Taking my car restraint on the plane?

[Karina]

Hi

We are travelling to Melbourne from Sydney soon to stay with my sister. I will probably need to take my car seat so Claire can travel in the car when we get to Melbourne as my sister doesnt have a child seat in her car...

Can I bring the car restraint on the plane? I've found info on Jetstar website that says you can, but does any one know about the other air lines? Do you need to put it in the checked in luggage thing? Or can it come into the cabin with you? (I just dont want to waste time waiting for it to come out of the luggage thing, and i dont want it to get damaged in there either).

[LimeSlice]

It will go as oversized baggage with Virgin and JetStar, with Qantas they will take it at the check in desk with your other bags.
We travel with ours all the time and never had an issue, it will come out on the conveyor at most airports.

Check with your carrier, but the ticket you buy with and infant usually has an allowance for some sort of baby luggage, like prams and car seats.

HTH

[Karina]

Thankyou. She's 3, so I need to buy a whole ticket for her.
So short story is that you need to put it into the checked in luggage?
Might try to give them a call tomorrow if i get a break while working.

[Just Me]

If you go to the Virginblue webpage under the Flight Info tab and then the sub heading Flying with Infants ... there is info in there about car restraints but it basically says you can't take them onboard

[Just Me]

This is what it says on the Qantas website:

Child Restraint Device
The safest way for an infant or small child to travel on an aircraft is in a Child Restraint Device such as a car seat. Infants are allowed to be carried on your lap however research has demonstrated it does not provide the protection of a child seat.

A car seat must be pre-approved for use as a child seat at least 24 hours before departure. Approval of car seats cannot be obtained on departure at the airport. You must buy a seat on the plane to ensure the use of a pre-approved car seat or CARES restraint device. To buy a seat on an aircraft for your infant and get pre-approval for the use of a child seat, contact your local Qantas Office.

The Child Aviation Restraint System (CARES) is a pre-approved alternative to car seats on an aircraft. This harness style restraint device is suitable for children aged two to four years, weighing 10-20kg (22-44lb). Find out more about the CARES system.

[LimeSlice]

They will include it in the carry on allowance, 23kg on Qantas, 20kg on the others. So you should be well and truly covered allowance wise.

You can take them onboard sometimes I think, but honestly, they o not fit well as a car seat in an aeroplane seat.

We have taken our car seat on over a dozen flights all over the country and overseas and have not had a single issue with regards to damage, so there is really no need to worry about that from my experience.

[Mother Goose]

I flew to ACT in Jan and took DD's. I flew Virgin. It was part of her "allowance" of weighted cargo. Because of the bulk of it though, it went through as oversized luggage but had no drama's. Checked in at the desk, went to the back of the desk (Melb Airport) where oversize is. The guy took it, told DD it was having a special ride (she got a bit upset) and she waved it off. Then in Canberra it came out with the rest of our luggage on the belt. One of the bags I wrapped it in (garbage bags) had come off and some kind soul had stuffed it inside the otherone for me so I still had it!

Coming back, they took it all from me at the desk and then I picked it up on the belt in Melb. Each airport is a little different in where you drop it off and collect it but you can def take it with you. It will just go with all the other luggage and NOT with you in the cabin.

[Karina]

Thanks ladies! Good to hear that yours have all come out at the other end not damaged - i was just a bit wary of this as I've seen how rough they handle the baggage sometimes. Plus, I've only flown about 4 times in my whole life so I really have no idea how it all works!

We were just going to get one of the cheapo fares with carry-on luggage only so we didnt have to wait around for the stuff to come out on the belt and also I'm very paranoid about my stuff getting lost/broken... but it sounds like I might have to buy the more expensive fare and put the seat in the luggage. Sounds like it might be too much of a challenge to bring it into the cabin and use it.

(I was going to book my tickets tonight but my uni had the most epic fail with my exam timetable, expecting me to be in two places at once, and I now have to wait for them to re-do the timetable before I can book.... grr)

[Just Me]

Have you signed up for emails from the airlines - they usually advertise their specials via email so if you know when you want to book you can just keep an eye out for the email. Also on the cheaper airlines, travelling Tues/Wed and sometimes Thursday can save you a lot of $$$. Virgin also do happy hour everyday between 12pm and 1pm and sometimes they just happen to have the right deals at the right time (they don't send emails about these fares, you have to check their website). Jetstar does Friday Fare Frenzy where you can get super cheap fares - they send an email every Friday with them listed.

[Taurean]

I hope I can help hon. I've done a lot of travelling and I was a travel agent and still have a SIL in the industry so hopefully this helps!

Infants can travel free in their car seat providing you have paid for an extra seat on the flight. Unfortunately, I don't think toddlers are covered in Australia yet. They're expected to sit in the normal aircraft seat and their carseat travels with the luggage but phone the airline to be sure.

Normally in Australia, you would check your car seat in. We always fly Qantas and check our car seat in at the check in desk then it's taken to oversized luggage - depending on the airport, some times we take it and sometimes the staff take care of it. They've always wrapped it in plastic for us and it's never been damaged.

You would definitely need to purchase normal 'check in baggage' seats if you want to checkin a carseat. The carry on baggage only fares are VERY restrictive and you will be charged ridiculous amounts to take your car seat as 'excess'. Ph the airline before booking to be sure and get any confirmation of a 'good deal' in writing - an email or proof on their website.

[Just Me]

Just another thought - There are places that hire carseats out here for weekly, fortnightly, monthly basis. I know the ambulance here does some as well and it is not too expensive. Is there anyway you could arrange car seat hire and have your sister pick it up before coming to get you from the airport? Might be worth looking into to save you a lot of extra hassle.

[Karina]

Thanks for your replies. I did think of hiring one and had a look at a website last night for a place that hires them. Theres a place that hires them pretty close to my sisters house and its around $40 for a week, so I think I might just end up doing that to save the hassle of bringing it on the plane!

[thepixie]

Just wanted to say that we bought a CARES restraint for a recent trip, and it was excellent. Like you seriously couldn't be bothered carting a car seat as well as all the other junk that you need to take, and the CARES restraint is a harness that fits on to the seat and the seat belt and creates a proper shoulder harness for a toddler (in their own seat). Cost was about $120, for us we were very happy with it, because 1) it kept her still and stopped her from escaping, 2) it's similar to a car seat restraint so it was a familiar feeling for her 3) it fits in a little bag and we could take it in her onflight luggage very easily. And if there was a problem it would have actually provided some protection for her which a normal aircraft seat belt would not have done for a 12kg toddler. The hosties were all very interested as it seemed none of them had seen one before but it is all CASA approved.

[dace101]

We flew overseas with our 4 year old and used the carseat in the cabin (Qantas). I anticipated major delays/hassles trying to get it on board, but that turned out to be the easy part! The difficulties were actually in making the carseat fit in the airline seats and lugging the darn thing around the airport with us.

We're headed off overseas again in a few months. This time, no carseat on the plane. We'll buy a booster at the other end, LOL!