Can the airlines FORCE you to cargo-check a seat?

I am wondering, is there any way at the check-in counter that they can FORCE us to cargo check the car seat?

I will be flying on Air Canada with DD (8.5 mo) on Friday. We do not have a seat booked for DD, so I would like to gate check the seat if we are not able to get one for her when we board. It's an EFTA, so even if we can get a seat for her, I'm not sure the EFTA would fit.

I know it would be preferable to have bought a seat for her, but I am hoping to use this flight to demonstrate to DH why it would better to purchase a seat for her in the future.

Thanks so much!!

Air Canada will NOT allow you to use a carseat on board if you have not purchased a seat for the child - even if there are empty seats available. :thumbsdown: I'm not sure whether they would allow you to take the seat to the gate in that situation (unless you were using it like a stroller, maybe :shrug-shoulders

If you play the 'safety item' angle and 'beg' for gate-check, maybe they'll let you. Or like Unityco said, try to make it out that it's a gear that your baby needs thru the airport But they can enforce cargo-checking it in this case though.

Another thing about the EFTA is there was an 'error' and there might be a sticker on yours, saying it's not for use aboard an aircraft (in red) eventhough it complies to CMVSS 213 and 213.1 which means approved for use on board an aircraft. I'm hoping Allport will tell us what's the status on that (TC is investigating).

But the long story here is that even if they let you use the EFTA on board without a purchased seat, the flight crew would not let you use it if they see that sticker, kwim?

Sure. There are airlines who don't allow car seats to be checked at the gate. Personally, I've always checked out two car seats as luggage in special padded car seat bags with extra padding of clothes/diapers, and other crap. I've always felt comfortable with this solution and don't use car seats on board.

Some airlines actually treat cargo checked car seats as they are gate checked if checked as "bulky item" at the special luggage drop. On a recent trip I forget the car seat bags (my Alzheimer's must have been kicking in) and cargo checked the seats without extra protection. The seats were carried by hand and stored in the front of the plane among other gate checked items such as small strollers.

On some airlines/airports it's not even allowed to bring a stroller of any kind to the gate. It must be checked as cargo. Apparently due to some union rules which says staff might injure themselves when carrying the stroller down stairs to the plane.... In these cases, an airport stroller can be used or free if needed.

Ugh. That's what I was afraid of. Actually, that's why we're taking out EFTA instead of our Marathon, which is our primary seat. I don't want to take a chance of the Marathin getting man-handled. I do have a gogokids and was planning to use the seat like a stroller, so maybe that will help. I'm also planning to go on the angle that we've had far too many bags lost to want to take a chance of this not making it to the destination with us.

I know that the chances of getting to use it on board are slim, and like I said, even if they would let us, I don't think it'd fit. The plane we will be on has seats with 18" width, and the shell of the EFTA is at least 19" wide. And, yes my EFTA does have the beg red words that say "not for use in aircraft". :shrug-shoulders:

In all honesty, (for convenience sake) I'd be happy to cargo-check the seat and use our collapsible stroller in the terminal. I just don't 100% trust that the seat will arrive att he destination with us and be treated properly enroute.

I am so disheartened that the airline industry is so unaccomodating to infants. I certainly don't expect them to give me a seat for free, but having a seat that my car seat would actually fit in, or one on the plane that would be comfortable/safe for my chile to ride in, and i'd be happy to pay full fare!

Also, I wish there was some way to safely transport our car seat to our destination! I dunno, would it have been a good idea to keep the box that the seat came in and send it in that? Or make a box with similar kind of padding? Then use the CARES harness on board? (one DD is old enough)

Sorry...I guess I'm rambling..

I've never been left without the sets after 50 something flight with the kids but we usually don't take trips with close connections. Or maybe we've just been lucky. One alternative is to UPS/FEDEX the seat in advance. Don't know if that's possible for you.

Many seats don't come in boxes, or seats are packaged two and two so boxes are way too large. Making a box would be easy. Use plenty of bubble wrap and cover it with thicker packing material. That's how many retailers are sending out seats.

I agree that airlines aren't always accommodating to infants/toddlers and car seats. But I do kind of understand them. Boarding times increase, sometimes significantly, and there are always more issues when passengers use car seats. People in the airline industry also know that flying is unbelievably safe and the chances of something happening is as close to zero as possible. I think that thinking also affects the attitudes of staff.

Good luck on your trip:thumbsup:

I couldn't get a seat for DS on a 45 minute Air Canada hop to our connecting flight in Vancouver (where I had been able to buy a seat for him for the rest of the trip). I was using the GoGokidz and they treated it like a stroller and gate checked it w/out any hassle or questions (he was strapped into it when I got my boarding pass etc whicH I think helped). FWIW, I was travelling with my Marathon and it came out of gate check completely unscathed...I was so glad we had been able to buy seats on the rest of the trip - at 17mths, DS was a gong show to hang onto even despite the short connector...

man I feel for ya. Sounds like problems are starting already. Is it too late to buy a seat?
The thing I think about too is if the cabin were to depressurize then the child wouldn't have a mask. That may not be a legitamit thing for me to think and I am not meaning to freak you out so people can tell me to shut up. I told family that I need a seat for cooper and the baby (if we would of had it) for the plane or I wasn't going to disneyland. lol. they are fine with it

Misty-Bug said:

The thing I think about too is if the cabin were to depressurize then the child wouldn't have a mask.

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Actually, there is an extra mask for lap babies. Sometimes only one side of the plane will have the extra mask, but they do think of that. :thumbsup:

unityco said:

Actually, there is an extra mask for lap babies. Sometimes only one side of the plane will have the extra mask, but they do think of that. :thumbsup:

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oh ok. I was wondering about that. I am still too paranoid to not get him his own seat. I can't quarantee he will sit with me the whole time and if we hit bad turbulance......

unityco said:

Actually, there is an extra mask for lap babies. Sometimes only one side of the plane will have the extra mask, but they do think of that. :thumbsup:

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Yep, that's correct.:thumbsup: It's usually not just one side of the plane but certain rows/seats. I've noticed this many times when I check in online way ahead of time and try to select a seat and also when sometimes changing to an empty row of seats before take off. I'm not allowed to sit in all seats with a lap baby.

I would love to sit in an exit row like pre-kids but that's definitely out of the question for several seasons.