General flying with seat and Nautilus-specific question

momtoirs

Member
I found the one thread with information about flying with GN, but it doesn't answer if we need an extender or not. Does anyone know? We'll be flying on Sun Country -- their fleet is all newer 737s. Any other words of wisdom for flying with seats in general?

Thanks!

Tina
Mom to Ian, 3 1/2 in two GN seats.
 
ADS

crunchierthanthou

New member
probably not. The reason you need them with ff Britax convertibles is that the design of the beltpath makes it nearly impossible to open the buckle to unlatch it. They are the only seats that I know of with that issue.

We use a luggage cart to pull the seat (and sometimes ds) through the airport. I find it's easiest if I preboard with the seat and get it installed while dh hangs out with ds in the terminal until everyone else is on. How long is your flight?
 

momtoirs

Member
We're flying MN to NYC. Its about 3 1/2 hours there and about a 2 hour return flight. I think DS will do well once we are settled on the plane. We are planning on strapping the GN to our Volo, which we will need in NYC since we'll be mostly walking there. We're also bringing our Ergo.

Friends who know the flight have said that I will likely be able to preboard to install the seat, so hopefully that will be true.

Any other flying with carseat or just flying with kids tips?

Thanks for answering my question about the seatbelt extender -- nice to know we like won't need it.

Yawn -- we have to catch a 4 am train (about 30 minutes to the station from home) -- hopefully DS will sleep!

Tina
mom to Ian, riding in 2 GN seats
 

unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
We've flown quite a bit, I'll give you my tips FWIW ;)

Something I like to do that goes contrary to popular opinion is to choose seats at the rear of the plane.

Up here in Canada, our domestic carriers always have pre-boarding, so getting on the plane isn't too much of an issue. Hauling the carseat all the way down the plane can be a bit of a pain, but I think it's worth it for when you get off.

If you're sitting at the front, you end up having to wait for EVERYONE to get off the plane before you can even stand and begin to collect your things. If you're at the rear, you only need to wait until passengers have cleared your area, then you can begin to uninstall and collect. When we do this, I find we can leave the plane with the rest of the passengers (and not have the flight crews breathing down our neck offering "assistance" because we're threatening their tight turn-around time. ;))

Portable DVD players are your friends, as are small, new things (toys, books, etc..) Inflight entertainment (if your airline has it) can be good too. Bring snacks and drinks (usually you get a larger fluid allowance if you're traveling with a child, but be aware that they may limit your liquids - including yogurt.) Bring a change of clothes, a change pad or towel to sit on in case of spills/leaks and one diaper/hour of travel. (Not so necessary for our 2.5 year old, but a rule I still live by!)

The sling was our best friend when DS was under 40lbs. We brought a stroller only to pack the carseat - he never rode in it. Now that I can't comfortably carry him, we strap him in his carseat on a folding luggage cart (he's too curious to make the long cross-terminal treks in time. ;)) I haven't perfected the on/off routine for the luggage cart yet, but it still works well!

That's all I can think of at the moment except to reiterate that PORTABLE DVD PLAYERS ARE YOUR FRIEND!!!
 
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unityco

Ambassador - CPS Technician
A couple more thoughts...

Other posters have said they use a tag team approach when boarding the plane. We haven't done that ourselves, but it seems like a great idea. One parent takes the carseat and stuff and pre-boards, the other parent waits with the kid(s) and doesn't board until very last. That way you're limiting the time the little ones are stuck in their seats.

Make sure you bring your manual and it's also a good idea to print off your airline's carseat policy in case the flight crew start questioning you.

HTH!
 

Peony

Member
A couple more thoughts...


Make sure you bring your manual and it's also a good idea to print off your airline's carseat policy in case the flight crew start questioning you.

HTH!

Ahhh, thanks for that reminder. We are flying next week and I had forgotten to do that. :thumbsup:
 

The Bjorns

New member
If you're sitting at the front, you end up having to wait for EVERYONE to get off the plane before you can even stand and begin to collect your things. If you're at the rear, you only need to wait until passengers have cleared your area, then you can begin to uninstall and collect. When we do this, I find we can leave the plane with the rest of the passengers (and not have the flight crews breathing down our neck offering "assistance" because we're threatening their tight turn-around time. )
:yeahthat:

We just flew last weekend and on the flight up we were in the second row of coach and it was a pain exiting. On the way back, we were the very last row and it was fine (a little busy with the bathrooms, but easier). There was also some "staging" room with the restrooms and galley right there.

The tag team approach works very, very well. We didn't do it the first time, but we figured it out for the return trip. Worked especially well since I was gate checking a stroller and had two seats to contend with.

I used a luggage cart with two seats successfully bungee corded. You can also use one of the airport carts.

I had plenty of FAA regulations and airline policy information printed and highlighted the areas pertaining to car seat usage, but no one even questioned me. Still, it's a good idea to be prepared. If you have it, you probably won't need it.

Happy flying!
 

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