Help with seats for flight and car

DH and I are taking our 3 kids on a flight from VA to CA. It includes 2 flights. Kids are ages 2, 5, and 7. The ILs have Toyota Avalons so we have to do 3 across.
I'm not sure what seats to use both on the flight (I use seats in the plane if possible) and at IL's. Currently DD1 uses a high back booster (Evenflo big kid).
I have a my ride, radian, Argos, scenara, true fit, and a triumph Advance. I could possibly borrow my nieces Titan if that helps.
7 year old is 41lbs, 46". 5yo is 41lbs, 43". 2yo is 27lbs and 38". Other than the scenara all kids can fit in all seats.

Help!!! What should I do?

I'd do backless boosters for the older kids and whichever seat you prefer to carry for the younger. I likely would choose the lightest.

gigi said:

I'd do backless boosters for the older kids and whichever seat you prefer to carry for the younger. I likely would choose the lightest.

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5 yo just turns 5 2 weeks before the trip and has low muscle tone and other bone issues. I'm not ok with him in a booster long term, especially a no back. We really don't have funds to buy another booster right now. I need to make what we have work for the trip.

Last year we took the radian, scenara, and my ride.

Would your in-laws be willing to chip in for a $13 literider (now called a Harmony Youth booster, I believe) from Walmart?

If so, have them pick up that for your 7yo and she's set.

I hate traveling with the radian, but you said you've done it before, so I'd take it for your 5yo and the Scenera for the 2yo if she still fits rfing AND it puzzles well next to the Radian. If not, then take whichever of your RFing seats puzzles best next to a FFing Radian.

I'd set it up so it went Literider - RFing Scenera - FFing Radian

That gives your 7yo the most room to buckle.

If your in-laws can't/won't or you don't feel comfortable asking them to chip in for the literider, you could try the same thing with the bottom of the Evenflo Big Kid (convert it to backless mode). I'd try the combo in a car (see if you can find an Avalon of the correct generation if possible) to be absolutely sure because I don't know how the width of the Big Kid compares to the width of the Literider. I just know that the Literider is very narrow. If you go this route, make sure to take the shoulder belt adjuster that came with your booster. My DD is 45" with a long torso and still needs that shoulder belt adjuster when riding in a backless, so I bet your 46" child will too.

If Radian, Scenera, and MyRide worked last year (all independently tight) and the kids still fit those seats, then you could always just do that again.

lanwenyi said:

Would your in-laws be willing to chip in for a $13 literider (now called a Harmony Youth booster, I believe) from Walmart? If so, have them pick up that for your 7yo and she's set. I hate traveling with the radian, but you said you've done it before, so I'd take it for your 5yo and the Scenera for the 2yo if she still fits rfing AND it puzzles well next to the Radian. If Radian, Scenera, and MyRide worked last year (all independently tight) and the kids still fit those seats, then you could always just do that again.

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I had thought about having them pick up a seat or we could order it and send it to their house.
The radian is heavy but I'm so fearful of a 3 across without it.
2 yo doesn't fit RF in the scenara I don't think. She has been sitting FF for the last month because of battles getting her in. Of 6 kids in the car she was the only one RF and she hated it so I flipped her. I know less safe but it wasn't worth the fights and trips she spent screaming the entire time.

The problem with the seats we took last year was one of the older 2 used the scenara and they have now both gone over 40lbs so they can't use it anymore. My ride is pink so 5yo DS refuses to sit in it. Also 7yo just moved to a booster in April so now pitches a fit about a harness.

I think the best bet is radian, scenara or my ride, and a booster. Worst case we bring our booster but I have no idea how to do that without checking it.

jewlsvern said:

I think the best bet is radian, scenara or my ride, and a booster. Worst case we bring our booster but I have no idea how to do that without checking it.

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Two options for the booster:
Have in-laws buy a $13 literider (called the Harmony Youth booster and only avail at Wal-Mart). It's a great backless booster and VERY narrow, so puzzles well in a 3-across.
OR
Take your Big Kid apart and have your 7yo carry the backless part on as her "personal item". She can store it under the seat in front of her or in the overhead bin. Be sure to bring the strap for adjusting the shoulder belt.
My 6yo travels in a backless booster (bubblebum), so I'm comfortable with that, but if for some reason you are not and you want to bring the back, pack the back in one of your checked bags well-padded by clothing. (Bring the shoulder belt adjuster anyway just in case your luggage gets lost, she'll still be able to use the backless part until your luggage is found.)

For your 5yo:
Lug the Radian OR Lug the Triumph Advance (if it puzzles well with the Scenera when both are FFing). The Triumph Advance will give your 7yo more room to buckle.

If the 2yo is FFing anyway, just bring the Scenera.

So we bought tickets today and are having issues getting seats together. I'm thinking of bringing a harness seat for 7yo so they have to put her with us. she would freak out if she had to be by herself.

So if no booster what should I bring instead?

Radian, triumph Advance, scenera

That said, it's highly unlikely that you won't be able to sit together. What is likely is that it will be one parent with 1 kid and one parent with 2 kids, perhaps in different parts of the plane. Talk nicely to the gate agent and no 7yo will be sitting by herself.

On two of our flights this summer, they had nothing left except middle seats and pay upgrades, so I left our seats unassigned. When we got to the airport, I checked in at the desk and let them know I had 2 small children who couldn't sit by themselves. For one flight, the desk agent simply assigned our seats (ones I couldn't self assign but were not upgrades). For the other flight, there was nothing left but upgrades so they told us to talk to the gate agent. We ended up in row 3, all together, once the gate agent approved the free upgrade bc she wasn't going to put a 5 or 6 yo on their own.

I don't think you are in any danger of having your kid separated from you on the flight until she is old enough to fly as an unaccompanied minor without paying an unaccompanied minor fee.

on my phone, please forgive my autocorrect

jewlsvern said:

So we bought tickets today and are having issues getting seats together. I'm thinking of bringing a harness seat for 7yo so they have to put her with us. she would freak out if she had to be by herself. So if no booster what should I bring instead?

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It they do separate you, just make sure you give air sickness bags to the people sitting around your children and tell them sweetly that the child gets sick when flying.

bubbaray said:

It they do separate you, just make sure you give air sickness bags to the people sitting around your children and tell them sweetly that the child gets sick when flying.

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Lol! While this is hilarious, I would only do this if someone was being a butthead about it.

jewlsvern said:

So we bought tickets today and are having issues getting seats together. I'm thinking of bringing a harness seat for 7yo so they have to put her with us. she would freak out if she had to be by herself.

So if no booster what should I bring instead?

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I believe in humanity...someone will switch so you can be with your child.

lanwenyi said:

I don't think you are in any danger of having your kid separated from you on the flight until she is old enough to fly as an unaccompanied minor without paying an unaccompanied minor fee.

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I actually had serious problems with this flying alone with my 9 month old. Tickets were booked at the last minute so I couldn't get seats together, but didn't think it would be a problem because who would separate me from a 9 month old? USAir apparently. Ticket agent said I would have to talk to the gate agent for each leg. On one leg the gate agent got us together, but gave us BC so no window and didn't believe me when I said car seats had to go by the window. Then I had the stewardess on board yell at me for not booking a window when I had a car seat. On another leg, the gate agent completely refused to help me. Said it wasn't his job to rearrange seats and that the airline had no obligation to move other passengers just so I could sit next to my child. The stewardess on board was livid when I told her. She got us seats together. And I haven't flown USAir since!

We had a very similar experience with US Airways. Our flight was rescheduled shortly before travel, and we were assigned 4 non-adjacent aisle seats for 2 adults and 2 kids in carseats.

Everyone passed the buck: I called a few days beforehand and the telephone agent said to get seats re-assigned at the airport check-in desk; the check-in staff said to have it done at the gate; the gate agent said to do it onboard with the help of the flight attendants; and the flight attendants were busy with other things.

We just had to physically occupy adjacent seats and tell their rightful occupants to go sit elsewhere in our assigned seats. Thankfully people were kind enough to comply.

Just like in your case, the gate agent told me she was "too busy" to reassign seats. She also stated that carseats could go in aisle seats, and argued with me when I told her that goes against FAA policy and US Airways policy.

I wrote a letter of complaint, which got no response, then I filed a consumer complaint with USDOT Air Consumer Affairs. A few days later, sweet-voiced lady from US Airways called me and expressed her regret that this happened, but she never understood the real issue, which is that small children need their parents nearby for basic care and in the event of an evacuation or oxygen mask deployment. It's not the same as asking to be re-seated so that you can chat with your buddy.

ngs215 said:

I actually had serious problems with this flying alone with my 9 month old. Tickets were booked at the last minute so I couldn't get seats together, but didn't think it would be a problem because who would separate me from a 9 month old? USAir apparently. Ticket agent said I would have to talk to the gate agent for each leg. On one leg the gate agent got us together, but gave us BC so no window and didn't believe me when I said car seats had to go by the window. Then I had the stewardess on board yell at me for not booking a window when I had a car seat. On another leg, the gate agent completely refused to help me. Said it wasn't his job to rearrange seats and that the airline had no obligation to move other passengers just so I could sit next to my child. The stewardess on board was livid when I told her. She got us seats together. And I haven't flown USAir since!

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WOW! I believe you, but I've never had that experience. We've had separated seats on 4 different airlines: United, Delta, Allegiant, and, most recently, JetBlue. We've never had a problem getting re-seated by either the ticket agent at the check-in desk or the gate agent. We have been separated into 2 groups (DS and me in one part of the plane and DD and DH in another OR me with both kids and DH by himself), but they have always made sure the kids were never by themselves.

I've also been assigned non-window seats with rfing carseats and been told not to worry b/c the flight attendant would just make the window passenger move. I always felt bad about that and would have preferred to be assigned a window seat, but sure enough, they made me take the window and told the passenger to live with it and take the aisle (since I was in the middle next to my child) or s/he could be re-seated to any available seat in the same class (which was almost always only middle seats). The only time they took a re-seat was when there was another open aisle seat next to an empty middle seat. I didn't blame them. I would have moved too.

If I'd had an experience like yours, I'd never fly that airline again either. Bad experiences is why I never fly AirTran anymore (I can only hope it gets better now that they are merging with Southwest). A gate agent saying its not their job to solve seating problems . . . I'd play sweet and kind, being calm but insistent, while inside seething and being sure to note their name, the time and gate number. As soon as I got on the plane, I'd write down the interaction as close to verbatim as I could. Then when I got home, write a letter of complaint to the airline. Solving seating issues is EXACTLY one of the roles of a gate agent. My sister and her service dog have to be reseated by a gate agent EVERY time she flies. She can't select the seats that she is REQUIRED to fly in because she has a service dog. She cant even upgrade to them, so the gate agent has to reseat her and her party every time she flies.

I'm really confused by the issue. Is it that people are trying to save fees by not reserving seats?

The airlines we fly allow reserving seats for a fee.

Just curious

We are flying American one way and united the other. On united we could get seats but on American there are no seats. They have free seats to choose or the more legroom seats and business seats that they either charge $14, $28, or $50 a seat. With 5 seats we cant afford that extra cost. Also not worth that amount for more legroom. My little ones don't care or need it. They usually hold a few rows back and then release then day of. I called yesterday and was told they will give me seats when we check in at the airport and they should keep us together. The problem is 2 adults and 3 kids. I can see then trying to put my 7yo somewhere by herself.

On one flight it is 2 seats aisle 3 seats. I have the 2 seats booked and the window and aisle across from them. I'm in the aisle in the row in front. I'm pretty sure I can convince the person sitting next to my kids to move one row in front so I can sit with my 2 kids.

bubbaray said:

I'm really confused by the issue. Is it that people are trying to save fees by not reserving seats?

The airlines we fly allow reserving seats for a fee.

Just curious

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I can't answer for anyone else, but for me, when I flew United, Delta, and JetBlue, I could select seats for free, but there were no seats available together that were still "free". If I wanted to select seats together, I would have had to pay to select seats. I would have had to put all 3, 4, or 5 of us (depending on which set of flights we're talking about) in middle seats on different rows very far apart OR pay $10-40 per person per segment to select seats in the "plus" section (x4 people x up to 6 segments). Only once did we get a free upgrade (one direction on JetBlue where we were moved to sit with my sister and her service dog), the other times we were seated within the same class of service (the "free seats") that had been greyed out by the airline so that no one could select them during the booking process or in seats that were vacated by people who purchased upgrades or were given free upgrades at the airport due to their status with the airline.

For the Allegiant flights, any seat selection costs money, which varies by length of flight. Mine were roughly $45 per person/segment (for us with 4 people and 4 segments, that is simply not going to happen) OR you can select seats when you check in. I work and could not check in right at the 24 hour mark. I checked in as soon as I got home from work (roughly 20 hours before the flight). By then, there were no sets of 4 seats together. I got 2 seats together, but couldn't get the other 2 anywhere together, so I had to have the Gate agent put DH and DD together. On the way back, I checked in exactly 24 hours in advance and got seats 2 in front and 2 behind the other without issue.

See I can see why other people get upset. If I had paid to pre book/reserve a seat (which I always do even if alone), I would NOT move to accommodate a family who didn't want to pay. Why should people with kids get out of paying a fee?? I don't like the fees but just consider them the cost of flying.

See I'm not asking people who paid for seats to move. I either need them to give me blocked out seats or adjust for seats of equal value. I have an aisle to trade for an aisle. On the other flight all that is available are paid seats. I don't want those seats. Move someone else there because there aren't enough seats available for everyone who bought a tickets if they don't use them.

bubbaray said:

See I can see why other people get upset. If I had paid to pre book/reserve a seat (which I always do even if alone), I would NOT move to accommodate a family who didn't want to pay. Why should people with kids get out of paying a fee?? I don't like the fees but just consider them the cost of flying.

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I think this is an oversimplification. In our case, we originally had reserved seats, but our flight was cancelled and the flight on which we were rebooked had very few seats available, and none adjacent. It wasn't an issue of trying to avoid fees.

In the US, DOT/FAA policy requires airlines to re-seat passengers if there are issues of handicap accessibility or safety. Airlines also routinely move people around for weight & balance and other operational issues. Children are also entitled by FAA policy to be re-seated (in same class of service) if their carseat isn't compatible with their assigned seat.

If someone pays for a particular seat but then gets moved, their fee is refunded. Airlines are very clear that nothing is guaranteed and that you may need to be moved for these or other reasons.