Suggestions for flight and cruise travel

special.k.marie

New member
Hello, I'm a long time fan of this site; this is my first time asking a question.

Our family is going to be taking a vacation in December; it will involve a flight with (1) layover to New Orleans, a cab/uber ride to a hotel, and 2 days later - a 5 day cruise. Then we will have another cab/Uber ride to the airport, and a flight with (1) layover home.

My youngest child turned 5 in September. She is currently 43 inches tall but only weighs 36 pounds. For every day car travel, we use a forward facing seat with 5 point harness, as she does not meet the 40 inch/40 pound requirement for a booster.

While I have other friends who think my daughter would be fine flying without any restraint, I'd prefer to be err on the side of safety. What would you recommend using? I know there is an option to request an Uber with a car seat, so I'm mainly concerned about what would be the best option for the flight.

Thanks!
 
ADS

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob
Staff member
On some airlines (Alaska, Virgin America for instance) she'd fit fine on a plane. On others (United for example) there's a good chance the belt would not fit.

If you're not going on any excursions, and are certain you can get a seat (Uber doesn't offer them everywhere and they might not be appropriatefor her if they aren't the official offering) I would not bother with a seat on the plane IF it's a company known to fit small children. But if it's not, you might need it in the car, or you're unsure, I would bring a seat- if you need recommendations let us know.
 

special.k.marie

New member
Thank you for responding.

The flights are booked through Delta. I was reading their car seat policy and found out they don’t allow booster seats and the only harness approved is the CARES.

I personally wasn’t aware Uber had a car seat option and I did not look into the limitations of the service. (My sister in law who will be traveling with us recently requested an Uber in the city where our cruise will be leaving from and mistakenly requested a driver with a seat. She suggested using that option to reduce the amount of things I would need to pack. However, she does not have children and is not fully aware of how car seats / boosters / restraints vary and aren’t all necessarily safe depending on your child’s size, etc.)

We have not booked any excursions; the basic trip was prepaid as a gift and our budget is very limited so we were not planning to do anything extra.

If Delta is not known for fitting small children, I know it would be best to bring a seat so I would appreciate recommendations.
 

jjordan

Moderator
Correct, no airlines allow belt-positioning boosters. However seats with a harness (that are often labeled "boosters" by retailers) are permitted as long as they have the FAA sticker, which means that pretty much all harnessed seats in the US can be used on airplanes.

I wouldn't expect that a car seat in an Uber would necessarily fit a 5 year old.

I would look to see if a Cosco Finale fits your daughter. It is fairly easy to install and use, and as a bonus is very affordable.
 

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