Flying with 2 Carseats, 1 Adult

ngs215

Member
I am trying to figure out the logistics of a cross-country move for our family. Would it be allowed/safe for me to fly by myself with 2 kids in car seats? Kids are 6 months and 2.5.

The largest plane that flies into our local airport is 2 aisle 2. So it would be DD, me, aisle, stranger, DS. I don't like that at all. Any thoughts or suggestions?
 
ADS

aept

New member
If you forward-face DS on the plane and he has a low profile car seat such as the radian, you *might* be allowed to have his seat installed on an aisle.
I can't say for sure, but I flew with a radian and was going to install it on the window seat, but the flight attendant saw the seat and how "low profile" it was and she suggested I put my oldest child (7, no car seat) at the window, then my 23-month old center (FF) and me on the aisle. (It was a three seater row.)
No guarantees, of course. I'm sure it might just depend on the flight attendant and airline and car seat. But I know if I was the random stranger assigned to sit next to your two year old I would rather have him/her on the aisle and accessible to you (and slightly "blocking me in" rather than being in your way!
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
The parent/guardian needs to be able to remove the child from the harness without blocking the exit of other passengers, so even putting him in the window seat across the aisle might not work because you'd still have to reach across or stand in the aisle to get him out. Honestly, though, this issue isn't addressed clearly in the FAA guidelines regarding car seats.
 

jjordan

Moderator
How far would you have to go to get to a larger airport? How feasible would it be to have another adult fly with you?

You might try calling the airline and/or the airport to see what they say.
 

ngs215

Member
How far would you have to go to get to a larger airport? How feasible would it be to have another adult fly with you? You might try calling the airline and/or the airport to see what they say.

It is 2 hours on one end to a bigger airport, and I have still gotten 2x2 planes there, so I would have to watch when booking. And it would be an hour on the other end too judging by the size of the airport there. I think driving might be the better choice unless I can get someone to fly with us because even if the airline allows it, I don't think I am comfortable being separated from one of my kids like that.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Our closest airports are a little over an hour away, so driving two hours to an airport doesn't seem bad to me. I'd probably do that and just make sure that when the flight is booked, the airplane has three seats together for you. Driving two hours to a bigger airport seems like a small price to pay to avoid driving all the way across the country alone with two kids!
 

cantabdad

New member
You have the right to travel with more than one child in a carseat. Whether you and your kids are comfortable sitting apart is of course a different story.

It's up to the airline to decide how to seat you all appropriately. FAA's official guidance on the topic (see below, excerpted from Advisory Circular 120-87B) gives a fair amount of leeway as long as "good judgment" is used. It will really depend on the seating layout and the opinion of the flight attendants, and this is a longstanding grey area, so it's hard to say what they will decide.

I would not bother calling the airline, because the phone reservations folks tend to know very little about operational details like this. If you send a specific question by e-mail, then there's a chance you will get an intelligent answer.

Seatguru is a great website for looking up the seating configuration of a flight, so that you can see your options for different flights and airports.

FAA: "TRAVELING WITH MORE THAN ONE CHILD. In the event a parent/guardian is traveling with more than one child in a CRS or is traveling with several small children, only one of whom is occupying a CRS, good judgment should be used regarding placement of the CRSs As long as these conditions below are met, the CRS could be placed in a seat other than a window seat. At a minimum:
• The CRS should be placed so it does not block any passengers (including the parent/guardian) egress to the aisle used to evacuate the aircraft, and
• The CRS should be placed so the parent/guardian can reach the child in the CRS to release and evacuate with the child, should an emergency evacuation be necessary."
 

kathysr98

Active member
What about putting your older child in the window seat, baby in the aisle seat next, and you across the aisle? You can evacuate both of your children that way, and the only separation is space.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
FAA: "TRAVELING WITH MORE THAN ONE CHILD. In the event a parent/guardian is traveling with more than one child in a CRS or is traveling with several small children, only one of whom is occupying a CRS, good judgment should be used regarding placement of the CRSs As long as these conditions below are met, the CRS could be placed in a seat other than a window seat.

At a minimum: • The CRS should be placed so it does not block any passengers (including the parent/guardian) egress to the aisle used to evacuate the aircraft, and •

The CRS should be placed so the parent/guardian can reach the child in the CRS to release and evacuate with the child, should an emergency evacuation be necessary."

It really is a gray area, especially since that specifics traveling with more than one child, "only one of whom is occupying a CRS." I wish they could find a way to address if better.

What about putting your older child in the window seat, baby in the aisle seat next, and you across the aisle? You can evacuate both of your children that way, and the only separation is space.

They might allow that, but in order to evacuate both children, she would have to stand in the aisle, which could block other people from exiting.

I really don't know how they'd handle a situation like this.
 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
I think the FAA considers CARES to be a child restraint the same way a car seat is, so I'm not sure there's any difference in how it's supposed to be treated (regarding placement and such). But since it is a gray area, your luck might be better with it.
 

NVMBR02

New member
I think the FAA considers CARES to be a child restraint the same way a car seat is, so I'm not sure there's any difference in how it's supposed to be treated (regarding placement and such). But since it is a gray area, your luck might be better with it.

I have traveled with a CARES harness in a aisle seat before and the flight attendants didn't question it at all. I very well could have gotten lucky and policies may vary by airline.

I have traveled with 2 car seats before, but the planes that fly out of our airport usually have a row of 3, so one child by the window, one in the middle and I am in the aisle. We did that until the older two were 3 and 5 when dd2 was born and then my oldest had to sit across the aisle or in front of me.

When my kids were younger and we couldn't sit in the same row (I travel with just the 3 kids a few times a year) I would have 1 or 2 sit in the row in front of me a lot. It was easy to see them and easier to help them by leaning over the seat, even if I was in the aisle and they were a window) then to have to reach across another adult.
 

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