My family is planning a trip that will include flying and renting a car. We have a Britax Blvd. and Britax Frontier 85. One seat can go in my daughter's seat as we will be paying for one seat but not the baby's. I am worried about the safety of the second seat but more worried about renting a carseat when we get there (quality and whatnot). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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Air travel with my current carseats
- Thread starter pumpkin
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i would be worried, as well, about checking that car seat. It's not a cheap seat! We bought a Safety 1st Avenue for when we air travel and need to rent a car. It has worked out great b/c it was, relatively, cheap and it's super light. Also comes with a carrying case, which is super handy.
Before we bought the SF, we did rent a car seat thru the car rental agency. It was a Cosco Scenara, which is a good seat. It was just gross and so dirty! I wiped it down with Lysol wipes before I would even let dd sit in it. I still cringed the whole way to our resort. Once we got there, I tore the seat apart and washed the cover. After that, I felt so much better with her in it. So, besides the fact that it was dirty, at least it was a good seat. Now...I never knew if that seat had ever been in an accident or was damaged in any way.
Either way, you're risking a seat. You're risking your Britax damaged by checking it or you're risking a 'not so good' rental. Good luck!
Before we bought the SF, we did rent a car seat thru the car rental agency. It was a Cosco Scenara, which is a good seat. It was just gross and so dirty! I wiped it down with Lysol wipes before I would even let dd sit in it. I still cringed the whole way to our resort. Once we got there, I tore the seat apart and washed the cover. After that, I felt so much better with her in it. So, besides the fact that it was dirty, at least it was a good seat. Now...I never knew if that seat had ever been in an accident or was damaged in any way.
Either way, you're risking a seat. You're risking your Britax damaged by checking it or you're risking a 'not so good' rental. Good luck!
The baby should have a seat as well, and then bring the Boulevard on board. Otherwise, I agree, get a cheap seat. That way you'll have a cheap piece of trash on the other end and not an expensive one.
Or bring the original box the seat came in and gate check it and hope it doesn't get forgotten or lost (we've lost gate checked luggage).
I've rented seats. Ewwwwwwww. I'm sure it was expired, it was dirty, I have no idea who peed and pooped in it, it may have been in 20 crashes. It had no manual, no base (infant seat). That was after they brought out a booster seat for my 10 week old and I sent them back for something rear facing with a harness.
So if you don't bring a seat on with you, since the airline cannot guarantee the safety of even a gate checked seat, I'd buy a cheap one, use it if you dare, and throw it out when you get home. Or buy a ticket, recognize that babies are expensive from before they're born, and use your seat on board. That's safest for baby, and safest for the seat. I personally like a Traveling Toddler to get the seat through the airport because I don't like checking luggage, so I have a rolling bag with me at all times. If you check luggage, a gogo kidz or a luggage cart may work better for getting each of your seats through the airport.
Wendy
Or bring the original box the seat came in and gate check it and hope it doesn't get forgotten or lost (we've lost gate checked luggage).
I've rented seats. Ewwwwwwww. I'm sure it was expired, it was dirty, I have no idea who peed and pooped in it, it may have been in 20 crashes. It had no manual, no base (infant seat). That was after they brought out a booster seat for my 10 week old and I sent them back for something rear facing with a harness.
So if you don't bring a seat on with you, since the airline cannot guarantee the safety of even a gate checked seat, I'd buy a cheap one, use it if you dare, and throw it out when you get home. Or buy a ticket, recognize that babies are expensive from before they're born, and use your seat on board. That's safest for baby, and safest for the seat. I personally like a Traveling Toddler to get the seat through the airport because I don't like checking luggage, so I have a rolling bag with me at all times. If you check luggage, a gogo kidz or a luggage cart may work better for getting each of your seats through the airport.
Wendy
How old are your children?
If you absolutely can't get baby a seat (in our family, if we can't afford a seat for everyone-- we can't afford to fly; you might consider that rule in the future) does your older still fit in the Boulevard, and would she be able to use a Ride Safer Travel Vest at your destination? If so she could use the Boulevard on the plane, carry on the RSTV, and when you get there, baby in Boulevard, older child in RSTV.
If you absolutely can't get baby a seat (in our family, if we can't afford a seat for everyone-- we can't afford to fly; you might consider that rule in the future) does your older still fit in the Boulevard, and would she be able to use a Ride Safer Travel Vest at your destination? If so she could use the Boulevard on the plane, carry on the RSTV, and when you get there, baby in Boulevard, older child in RSTV.
I never have scrimped on my children, nor ever debated cost vs. safety. Not considering purchasing an infant seat originally was not considered since I planned on nursing her/holding her during the flight and I just understood children under two travel this way.Now, I have read a bit more prior to returning to this thread and I can admit that perhaps convention is not the best choice for child and car seat safety. Still, I am not sure if the tone was appropriate. If I did not have the resources (time this evening being one of them) to investigate certain topics independently attitudes like this can be very off putting instead motivating towards safer choices. Your helpfulness in the past was part of the reason I turned to this forum to be educated.
The more I read about it, the more I am inclined to agree with your first statement. I have not flown since I was pregnant so, like everything with kids, it is a constant evolution of what you used to know vs what you learn to be the best.
I figure if I would go with two seats, the point is moot but what the heck is the RSTV? Or better put, since now I am just curious, how does someone use that safely in lieu of a carseat? Perhaps things like that are the answer to how people get around in mass transit in cities (I have often wondered how that is handled for those who do not even own cars). I might feel okay using the RSTV driving around a parking lot but not on the road!
Are you kidding? The RSTV is great!
I own one, and feel completely safe with my kids riding in it. The head excursion and several other numbers are BETTER than the legal limits, they are one of the ONLY TWO brands to publish those numbers by the way. Instead of dispersing the forces of a crash over just 5 points of the body like a 5 point harness, it disperses the forces over the whole torso! This is a very good thing. It's crash tested, completely safe, and a member here recently had a child in a crash in one who was completely unharmed.
You can read more about their testing and designs on the Safe Traffic System website: http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/
(Of course, that's more for people who use taxis or need it for other situations-- I use it when I put 3 kids in the tiny back seat of my mom's Sentra, to fit them all! Mass transit, such as buses and trains, is actually the safest way to travel on land, despite the lack of seatbelts. You can't use this without either a lap/shoulder belt, with or without tether, or a lap belt plus tether.)
I own one, and feel completely safe with my kids riding in it. The head excursion and several other numbers are BETTER than the legal limits, they are one of the ONLY TWO brands to publish those numbers by the way. Instead of dispersing the forces of a crash over just 5 points of the body like a 5 point harness, it disperses the forces over the whole torso! This is a very good thing. It's crash tested, completely safe, and a member here recently had a child in a crash in one who was completely unharmed.
You can read more about their testing and designs on the Safe Traffic System website: http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/
(Of course, that's more for people who use taxis or need it for other situations-- I use it when I put 3 kids in the tiny back seat of my mom's Sentra, to fit them all! Mass transit, such as buses and trains, is actually the safest way to travel on land, despite the lack of seatbelts. You can't use this without either a lap/shoulder belt, with or without tether, or a lap belt plus tether.)
First, I apologize. We're heading cross country tomorrow, so this is at the forefront of my mind as we pack and get ready to go. And it seems that it's come up a lot this week in different places, so you got the brunt of my frustrations.
As KQ said, the RSTV is a fantastic seat. It's a wearable five point harness, but due to its nature, it's got very good numbers. It's a bit annoying, which is why it's not recommended for daily use all the time, but it's great for travel. We're actually selling ours this weekend because Piper's outgrown it by torso height. We'll be traveling with a backless booster for her. Even though the backless cost me $15, I've had it for a few years, I own a bungee cord with which to strap it to a suitcase, I'm still tempted to spend the $130 on a bigger RSTV for her. That's how awesome it is to travel with. I'd go cross country with that for Piper, and Laine's Coccoro on a Traveling Toddler. Two seats with me at all times for the unforeseen times (like when the subway station in NYC was closed, so we hopped in a cab to JFK).
I'd see if you can buy a ticket for your baby. Call the airline. Some may offer an infant in seat discount, many don't. But if you're close to the travel date they may be happy to sell you the seat for nearly anything just to get something for it. Or if there are empty seats (a rarity nowadays), you can install the seat for your baby without needing a ticket. But that's not a guarantee. And these days, it's not at all likely. But with an RSTV and a Boulevard, you can put the RSTV in your suitcase (it's not used on a plane) and the Boulevard on board. If you can get an empty seat or a ticket your baby rides in the Boulevard. If you cannot, your daughter rides in it (if you install it forward facing, ask for a seatbelt extender so you can uninstall it at the other end). Then at your destination you put your baby in the Boulevard and your daughter in the RSTV.
http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/
You can see their crash tests there. Compare them with harnessed and boostered crash tests you can find on youtube. You'll see the differences.
Now, the downsides. You must "reinstall" the seat every time. Even if you don't remove it completely from the car, you need to rethread at least two parts of it. So it's not just a plop a child in and buckle and go. You work at it a bit every time. Every time she gets out of the car you need to redo it. And it's got a bit of a learning curve. It's not like a booster where you just hand it to someone and they buckle it in. Or a carseat where pretty much most people know how to buckle a child in. Piper learned very quickly how to talk people through it, though.
Errrm, that's about it on the downsides. The upsides. It's portable, it's light, it's foldable, it's got great numbers, it doesn't expire, you can use it with a lapbelt only (if you have a top tether), it's narrow.
I got ours for travel, but I used it a lot more for a tight three across situation than I did for travel. Piper took it to school with her in my last weeks of pregnancy in case I needed to call someone random to take her home for us. She thought it looked cool, and liked to wear it.
Definitely research your options a bit, see what you can do. If you cannot buy a ticket this time, I'm sure you will next, and you won't end up in an awkward and potentially unsafe situation having to deal with the tough choice of checking or renting seats.
Wendy
As KQ said, the RSTV is a fantastic seat. It's a wearable five point harness, but due to its nature, it's got very good numbers. It's a bit annoying, which is why it's not recommended for daily use all the time, but it's great for travel. We're actually selling ours this weekend because Piper's outgrown it by torso height. We'll be traveling with a backless booster for her. Even though the backless cost me $15, I've had it for a few years, I own a bungee cord with which to strap it to a suitcase, I'm still tempted to spend the $130 on a bigger RSTV for her. That's how awesome it is to travel with. I'd go cross country with that for Piper, and Laine's Coccoro on a Traveling Toddler. Two seats with me at all times for the unforeseen times (like when the subway station in NYC was closed, so we hopped in a cab to JFK).
I'd see if you can buy a ticket for your baby. Call the airline. Some may offer an infant in seat discount, many don't. But if you're close to the travel date they may be happy to sell you the seat for nearly anything just to get something for it. Or if there are empty seats (a rarity nowadays), you can install the seat for your baby without needing a ticket. But that's not a guarantee. And these days, it's not at all likely. But with an RSTV and a Boulevard, you can put the RSTV in your suitcase (it's not used on a plane) and the Boulevard on board. If you can get an empty seat or a ticket your baby rides in the Boulevard. If you cannot, your daughter rides in it (if you install it forward facing, ask for a seatbelt extender so you can uninstall it at the other end). Then at your destination you put your baby in the Boulevard and your daughter in the RSTV.
http://www.safetrafficsystem.com/
You can see their crash tests there. Compare them with harnessed and boostered crash tests you can find on youtube. You'll see the differences.
Now, the downsides. You must "reinstall" the seat every time. Even if you don't remove it completely from the car, you need to rethread at least two parts of it. So it's not just a plop a child in and buckle and go. You work at it a bit every time. Every time she gets out of the car you need to redo it. And it's got a bit of a learning curve. It's not like a booster where you just hand it to someone and they buckle it in. Or a carseat where pretty much most people know how to buckle a child in. Piper learned very quickly how to talk people through it, though.
Errrm, that's about it on the downsides. The upsides. It's portable, it's light, it's foldable, it's got great numbers, it doesn't expire, you can use it with a lapbelt only (if you have a top tether), it's narrow.
I got ours for travel, but I used it a lot more for a tight three across situation than I did for travel. Piper took it to school with her in my last weeks of pregnancy in case I needed to call someone random to take her home for us. She thought it looked cool, and liked to wear it.
Definitely research your options a bit, see what you can do. If you cannot buy a ticket this time, I'm sure you will next, and you won't end up in an awkward and potentially unsafe situation having to deal with the tough choice of checking or renting seats.
Wendy
They do look quite convient and it almost seems that it makes more sense to carry one of these to travel than a car seat....though I would think a car seat should provide more safety against side impact, right?
No worries. I probably should have PMed you so forgive me for getting a bit touchy
I had a tough day and may have given you some of my frustrations in response.Would you consider it safer than traveling with her current Frontier 85? I would not think so, but I am also worried about both of the seats fitting. I am not sure what car type to rent!
leighi123
Active member
As far lap children go - I have flown on well over 200 flights in my life, and my dad got to "1million miles" flying years ago, and still travels a crazy amount (he got back from Abu Dabi Last week, and just left this morning for Hong Kong/China/England and will be back monday, and then leaves again Nov 2nd for another round the world trip!)
Neither of us has EVER been on a flight where having a lap child would be very scary/dangerous. Yes we've been on flights with tones of turbulence that left half the passengers screaming/puking, but the way that the plane moves in the air, as long as you are sitting down, your kid isnt going to fly out of your arms or anything crazy. And even if you were worried about turbulence, you can use a baby carrier for during the flight itself (not takeoff/landing). The only time it might make a difference is in an actual crash. Which is very very rare. I've been in one emergency landing (I was 3 and in a seat, my sister was a newborn and on the floor coved with the flight attendants jackets), and besides the 'bump' when the plane stopped, it was still not "people flying all over" or anything crazy like that (wing flaps froze and we had to run into sand bags to stop the plane)
Anyway, for your situation, I would choose a seat for your older child and install that on the plane, and the other I would get a bag for and gate check it. Be sure to look out the window and see if they have stairs or a ramp/chute, If they have a chute or ramp, ask them to "walk the seat down" (i.e. carry it instead of throw it down the slide to crash land on the tarmac), tell them its "very fragile"
You could buy a cheap seat and use it for one of the kiddos, and if you do, that would be the one I'd gate check, and if you get a Scenara, you can leave it in the plastic bag thing it comes in (or box... mine came in a box though I usually see them in bags).
Or get the RSTV and bring one seat on-board for your older child to sit in for the flight, which you will then use for the baby in the car.
Either way, a wheely cart for carrying the carseat is AWESOME, with my Radian I can wheel it right down the aisle (dont think that works for wider seats), its really nice for in the airport and ds can ride in it if we are in a hurry, or I put the carry-on bags on top so I can hold his hand.
Neither of us has EVER been on a flight where having a lap child would be very scary/dangerous. Yes we've been on flights with tones of turbulence that left half the passengers screaming/puking, but the way that the plane moves in the air, as long as you are sitting down, your kid isnt going to fly out of your arms or anything crazy. And even if you were worried about turbulence, you can use a baby carrier for during the flight itself (not takeoff/landing). The only time it might make a difference is in an actual crash. Which is very very rare. I've been in one emergency landing (I was 3 and in a seat, my sister was a newborn and on the floor coved with the flight attendants jackets), and besides the 'bump' when the plane stopped, it was still not "people flying all over" or anything crazy like that (wing flaps froze and we had to run into sand bags to stop the plane)
Anyway, for your situation, I would choose a seat for your older child and install that on the plane, and the other I would get a bag for and gate check it. Be sure to look out the window and see if they have stairs or a ramp/chute, If they have a chute or ramp, ask them to "walk the seat down" (i.e. carry it instead of throw it down the slide to crash land on the tarmac), tell them its "very fragile"
You could buy a cheap seat and use it for one of the kiddos, and if you do, that would be the one I'd gate check, and if you get a Scenara, you can leave it in the plastic bag thing it comes in (or box... mine came in a box though I usually see them in bags).
Or get the RSTV and bring one seat on-board for your older child to sit in for the flight, which you will then use for the baby in the car.
Either way, a wheely cart for carrying the carseat is AWESOME, with my Radian I can wheel it right down the aisle (dont think that works for wider seats), its really nice for in the airport and ds can ride in it if we are in a hurry, or I put the carry-on bags on top so I can hold his hand.
Insomuch as it has a shell, yes. I generally put Piper in the middle when possible, but if she was outboard I didn't stress.
I would consider it safer than checking a seat. Otherwise, they're both five point harnesses. I'd consider it a lot EASIER than traveling with the Frontier, but I don't know about safer.
We just sold ours on this trip.
It was much easier to travel with that than a backless booster for Piper. Though the backless was easier for others to use (there were times when she was in cabs with aunts and cousins, but not us). Wendy
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