There are many so-called car seat advocates that can’t stand it when people flying with car seats check them, and they think that the only acceptable way to check your car seat is if you put it back into the original box (and they want to tell you what you are supposed to do with your child).
I’m here to tell you from 7 years working with baggage at an airline that their logic is flawed and incorrect.
Why? Because no bag is immune from being slammed down. No bag is safe from falling out of a luggage cart and dragged down the ramp. This happens to bags of all sorts; named brand, cheap bags, and car seats in boxes. Not many baggage handlers are going to stop and say, “Oh I better be more careful with this because it is a car seat.” Nope, not really going to happen.
I am not here to tell you what to do, I simply give you suggestions based on what I see. I am called The Travel Guru because of my years of experience in traveling and I want to help you travel better.
If I was traveling with my niece, I wouldn’t check her seat but if you do, I would suggest that you cover it because luggage bins and conveyor belts are extremely dirty and are never cleaned. Am I saying that ALL bags are dragged and mistreated? Nope. Not at all, but some are and car seats can be included in that.
Did you know:
- If your child has a paid ticket you are allowed to bring their seat on the plane.
- you can bring a stroller through security but you may be asked to gate check it. That means you give it to baggage handlers when you get on the plane and you get it plane side at your next destination.
- if your seat comes in two pieces, put them in the same bag so they won’t be separated.
As you can see from these pictures, these items end up on the ground, smashed between other bags, or left inside filthy bins.
There are many new readers to my blog (thank you!) so this may be the first time you are reading about my take on this topic. If you check your car seat, please cover it. Do you really want your precious child sitting back in a seat that has been on multiple conveyor belts, handled by many different people with or without gloves and smashed between other bags?
Have you traveled with a car seat? Does it irritate you when people try and tell you what you should and shouldn’t do with your children?
Happy Friday to you! I’ll be back with you next week with more tips and pics! You can find me on my FB Fan Page where I interact daily, I hope to see you over there! Feel free to look at some of my other posts, I have so many for you to choose from! Have a great weekend!!!
You are entirely incorrect. The ONLY safe way to travel with a car seat on a plane is to take it on board with you or yes, pack it in the original box should your children be old enough to use the seat belt on the plane. Corrugated cardboard is extremely shock absorbent, which is why manufacturers pack them that way; so the car seat remains safe during shipping. Travel bags and the like do nothing to protect the seat from unseen damage caused by baggage mishandling; rendering the seat useless if it were ever in an accident. And no, it doesn’t bother me when people make better, safer suggestions on ways to travel with kids. But, I realize that I don’t “know it all” so if I can learn from best/safe practice when traveling with my kids, I will absolutely take it.
I’m not exactly sure why your comment would be so snarky when that is not at all the tone I have on my blog and I am not incorrect. The information I have presented is entirely factual. I wouldn’t check my carseat or stroller as I stated in the post but that is my choice and I wouldn’t dare tell a parent what they need to do with their child. I simply tell those that choose to check a seat to cover it because of filth. Period. Thank you for stopping by.