Which seats to bring on plane?

Stresch

New member
We are flying cross country in two weeks. We are renting a car as well. We'll be gone for a long weekend. Sanna is four and 31 pounds. Karl is 18 months and 24(ish) pounds.

We have 2 Marathons which I would rather leave at home, 1 Roundabout (probably fits either kid), 1 Scenera (definitely fits either kid), and 1 KeyFit which Karl amazingly still fits in.

How hard is it to install the Keyfit without the base?

Is there some sort of wheelie thing that you recommend to help carry the seats through the airport? I know there is the GoGoKidz, but that's kind of pricey.

Anything else to consider?
 
ADS

aeormsby

New member
I would probably do either the Scenera & Keyfit or Scenera & Roundabout. If you're not comfortable with using the Keyfit without the base I'd bring the Roundabout for the LO and use the Scenera for your DD (will she be FF?). We've used a regular wire luggage cart with the carseats strapped to it, much cheaper than a GoGo kidz.

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Stresch

New member
Thanks. She will be forward facing. She's too tall to rearface in the Scenera and is pushing the weight limit on the Marathon.
 

DahliaRW

New member
The scenera and the keyfit should work well. Way easier to travel without the base (though I've only done it with the SS1). If you bring a stroller, you can put the keyfit in it, then stack the scenera on top (and bags in the seat or in the basket under) to get through the airport. Then you don't have to buy anything and you can just wear the baby through the airport.
 

RJB78

CPST Instructor
I just took a Marathon for my 4 year old, and it was very difficult to unbuckle on the plane, which is too bad because I traveled on two planes down and two planes back - that's four times it was a pain in my butt. I had no access to the belt path through the cover, and airplane buckles obviously don't have a push button release like a car's lap belt, so it was tricky to flip up the release on the belt with no room to do so. I wouldn't go with a Marathon again.

We used the [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Toddler-Seat-Travel-Accessory/dp/B000JHN3AS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1270228523&sr=8-1"]Traveling Toddler[/ame] through the airport, which worked excellently.
 

christi2705

New member
I'd take whatever seats you are most comfortable with. I've flown numerous times with 2 marathons and it was fine. Using a seat belt extender for the ff seat will make it alot easier to unbuckle. To get them through the airport we just bungee them both to our stroller and then I carry ydd in a sling/carrier and let odd walk with a backpack leash.
 

aeormsby

New member
I just took a Marathon for my 4 year old, and it was very difficult to unbuckle on the plane, which is too bad because I traveled on two planes down and two planes back - that's four times it was a pain in my butt. I had no access to the belt path through the cover, and airplane buckles obviously don't have a push button release like a car's lap belt, so it was tricky to flip up the release on the belt with no room to do so. I wouldn't go with a Marathon again.

The trick with the Marathon on the plane is to recline the plane's seat when installing, then flip the female buckle 180 degrees. Don't tighten all the way, pulling the seatback upright will snug it up, then recline again to unbuckle and there should be some slack so you can get to the buckle.
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
The trick with the Marathon on the plane is to recline the plane's seat when installing, then flip the female buckle 180 degrees. Don't tighten all the way, pulling the seatback upright will snug it up, then recline again to unbuckle and there should be some slack so you can get to the buckle.

You can also request a seatbelt extended from the flight attendant. That puts the buckles outside the beltpath so you have enough room to lift the latch and release the buckle.

I've done the Marathon on a luggage cart method, too. I used a bungee cord, but played around with it a little more after our trip and it worked to just use the LATCH connectors. You can also stack the two seats on the luggage cart.
 

RJB78

CPST Instructor
The trick with the Marathon on the plane is to recline the plane's seat when installing, then flip the female buckle 180 degrees. Don't tighten all the way, pulling the seatback upright will snug it up, then recline again to unbuckle and there should be some slack so you can get to the buckle.

Hmmm...I did recline the seat to uninstall it, but that didn't seem to help. The buckle was not flipped, though. Luckily, I think I'm done with seats on planes anyway. My youngest is 4, and the next time we fly, we'll use the RSTV. Thanks for the tip, though!
 

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