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Bring Car Seat or Not

Posted by (Olympia, WA, USA) on

We (3 adults) are headed to France in a couple of weeks for a family trip with my 3 1/2 year old. Last time we went he was on our lap, now he has his own seat. He is at the 40# mark but we believe in keeping him in a 5-point harness until 4 as the most current safety guidelines suggest.

We will fly to Paris, train to Brittany, Rent car, drive to Gite for 2 weeks, train to Paris, fly home. I am well aware that I can rent a car seat with our car, but here are my thoughts.
1. I want to have the carseat on the plane. I would like to him to be comfortable and safe on the flight, as well as be elevated up a bit.
2. We will be picking up our car off-hours and I want to feel confident that I have a car seat that fits and I know how to install.
3. I am not sure how long kids stay in car seats in France but I would be concerned that if we rent one unseen that it will accomodate a toddler close to the 40#.

Does anyone who has experienced this have an opinion on whether hauling a car seat (I have it strapped to a collapsable luggage dolly) was worth it.

Thanks for your input.

Update: We contacted Airfrance and we are allowed to bring our full size car seat on the plane, provided it is a legal and "approved for highway use" and is my son's only carry-on.

Posted by
9363 posts

I was under the understanding that you can't take a full-size carseat on a plane. I know years ago I had to check mine when traveling with my son, and I thought that was still the case today. I seem to remember fairly recent posts here about this topic. Maybe you could search the site to see if you could find those. In any event, you might want to check with your airline to find out what their regulations are.

Posted by
3313 posts

Take your own car seat. I've had great experiences renting cars in France but I wouldn't count on the local agency to have the right size of car seat. And, as you mentioned, it's important to have a car seat you know how to install.

We just check the car seat as another piece of luggage.

Posted by
12172 posts

Certain car seats are approved for travel on a plane. On one trip we got an inexpensive seat through AAA, used it on the plane and rental car (saved an additional charge on the rental and felt safer/more comfortable on the plane). When we got home we ended up using the car seat. We liked it better than the one we had been using.

Posted by
808 posts

You will appreciate having your own car seat. There will most likely be at least one occasion during your travel where you will be glad you brought your own. That way you will be sure that it is up to current safety standards...
You could always borrow one from the Airline for the Flight. Just be sure to make the necessary arrangements well in advance and confirm it at the Counter before you board the Aircraft. Visit your Airline's website for details on the process.
You could then check yours which will enable you to have one more carry-on as opposed to the car seat.
You may or may not be comfortable with the whole checking of baggage concept.

I've never traveled with an enfant but this is what I've been told by Passengers works well...

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