Flying Air Canada with a car seat?

snowbird25ca · Nov 22, 2007

I have a friend who is being told by Air Canada that she can't take her car seat on board.

Does anyone have experience flying Air Canada? Her son is under 1 and in a SS1.

bbartlettnfld · Nov 22, 2007

Has she bought the baby a seat? If so than yes she can bring her seat on, I fly AC with my daughters carseat and they never bat an eye and she is almost 5!
However I'm not sure if they will allow you to bring the carseat on "in hopes" of there being a seat available. I think you have to actually have a ticket for the baby to bring a carseat for the baby.
When we flew AC to London heathrow there were 2 FF carseats and 3 baby buckets being used. So yes she should be able to bring the seat.
Hope this helps

BethAnn

snowbird25ca · Nov 22, 2007

Thanks.

I went and researched TC's site and then AC's site and found their policies stating that carseats are allowed & TC strongly recommends parents use them on flights.

I've messaged her back telling her that she was given inaccurate info. I also suggested she try complaining since AC is advertising themselves online as being child friendly, yet the lady on the phone clearly is giving out inaccurate advice that could jeopardize the safety of children. Maybe with any luck they'll offer a discount for the seat on the way there.

CDNTech · Nov 22, 2007

Air Canada is hit and miss when it comes to carseats... and customer service.

I had to fight to get my 5 year old's seat on the plane and then argue with the FA when he said he couldn't sit in it because he was over 4 years old. I made him go get his in flight manual and there were apologies from him at the end of the flight.

On another flight I had to fight to get an under 2 year old (with a paid seat) to be allowed to sit in his own spot instead of as a lap baby. The parents had been told that they could not bring his seat on the plane. Then when they got on the plane they were told he could not sit in the paid for seat because he did not have a carseat. I pulled out our spare Radian and he sat in that for the flight.

Our last flight to California went okay with respect to carseats, but I'm still not fond of Air Canada and won't be flying with them again.

WestJet is amazing with carseats and got all excited when I said I had them for my kids. I will be flying with them all the time in the future... as long as they go where I go.

andbabiesmake4 · Nov 22, 2007

aidensmom02 said:
WestJet is amazing with carseats and got all excited when I said I had them for my kids. I will be flying with them all the time in the future... as long as they go where I go.

Good to know!! I'm about to book flights to see my parents & (

) we've never taken seats on the plane ... but after joining this forum I definately am.

BudgieStew · Nov 22, 2007

I carry the print out from their site just in case.

Flew three times with a seat for DS with them this summer and had no problems.
The first flight I think the F.A. was going to question me after noticing that DS was sitting in the seat and not DD(who was a lap baby) but she left to go ask another F.A. and never came back.So I assume was told it was ok.
Car seats now count as carry on though and anything additional will be charged.

wendytthomas · Nov 22, 2007

Their site doesn't say anything about that. http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/before/youngtravellers/infant-child.html

Nor on their carryon page. http://www.aircanada.com/en/travelinfo/airport/baggage/carry-on.html

Though you cannot use a child restraint in one of their international first class suites.

Wendy

CDNTech · Nov 22, 2007

Yeah, carseats are not counted as carry-on that I know of... we last flew with them in October.

I can tell you though that they no longer allow any strollers past the check in counter unless they are umbrella folding strollers.

More than a few people were irritated at having to check their stroller because it did not umbrella fold. Especially when they saw me with my Maclaren double... once I told them it folds like an umbrella, the lights came on.

BudgieStew · Nov 22, 2007

I last flew in September with AC and the new rules for strollers and carry on had just taken effect
. Lucky me I had a cheapie umbrella otherwise I would have been screwed because hello it was not even on the website yet.

The check in lady mentioned the new rules for strollers/car seats counting toward your carry on limit even if they are gate checked.I I am sure I saw it on the site when I last checked will take a look later. Or it could be one of the rule that just get made up by airport employees as I paid a lovely 50.00 in excess luggage's fee's

I was corporate Travel Agent at one of the largest independent agencies in Canada for 4 years and know all about AC...hate them.

BudgieStew · Nov 22, 2007

Ahh here it is strollers count always but car seats only count if a child is not occupying a paid seat. Check in lady got it slightly confused.

Stroller Policy

Strollers for infants and/or children are considered to be part of a passenger’s checked or carry-on baggage. If strollers are carried in addition to checked and/or carry-on baggage allowance, excess baggage fees apply.

Child restraint devices (car seats) count towards your individual baggage allowance. Exception: If a child is occupying a paid seat, the child restraint device will be accepted in addition to your baggage allowance, free of charge.

CDNTech · Nov 22, 2007

BudgieStew said:
I was corporate Travel Agent at one of the largest independent agencies in Canada for 4 years and know all about AC...hate them.

Yeah, that October flight was our last flight with them. Good Riddance.

hipmaman · Nov 22, 2007

Adding my 2 cents...

If an aircraft seat has been purchased for the child, then yes, any carseat with CMVSS 213 (approved for aircraft use, if Canadian seat) can be used on board rf or ff as necessary for the child. If an aircraft has not been purchased, then no a carseat cannot be brought on board and must be cargo-checked.

Don't forget to show her the trick to install the carseat on an aircraft if ff) so she can undo it when de-plane w/o killing her arms or having to attempt cutting the aircraft seatbelt off

Unregistered · Feb 22, 2009

Just in case anyone googles looking for this answer in future, AC does allow car seats to be 'gate checked in' when the infant is seated on your lap. Just make sure you let the agent know when you check in that you have a 'gate checkin request'. Unfortunately, it is not posted as far as I or the phone agent could see online - I had to be transferred to Customer Service to get a concrete answer. Ugh - the phone agent told me that I would just have to take my chances: thanks for the help lady.

You can also purchase a 'gate check in' bag at places like "baby superstore" BUT from my experience with their stroller bag, don't expect it to last that long.

Eclipsepearl · Feb 24, 2009

Yes, gate-checking is better than checking a seat in as luggage.

Why don't you all write AC and let them know about the missing info on their website. It's not that hard for them to include this information (it's not like you're asking a huge change, just some extra words added). You might want to point out that would save their agents time with phone calls.

What I'd like to know, and this is kind of unrelated, but is it true that they have bassinets that suspend from the ceiling? that you don't need to be in a bulkhead to use? Also, is it true that the baby has to be asleep to be in the bassinet?

My friend told me this stuff. Just wondering...

Unregistered · Dec 9, 2010

I came across this page when trying to decide what stroller/infant seat combination to bring on our vacation to Italy. Now that we have gone and returned, this was our experience. We have an Uppa Baby Vista Stroller which we use with an adaptor for our Chicco KeyFit infant seat. We were renting a car in Italy for part of our trip and taking a train for the rest, so we didn't want to bring too much. Avis had car seats for rent for 25 euros/day. In the end we decided to bring our infant seat without the base and our stroller frame. Air Canada allowed us to gate check the stroller frame and the infant seat, no questions asked. My husband and I were traveling together to Italy, and he was staying after for a business trip while I returned to Canada with our baby. The Air Canada staff were amazing to us on the plane. They played with my baby and watched him when I had to visit the restroom. They really went over and above for us. We rented a Volkswagen Gulf in Italy and a Ford Focus in Switzerland. Neither of these cars had the UAS clips, so we would have been installing our seat with the belt either way.

One thing I would recommend to anyone traveling by plane with a baby is to bring some sort of pouch that will fit in the seat pocket on the plane for toys. This keeps them clean and easy to get at. Also, an infant carrier is a must when traveling in Europe, or even anywhere. Accessibility wasn't the greatest in most cities we visited. We used our Baby Bjorn for most of the trip.

cbf123 · Dec 9, 2010

Unregistered said:
We rented a Volkswagen Gulf in Italy and a Ford Focus in Switzerland. Neither of these cars had the UAS clips, so we would have been installing our seat with the belt either way.

That's nutty. I had thought that LUAS/LATCH/ISOFIX were pretty much standard by now but a quick look at Ford's UK website shows them as "optional, no cost".

Apparently as of 2011 they're going to be mandatory in Europe.

Lucy_R · Dec 9, 2010

The last time we flew with AC was from Regina to Toronto, and they were totally fine with the carseat. The one flight attendant must have been new because she kept looking at it and at me and asking me if I knew how to use it properly, etc. And then she kind of revolved around us for a bit. I agree about Westjet being super carseat friendly, they got so excited last time I flew with them, and the one FA kept calling me a great mom because I brought them. Lol. It was funny.

mam521 · Dec 9, 2010

WestJet is by far better to fly with when you have kids. They are amazing and try to help out whenever they can. They'll hold your kids, get you anything you need, whatever, consider it done! And they don't care what kind of stroller you bring. I took my Chaperone travel system and it wasn't an issue in the least.

AC doesn't seem to know whats going on, are rude and won't let you bring more than a convenience/umbrella stroller. When we went to NS 2 summers ago, the flight attendant we had was sooooo rude. She freaked out when I passed my DD to my MIL to hold so I could run to the washroom. My SIL had my nephew on her knee in the same row, so with my DD on MIL's knee, it was 5 people in the row and the flight attendant was freaking out about masks. But, she wouldn't hold my DD either...whadaya want me to do? Its 2 minutes! After I finally got to go to the washroom and got my DD settled (MIL thought red eye with 4 kids was a great idea...SIL and I 100% disagree!!!), the same attendant walked by and cracked my kid in the head! She was a skinny little thing that had no reason to bump into us in the least.

The only issue I've run into with carseats on a plane is if its not a direct flight, they don't want you to use it. I don't get that, but I'm sure I could absolutely fight it. And, its sooo much easier to fly with your kids strapped in! And, they can see out the window

Just a word of advice...ya, I forgot to flip the buckle when I flew the one time...the fight attendant had to remove the seatbelt from the seat to get my carseat free

Remember to flip so the belt release is facing the plane seat back...lol!

bubbaray · Dec 9, 2010

AC is just about the worst airline to fly with children. Well, its actually about the worst airline to fly period, but with children its even worse.

LittlePeanut · Dec 9, 2010

Super old thread and policies on carseats for children on AC have changed umpteen times since but I'll just add that I have flown wth my children on well over a hundred AC flights. We have never had many issues, other than having to say "He has a seat" and carrying on about our business. The only time I couldn't install his seat was during a 1st Class International flight with semi-side facing pod seats. They permitted me to sit with DS in the back with his seat installed during any take off, taxi, landing or turbulence.

The ONLY time I had to battle to allow my seat to be used was on Continental from Florida to Toronto. They insisted it would NOT fit and was NOT approved. I fought. I made them check their policies and had the gate agent call over her manager. I was right and I won.

I find having a confident attitude wrt the carseat use and installation goes a long way. I rarely get questioned but I'm prepared if I do.

Flying Air Canada with a car seat?

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