i am bringing the car seat for my son who is almost 3, on the plane, It is a alpha omega, and 4 in 1. We use it as a car seat , not booster and will be using it on the plan as car seat. My question is do i need to take the base off of the car seat to use it on the plane? The base on the seat is to be removed when you use it as a booster but some people have said that i should take it off as it would be lighter to carry, but i dont really want to take it off just to put it back together once we land as we are renting a van
Thanks

If you are not using it as a booster, I would leave it in the same configuration that you use it in your car - with the base on. Also, you need to make sure that it is FAA approved.

If you are not using it as a booster, I would leave it in the same configuration that you use it in your car - with the base on. Also, you need to make sure that it is FAA approved.
Thanks
to my knowledge it is approved i just bought it before christmas, but i will double check.

Double checking is a good thing just in case the flight crew asks about it. It should be on the seat somewhere or in the owners manual.

If for some reason you can't use it on the plane, remember you can usually gate check car seats (and strollers) and they don't get counted as checked baggage. Double check each airline for rules regarding the above statement. :)

From my experience, unless the FAA airline approved sticker is on the car seat, you will not be able to install it in the seat. We have been stopped before and had to show the sticker on several different airlines. As far as I've seen, there are no FAA approved seats in the booster configuration.

To save yourself some time and frustration- make sure if you can use it that you install it in the window seat. We've seen many folks put it in the middle with a plan to have a parent on either side. Airline policy says it has to go in the window only.

Are you renting a car at WDW? If not, and if you only plan to use the car seat on the plane, it is probably more trouble than it is worth. If your son requires greater restraint than provided by the seat belt, I believe there is a FAA-approved harness/strap sort of thing you can purchase, that would be a great deal easier to transport.

Are you renting a car at WDW? If not, and if you only plan to use the car seat on the plane, it is probably more trouble than it is worth. If your son requires greater restraint than provided by the seat belt, I believe there is a FAA-approved harness/strap sort of thing you can purchase, that would be a great deal easier to transport.

This is what I was talking about:

CARES Airplane Seat Harness

CARES -- short for "Child Aviation Restraint System" -- weighs less than a pound, costs about $80, and solves a big problem for parents of tots who weigh between 22 and 44 pounds. Leave that bulky car seat at home:

CARES is "FAA certified as having an equivalent level of safety to a car seat for all phases of flight"
CARES is manufactured by AmSafe, a "foremost manufacturer of airplane seatbelts

Are you renting a car at WDW?

but i dont really want to take it off just to put it back together once we land as we are renting a van
Thanks
It looks like they are renting a van, and so will need a 'real' car seat for that, plus based on her sig, I'm guessing she's going to DL (but that part really doesn't matter;))

It looks like they are renting a van, and so will need a 'real' car seat for that, plus based on her sig, I'm guessing she's going to DL (but that part really doesn't matter;))

I did not read the post closely enough. The size of the child is also a consideration. Apparently, once the child hits 40 pounds, they are supposed to just use the regular seat belt on the plane. If that is the case, the OP could check the car seat, to use in the rental van. The rental company could provide a car seat, at additional cost, but you can't be sure of the condition and cleanliness of the rented seat, so I would be inclined to bring my own. In fact, if the child is at least 40 pounds, you can just use a booster, in the rental van, which is a lot easier to transport.

I did not read the post closely enough. The size of the child is also a consideration. Apparently, once the child hits 40 pounds, they are supposed to just use the regular seat belt on the plane. If that is the case, the OP could check the car seat, to use in the rental van. The rental company could provide a car seat, at additional cost, but you can't be sure of the condition and cleanliness of the rented seat, so I would be inclined to bring my own. In fact, if the child is at least 40 pounds, you can just use a booster, in the rental van, which is a lot easier to transport.

ACTUALLY they need to be in a car seat until they are 4 AND 40 LBS. Since she said her DS will be almost 3, she would need a car seat not booster.

ACTUALLY they need to be in a car seat until they are 4 AND 40 LBS. Since she said her DS will be almost 3, she would need a car seat not booster.

In most states, it's whatever they hit first, although it really should probably be a matter of height, not weight. Technically, my older daughter, who is almost 11 years old should still use a booster, because she doesn't weigh 80 pounds yet, but she's almost 5 feet tall, and the seat belt fits correctly. I made my younger daughter use a regular car seat well after she was 4, because she was not nearly 40 pounds. She's 7 now, and just over 40 pounds, and still uses a booster. Fortunately, she's a few months older than most of her friends, so they will all grow out of a booster around the same time. I realize that the OP's child is only 3, and almost certainly would still be in a regular car seat, but a kid who is at the high end of the height/weight scale, might be large enough to use a booster safely.

In CA:
Rear facing: 12 months AND 20 lbs.
Forward Facing Car seat: 4 AND 40 lbs.
Booster Seat: 6 OR 60 lbs.

ETA: I know other states differ in the car seat to booster limits.

ACTUALLY they need to be in a car seat until they are 4 AND 40 LBS. Since she said her DS will be almost 3, she would need a car seat not booster.

In CA:
Rear facing: 12 months AND 20 lbs.
Forward Facing Car seat: 4 AND 40 lbs.
Booster Seat: 6 OR 60 lbs.

Do you have a link to site the 4 AND 40 lbs part? Personally, my kids follow the 8 AND 80 lbs rule, so I'm not debating the reason for the restrictions in the least. But every time I've actually seen the law in the past, it's been "OR". I've tried googling, but between being exhausted and this incredible headache I have, I'm not finding it myself and it's driving me nuts.

Thanks.

Adrienne

I asked my son to verify this. He provided me with the VC section and explained how he cites those he pulls over.

The law states 6 years OR 60 lbs. If the child looks under 60lbs, he will write, and the parent can bring a pediatrician's note stating the child's weight to court.

The law does not state the 4 AND 40, or the 12 and 20. What it does say is a child under 1 or under 20lbs or riding in a rear facing child restraint seat (either or) may not ride in the front seat with an active airbag.

The law also says the child restraint used has to be used according to Federal Safety Standards. So, if you are using a booster seat that says the child must be 40 lbs, and your child is under 40lbs, then you could be in violation.

I agree it shoudl be height and age rather than weight. I wonder why they use weight? My 10 year old is 70 pounds but easily fits in a regular seat belt. She's about 4'8" tall. I've seen some very heavy but "floppy" toddlers. I believe neck and over all skeletal/muscle strength is more correlated with age than weight.

I've had to watch safety videos 3 times at the Indian Clinic and several times while attending WIC appts when the kids were younger that all said 4 AND 40 and 1 and 20 in CA. Although I will bow to the officer in this case.

If it were four and 40 both my girls would have had to be in car seats, not boosters, until age 7. And I don't think they would have fit properly at all.

I checked CHP website and I was wrong. It used to be 4 AND 40 lbs before they upped it to 6 OR 60 lbs. I just assumed they kept the 4 AND 40 part too. They do however (per their website) recommend that children are in a 5 point harness until they reach 40 lbs, but it is not required by law. I'm a better safe, than sorry kinda mom so I made my ODD stay in the 5 pt. harness well into Kindergarten until I needed the seat for her younger sister.

Here is the link to the law. (http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc27360.htm) The law was 4 and 40 years ago, and it changed. The big thing is the car seats must be used according to the Federal Safety Standards for that car seat.

3Princesses1Prince - Do you have a license plate holder with that on it? If so, we saw you last week! We were behind you on Orangeburg!

Here is the link to the law. (http://dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d12/vc27360.htm) The law was 4 and 40 years ago, and it changed.

Oh this so rarely happens and I hate it when it does but I'm nitpicking my buddy's post: The law was never AND. The law was OR. (Please don't hate me, M10t.)

It drove me nuts because I always felt the law wasn't harsh enough. And I'd be at my son's preschool watching people put little kids in the backseats of cars. I went around saying it was "And" and the preschool told me it was "Or." Lots of people mistakenly thought it was AND.

It's totally nitpicky on my part, it just drives me nuts. ;) One might call it a pet peeve. :D

But the law was always "Or." It used to be 4 years or 40 lbs, then it got upped to 6 years or 60 lbs. And yes, I think that a height requirement would be more beneficial than a weight requirement. I'm not arguing for the quality of the law. Goodness knows I've gotten on my high horse time and time again about car seats and airplanes and airplane tickets and rental cars and you name it, yeah you betcha.

Adrienne

ADK- you got room on the horse for me?

In PA, a child is supposed to be in a booster until age 8 or 80 pounds. My older child probably won't hit 80 pounds until she's 11, but she's definitely tall enough to use a regular seat belt. The law also restricts a child from sitting in a front passenger seat until the child is 12, presuming the child is small, and would be injured by the airbag in an accident. My next-door neighbor's daughter is not yet 12 but she's been well over 5 feet tall for quite a while. I have a niece who, at 13, is very small, the same size as my 10 year old, and not even close to 100 pounds. My younger child may not hit 80 pounds till she's in high school, in fact I doubt if she'll even weigh 50 pounds at age 8. I think I can get her to keep using a booster after her 8th birthday, but it's tough when they are in second or third grade, and still so small. In the first grade, a mom wanted to take the kids to the zoo for her daughter's birthday, and I dropped off a booster for my daughter, who had just turned 7. Only a few kids still used them, but I insisted, because of her size.

Oh this so rarely happens and I hate it when it does but I'm nitpicking my buddy's post: The law was never AND. The law was OR. (Please don't hate me, M10t.)Actually, I knew that. It has been a LONG week...... <g>

In PA, a child is supposed to be in a booster until age 8 or 80 pounds.

My son is going to be 10 in June and he still uses a booster...he also just hit 60 pounds and is kinda short. He does not ride in any one's car outside of the family and both sets of g-parents still have them in their cars as well. He has never asked to get out, he knows he's too short and the belt still does not fit him well. I keep waiting for the fight but it has not happened yet.