Flying with britax and gettin through airport

I am going to be flying standby with my 18 mth old. I am taking her britax and I got her own seat. Does she have to be sitting by the window for sure? Its standby so I wont know what seats we will have. Also I found this thing on amazon that hooks your car seat to your rolling carry on bag. Has anyone used this? I am nervous about getting all this on the plane while holding her etc. Is it hard to get the belt strapped on the car seat while on the plane? Any suggestions of advice would be great I am really nervous especially since I am flying standby. I get passes through my uncle for 50 dollars.

I can answer only a few of your questions. First, on every airline I've been on with a carseat I've been told the carseat needs to be near the window. The flight attendant told me it was so the carseat does not get in the way of people exiting the row in an emergency. It may vary between airlines though.

I've never had a problem installing my MA on the plane. It can be a tight fit on some seats, so raise the armrest if you need to. Also, sometimes using a seat-belt extender makes it easier to get the seat out when the flight is done.

I don't know anything about those travel carry bags or wheels so I'm no help there.

The strap you are talking about is the Traveling Toddler. I use it when flying. It isn't difficult to use, but the more you practice, the easier it will be. So I would suggest practicing putting it on and off at home.

I leave it attached to the top tether and unhook the lower anchors when I need to take it apart.

I've also been able to attach the seat on to the carry-on with my son sleeping in the seat.

My suggestion is to either gate check the rolling carry on, or store it in a storage bin at the front of the aircraft, because you cannot wheel the whole contraption down the aisle, because the britax seat is too wide.

Are you installing your seat rearfacing or forward facing on the plane?

If RF, you won't need a belt extender.

If forwardfacing, a belt extender will help, also, flip the buckle over before installing so that when you get to your destination, you can uninstall it easily. (otherwise the lever of the seatbelt can get stuck and make it nearly impossible to unhook.)

That's the Traveling Toddler you're talking about. I have a friend who swears by it, and many people here have used them. I'll be getting one for our new babe. Very awesome.

At 18 months she can ride rear facing on the plane, unless she's over 35 pounds, and that will make it MUCH easier to install the seat. You don't need the belt extender rear facing. A big Britax is a hassle and a half forward facing, so as long as you can put her rear facing do it. Just that much easier.

I've flown solo with my daughter and her Britax quite a lot. It's not as bad as you think it'll be. She can ride in the seat in the airport, then you just take it off to get on board. Let her on the plane in front of you. She can't get off the plane, so if she wanders that's fine. She can't go anywhere. Or, she can do what my daughter does and curl up under the seat in front of her spot so that way she's out of the way but right near me. Rear facing just put the armrest up, then thread the seatbelt through the beltpath, right on top of the cover. It'll take two seconds, unless you have trouble getting the buckle through the cover (it'll stretch over time).

Current regulations have changed that carseats do not have to be near the window, but personally I'd feel better with a rear facing one there so I don't block anyone. Forward facing, depending on the seat I wouldn't be as bothered. Most flight attendants don't know about the regs change, though, and will simply reseat anyone at the window for you. It's not a big deal. Though see if you can get a window and aisle seat assigned to you, since the middle is the last to fill up. You may get three seats for the two of you.

Safe travels!

Wendy

My older brothers and I just flew to Florida for our sister's open heart surgery last week and here are my suggestions (per situations I witnessed, LOL). Not everyone is lucky enough to fly with a technician on the plane but during my recent trip I was child free and glad to be of assistance. Most airlines let disabled passengers and passengers with young children/car seats pre board, even before priority boarding. So don't worry about the time it takes to get situated on the plane. If you feel comfortable with it, find another passenger on your flight that might be willing to accompany you pre boarding to help corral your little one. They may appreciate the offer. Or if you don't feel comfortable with that, the flight attendants will usually help with pre-boarders. I was impressed by all the people with children on my flights who had brought their car seats aboard. I was not impressed by the attendants knowledge of child restraints. I happened to be wearing my child passenger safety shirt and was asked a few times to help. Of course I was thrilled! LOL
Happy flying and I hope all goes well.

Kim