checking in britax carseats as baggage in airplane?

TinaM

New member
Dh wants to check in dd's marathons along with our baggage. We're flying from an overseas location. I'm worried it will get damaged or really dirty. Has anyone done this before or am i worrying over nothing?

Dh doesnt want to check it in at the gate b/c we'll have enough to bring along with us. We'll have 5 carryons and a stroller/infant carseat combo. He just doesnt want to deal with lugging the marathons around the airport. I was just going to buy new carseats when we arrive in the states. My mom has some the girls can use til then. But, we're already buying a new car and a new marathon for the baby and i'd like to get them Frontiers. That's costly so i think we're going to use the marathons til at least next year, when they expire and then buy them frontiers, after i've saved up some money.

Well, i just wanted to know if anyone has done this and if the carseats come out okay afterwards. Thanks!
 
ADS
U

Unregistered1

Guest
I generally wouldn't recommend checking car seats, especially if you're not checking them at the gate. I've seen baggage get thrown around pretty badly and most of the time they're not any more careful with car seats. If you're interested, you could pick up one of those strollers that you can hook a convertable car seat right on... I don't have any recommendations as I've never traveled with the kiddos but someone might. Somebody on here just did the air port with 4 car seats and 4 kids! She might be able to help you come up with alternatives.
If it comes down to it I would check the ones you plan to replace right away and try to keep the ones you need longer with you at least to the gate.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Your children need their seats on the plane to be safe, and the odds of them being damaged if you check them are pretty high. I would strongly recommend not doing so.
 

oxeye

New member
Not only does your child need the seat on the plane, but I wouldn't trust to use a seat that has been tossed underneath a place. I've seen a seat that was fine before going underneath the plane come back with a huge crack in the shell. No clue what the airline did to that seat to make it crack, but :eek: .
 

TinaM

New member
Thank you! I thought that but just wanted to some advice here to help convince dh about it. Well, we might just have to suck it up and lug it around. Buying 2 new frontiers and then a marathon will be close to $800!! I honestly dont mind spending that much b/c we want a safe seat for our children but its just not an ideal time since we're already buying a new car.

I wonder if we could find a box that would fit them but still be within the limit. I could put padding around the seat too. Hmmm....we'll see.

I dont think taking them with us on the plane is a good idea. It's a 12hr flight and they would be extremely uncomfortable with hardly any room to move around in. We did bring it once, a few years ago, and it just made the flight feel much longer. The 12hr flight is just our first leg. We're flying from Japan all the way to the East coast so once we get into the states, it usually takes us an entire day to get to our destination. I'll miss this place so much but the flight back home, i definitely will not.
 

skaterbabs

Well-known member
Ask him to sit on your couch for 12 hours holding your children still the entire time. That may be what you need to change his mind. ;) Kids really do behave better on planes when they're secured in their car seats, and sometimes that is what it takes to convince dads who are not convinced it's a safety issue (although it absolutely is.)
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Actually, kids generally do much better on the longer flights in their seats. A huge plane seat is more uncomfortable to sleep in than something that fits them better. As for moving around, if they can move around that much in their seat to play, how much will they move around in turbulence, only much more violently? They can get up and walk around every now and then, go back to the galley, use the restroom, but otherwise their seat is the best place for them. And I speak from experience, from the east coast to China with Piper in her carseat. There is NO way she would have been as comfortable without her seat. She was able to sleep for 7.5 hours straight on the way back. We flew from NC to CA yesterday and she slept from NC to Denver quite comfortably in her seat.

Wendy
 

SusanMae

Senior Community Member
And about hauling the seats through the airport...there's a mama on here that just got back from a trip...she had 4 seats--3 of the 4 were Britax/FP seats and the 4th was an infant seat.

Susan
 

aisraeltax

New member
i think your kids would be much better off (comfort and safe wise) w/ their carseats ON the plane. :) have a good flight!
 

TinaM

New member
Thank you all! I will talk to him again about this and be more persistent! Thanks!! Btw, my dd's are 5yo and 6yo just to let you know. I know that they are still safer in their carseats than without. I just didnt want you to think they were toddlers or anything.
 

Shanora

Well-known member
I made the unfortunate mistake of checking my car seat, it made it to my distination in one piece...however on the way back, when I picked it up...there was a chunk of my seat missing....from the foot part of my Triumph (old style)...and I had wraped it in a garbage bag....*sigh* I wish I had known I could have gate checked it....cause I would have done that instead of baggage checked it.
 

vamom

New member
I gate check my stroller, and I wouldn't gate check my craseat. They literally toss it down a shoot. My stroller bag takes a beating, and on our first trip they busted my stroller. When a gate checked item gets damages, you are sol, unlike checked luggage. But I wouldn't check my car seat there, after seeing how my luggage comes back.
 

USmominOz

New member
I flew overseas and would not check my seat, I was lucky that I did not because they lost all our luggage on they way too and from. I would not have had a seat for ds when we landed. My stroller & luggage took 2-5 days to get it all to us:(.
 

katiesmommy

Active member
As an aside, don't be surprised if the airline trys to tell you that it won't fit on the seat. We had to fly from Tokyo to Fukouka and they tried to tell me that my decathlon wouldn't fit on the plane seat. I looked at them and said, if my butt fits on that seat, then the carseat will fit.
 

indigoblossom

New member
I gate check my stroller, and I wouldn't gate check my craseat. They literally toss it down a shoot. My stroller bag takes a beating, and on our first trip they busted my stroller. When a gate checked item gets damages, you are sol, unlike checked luggage. But I wouldn't check my car seat there, after seeing how my luggage comes back.



seriously???? i had no idea. this makes me even more worried about gate checking my maclaren (sorry for the thread hijack) but more convinced that i need a stroller bag. i thought if the gate checked items were damaged or came up missing that they'd be replaced (or whatever...i know they "reimburse" you less than actual cost most of the time) just as items checked at the counter. hrm....i really hope the airlines consider maclarens umbrella strollers and let me board with it if i so choose.
 

vamom

New member
seriously???? i had no idea. this makes me even more worried about gate checking my maclaren (sorry for the thread hijack) but more convinced that i need a stroller bag. i thought if the gate checked items were damaged or came up missing that they'd be replaced (or whatever...i know they "reimburse" you less than actual cost most of the time) just as items checked at the counter. hrm....i really hope the airlines consider maclarens umbrella strollers and let me board with it if i so choose.

My mac had the hood ripped off and the handles damaged by us air. The office supervisor pointed out on small print that the claim ticket they give you at the airplane ddor says that they are not responsible. I had no idea, and my stroller was already gone when they handed me the claim stub.

So now I use a bag for the new mac, wrap the handles and hood with bubble wrap, and wait for the guy and tell him what happened to my last stroller. I know its alittle over the top, but I can't afford another stroller, and I need that one to get to/from the plane. I also prefer to board last.

So no way would I give them my carseat (see how I tried to tie this back to the thread:D)
 

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