown ten feet onto hard tarmac. Shippers will lose money from retailers if they constantly break stuff, so they're much more professional with the things they handle. Airlines....just don't care

ketchupqueen · Feb 22, 2010

Also, when shipped they tend to be packed in boxes. Well-built cardboard boxes have sturdy walls that will crush and deform to take excess forces instead of the contents, protecting what's inside.

On airplanes, a thin bag, if that, is generally all the protection the seat is afforded, so the shell of the seat itself is taking those forces.

If you absolutely HAVE to check a seat, I always recommend a sturdy, thick-walled, crush-rated box, that's well-fitted to the seat and the car seat be well-padded (bubble wrap or whatever) inside it. And sturdy tape to hold it together, shipping tape or duct tape. It's no guarantee but it does give the airlines something else to crush and mangle before those forces get transferred to the seat itself.