When flying with kids, what do I need to know about taking my child’s car seat?

We know that when it comes to family holidays and air travel with kids, it can be the most stressful part of any holiday, and you haven’t even got there! Then there are your child seats and the rental car to organise.

What if I said you can take your child seats on the plane as hand luggage and your child can sit in their child seat for the flight? Then you have them to go in your rental car when you get there. Game changer!

If your children are anything like mine, they are used to sleeping, eating and travelling various distances in their child seat, so being able to sit in their child seat in an unfamiliar setting like an aeroplane is a winner.

They’ll be more settled and comfortable travelling in their own car seat – it even smells familiar (not always a good thing with kids’ car seats). Imagine being able to take your favourite armchair to sit on instead of the plane’s seat. Just make sure you empty all the crackers and sultanas out of it first…

Most parents dread having to follow their child up and down the aisle of the plane for hours, but with your car seat you can fasten their harness and problem solved. They can’t wriggle out of it like they can an aeroplane’s lap belt.

One little tip I was given when my eldest daughter was little was to not let her out of the little footwell space we had on the plane – so not let her know the aisle is an option to walk up and down. Just to say, “no, this is our space”. Each family has their own space.

Our kids didn’t have dummies/pacifiers. No judgement here – we all do what we have to do. I did, however, have one in my bag for take-off and landing on flights, and the kids were interested in it because they’d never seen one before, so they sucked them during take-off and landing to help their ears through the pressure change.

There are a few rules to follow for each airline when it comes to families travelling with child seats. As a mum of two, family car journalist and founder of BabyDrive.com.au

Here’s my guide on aeroplane travel with kids and child seats:

Taking your children's car seats onto your flight as hand luggage usually doesn’t cost extra, but this may differ for each airline, so make sure to research your airline’s costs and rules specifically. You can also check child seats in as hold luggage, but this guide focuses on taking them into the cabin.

Airlines have slightly varying strict criteria to be considered for travel with car seats, which may include some of the following:

Own plane ticket: Your child has to have their own purchased ticket and assigned seat booked on the plane. You can’t take a child seat onboard for an under-two-year-old who is travelling for free on a parent’s lap.

Seat position: Most airlines will not allow you to put a car seat in the aisle or exit row seats, and the car seats must not protrude over the seat cushion edging, as both can reduce access in an emergency. Jetstar says child seats are only allowed in the window seats, so make sure you book your seats ahead so you have an adult next to each child seat.

Seatbelt connecting: Child seats must be designed so they can be secured and fastened to the aircraft seat with a seatbelt only (aircraft have no ISOFIX or top tether anchorages).

Working order: Child seats must be in good condition, showing no signs of damage.

Easy operation: Car seats must have a single release that secures and releases your child’s seatbelt, torso and shoulder straps. The car seat must be sufficiently secure so that the child cannot easily undo the strap.

The car seat must also be quick and easy for the parent or guardian to secure and remove the child.

FAA-approved child seats: Car seats must bear an “Approved Label for Aircraft Use” sticker. Car seats without this sticker are not suitable for use in an aircraft.

Booster seats and many infant capsules are generally not accepted on most aircraft. Make sure you check with your specific flight because not all aircraft and cabin designs are able to accommodate car seats.

Qantas says rear-facing car seats are permitted without an attachment base only if certified by the manufacturer as suitable for installation in aircraft seats without the base.

Some models, such as the Infasecure Cocoon infant capsule, have special brackets for the airline seatbelt and the correct labelling for being AS/NZS 1754 approved and FAA approved.

AS/NZS 1754-approved child seat sticker: Child seats must meet the AS/NZS 1754 standard and have the Australian Standard-approved child seat sticker.

Child seats must meet New Zealand standard NZS5411.

Child seats must be Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved or meet United States of America standard FMVSS 213, or have both the following markings: “This Restraint is Certified for Use in Motor Vehicles and Aircraft” in red lettering and “This seat conforms to all applicable Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS)”.

Child seats must meet Canadian Motor Vehicle Safety Standard CMVSS 213 entitled “Child Restraint Systems”, CMVSS No. 213.1 entitled “Infant Seating and Restraint Systems”, or be marked “this restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft”.

Child seats must meet European Safety Standard requirements of United Nations ECE Regulation 44 (UN/ECE 44).

These are some tips for travelling with children and child seats on aeroplanes:

Check seat width: The size of seats is different on every plane. You can find out the width of the aeroplane seats before you fly and measure your car seat to make sure that it will fit. Virgin Australia stipulates that child seats must not exceed a width of 44cm (17 inches).

Practice installing: You have to install the child seats during chaotic aeroplane boarding and fraught rental car collection processes with kids in tow, so practice makes perfect (and you do not want to be doing it for the first time on the aeroplane or rental car). Spend some time before your trip practising how to use the child seat as you would on an aeroplane. Some approved-to-fly child seats will have aircraft-specific instructions in the user manual and markers on the seat itself.

Print email confirmation: Phone the airline to get your approval to take the child seat/seats and ask them to send it to you in an email. Print that approval email off so you can show it at the airport and when boarding, just in case a member of junior staff doesn’t know you can take it.

Family priority boarding: When taking your child seat onboard, use the family priority boarding where available so you get on early and have plenty of space and time to install your child seat without time pressure or the plane already being packed.

Child seat bag: There is no escaping the fact child seats are bulky, heavy and cumbersome to carry, so make your life easier in the airport and get either a child seat backpack or bag with wheels to transport it around the airport, especially if you have to get a connecting flight.

Seat allocation: Book your seats beforehand so you know you are definitely going to be positioned together and have the correct window seat position for your child seat.

Tray tables: Your child may not be able to use their tray table if they are in their car seat, which is a consideration.

Check your child seats are approved in the country you are flying to before you travel, to see if you can use them once you get there.

For example, if you are reading this before travelling to Australia, you need to be aware that you cannot use any car seats from outside Australia. They must have the AS/NZS 1754-approved child seat sticker and be less than 10 years old. See our guide I’m Moving to Australia, what do I need to know about car seats.

If your child seats are approved for the country you are flying to, then taking your car seats with you on the plane means you will have them there for your holiday and you won’t need to hire any – which can save you a lot of money.

Knowing which rental car is going to fit your family, their child seats, luggage etc can be tricky when you go on holiday. If you are unsure if a car will fit your child seats, you can look it up on babydrive.com.au and see if it has room for car seats, prams and other necessities.

Whether you are renting a car, taking a taxi or ride-share from the airport, you will have your child seats there ready to install with no need for the expense of hiring them.

Again, make sure you have read your child seat’s user manual before you go and you have practised installing it so you aren’t trying to work out how to install it at the airport rental car depot or ride-share queue!

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