Travel on LOT Polish Airlines from Toronto to Warsaw then Bucharest

A2Cucu1

New member
Hi,

We will flying on Lot Polish Airlines this July. We are from the greater Detroit, MI. area and will drive to Toronto to Warsaw and then take a connecting flight to Bucharest, Romania to visit family.
Our son will be 15 months when we fly and we have purchased his own seat for each leg of travel.
We have Graco 4Ever 4 in 1 seats currently, but due to how heavy and bulky this seat is I am going to get a Cosco Scenera Next for this flight and for driving while we are in Romania. After some investigating I am having some concerns. I think my major concern is if we will be able to use the Cosco car seat on the plane ride from Toronto to Warsaw. I am concerned because it will not have a Transport Canada Certification on it.
Will we be able to use a FAA certified car seat when we fly out of Toronto? Should I print anything or bring anything with us to allow an easier time with the FA?
After some research it is my understanding that we should be fine driving with this US car seat. Please inform me if this is not the case. Do you have any other recommendations for our flight? Should we not take a car seat and buy one once we land in Bucharest or do we need to buy a car seat in Canada(not ideal since I was hoping grandparents could use the Cosco seat upon our return)? Taking a car seat seems best because I am not sure that my son wouldn't play with the buckle like mad when the fasten seat belt sign is on!

All of your help is sincerely appreciated!! Thank you!
 
ADS

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician
Hi there. What airline(s) are you flying? Generally, seats are considered approved as long as they're approved by SOME government. So a US seat should be fine as far as airlines go. However, different countries' airlines are going to have different rules.

Here are the rules for US-based airlines: https://carseatblog.com/8037/guest-blog-flying-with-a-car-seat-know-your-rights/ So if you're flying on a carrier based in the US for any of the flights, you'd use those guidelines. I don't know what the rules are for Canada-based airlines, though I imagine they're similar. I have heard of European airlines not allowing seats in certain situations (for certain ages, etc.) Hopefully someone else here who knows will chime in, or you could call the airline(s), although sometimes customer service has different answers than what really happens.

Technically, US seats are not allowed to be used in Europe, just like European seats technically aren't allowed to be used in the US. That said, it's very unlikely you'd get in trouble for keeping your child safe on vacation. If I were going to Europe with my kids, I'd take our seats from home and use them without worry.

Keep in mind that European cars typically don't have seatbelts that lock, so you might want to practice using a locking clip if LATCH/ISOFIX isn't an option.
 

A2Cucu1

New member
Thank you for your response. We are flying LOT Polish airlines out of Toronto International Airport. Our first leg(8hours 20min) we will on a Boeing 787-8. The second leg of the trip(2 hours) will be on a Embraer 195. On the return trip the long flight is still the same, a Boeing 787, but the short flight is on an Embraer 175. The Embraer's seat width is 18.25inches.

Our in-laws definitely have an older vehicle, so we will be practicing installation with a locking clip.

I haven't called the airline or airport. I do know that we will have to ff since it is an international flight.
 

cantabdad

New member
Carseat regulations are largely up to the operating airline and their national civil aviation authority, even if your travel starts or ends in the US or Canada. So you will have to follow LOT's rules, whatever they may be -- it is very difficult to tell from their US website.

Way back in 2010 there was a previous discussion here about LOT, with the parent receiving conflicting information from phone agents and then again at the gate, though ultimately after some consultation both kids were able to use their carseats onboard.

https://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?117972-Flying-on-LOT-Polish-Airlines

You may want to take the same strategy of getting something in writing (e.g. website printout, or an email from the LOT customer relations staff saying that US/Canadian carseats are OK) that you can show in case you are challenged at the gate or onboard. It's still pretty uncommon in Europe for parents to install carseats on aircraft, so there can be a lot of confusion or simple ignorance on the part of airline staff.

I don't see anything indicating that LOT requires the carseat to be FF, though that is true for some other European airlines (e.g. British Airways) and could be true here. I have done RF on Air France.

As always, make sure that you have a window seat for the child -- or the center seat of the middle section on the 787 -- so that you can install the carseat without blocking anyone's access to the aisle.
 
P

PINML

Guest
I am curious how your trip went OP, as we have a trip coming up from ORD-WAW-RZE on Lot. The customer service agent was not very helpful with understanding of any car seat restrictions (eg seat location). She also indicated that they have no priority boarding of any kind for families.
 

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