Flying with a booster vs. having one at destination.

mom2juliarose

New member
We're flying to my hometown in NY for a whirlwind 4-day trip for a family reunion in July. I'll be about 5 months pregnant then, and there's a possibility DD and I will be going alone (but DH is trying to get the time off).

We're booster training DD soon, and I was hoping to use a booster for her during the trip. The thing is, I can't decide if I should bring one of ours (put the back in checked luggage and carry the base on the plane), or if I should just buy one (Walmart has the Annette HBB for $40 with free site-to-store shipping) and keep it there. On one hand, it'd be nice to no longer need to fly with a seat for DD... especially when we'll have a baby with a seat of it's own to bring with us for future flights. On the other hand, I'm not sure how often it would get used by the time DD outgrew it, as we only make it to NY every 12 months to a year.

WWYD? I'm leaning towards buying one and having it shipped to them, my dad assembling it so it's ready when we land, and just leaving it there for future use. They have the storage, as far as I know.

Is there any possible down side to not having the seat with us ourselves??
 
ADS

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
The only concern would be if for some reason your dad couldn't meet you, or you were suddenly diverted due to weather to another city and you ended up renting a car and driving yourself. I've had it happen where Nathan did not meet me at the airport and I had to take a cab, and luckily I had a seat for Piper and we could do that.

Wendy
 

babyherder

Well-known member
If you do decide to get one shipped to your family you can always bring it back with you so she can get some more use out of it. It helps with luggage on this trip if not future trips. Although Wendy makes a good point about keeping the seat with the child.
 

NVMBR02

New member
I sent a booster to my dad's house for when we travel there. Of course in my situations I almost always travel alone with the kids and I have 2 other seats to cart back and forth. We have been diverted into one of the other airports a couple of times but my dad (or sister) has always been able to pick me up as the airports are all about equal distance from my dad's house.
 

mom2juliarose

New member
Thanks for the input. My parents told me they have room at their storage space to store it if we leave it there. For $40 even to use it maybe 4 times over 4 years feels worth it to me. I know diverting might be an issue, but we've never had an issue. And my parents live about 2 minutes from the airport, so getting to us with the booster (which we'll use in our rental car) shouldn't be an issue.

Still, I've got time to think it over.

Thanks!
 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
I'd probably do it. If you get diverted there are usually places within walking distance you can stay, if not you might find some kind soul to send to the store with $20 for a Harmony LiteRider.
 
Other possible option, esp. if you travel often or would like your DD to have something a bit more secure than a booster, is to get a RideSafer vest for your DD - it'll fit easily in your luggage and since it has no expiry date, the bean could use it later. Also it can be handy to keep in the car for those times when you need to give another kid a ride home (mine has been used a *lot* for that reason - I just keep it top tethered and buckled in the rear-center of my Civic, between my DDs' HBBs and it takes up almost no space when it's not in use)
 

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