Toddler car seat......Help

[Wesel85]

Hi all

I am going on holiday in August flying with easyjet , I have booked a separate seat for my now 15 month old daughter but am unsure what car seat I am allowed to use.

I have tried to look this up but get so much conflicting info.

Is it easier to use a car seat?
Or is it easier for her to sit on my lap during landing and take off?

Any advice welcome......thanks in advance

Car seats have got bigger and bulkier over the years and need isofix or a three point seat belt, so car seats that fit a plane seat are now virtually non-existent. We had a car seat that could be used with a lap belt for my now 23 year old (I only used it with the lap belt a couple of times when I needed to fit 2 adults in the back).

At 15 months I’d sit her on your lap for any point where seatbelts are needed. We had an inflatable seat for the plane which obviously didn’t offer any protection but was great at containing DS and stopping him slithering off the seat to cause mayhem

Here is what EasyJet has to say on the matter (click on "Seating your family"). Your seat will be "suitable" if you can fix it to the car with just the two horizontal points of a 3-point belt, and if the child can then be restrained within it.

Otherwise, just put her on your lap for take-off and landing. If you want to take a car seat with you to have it while you're on holiday you can put it in the hold. You might not be very popular as you try to juggle your DD and the seat while people are trying to get past you to board.

If you don't take a car seat, then she'll have to be on your lap whenever the seatbelt light is on. Probably depends on the length of the flight whether this will be a pain or not. Bringing a car seat also means you don't have to check it into the hold and you can use it in any cars at your destination. They do tend to travel nicely in a car seat because it just seems like being in a car for them.

I'd probably look at something like Graco Extend R129 so it can be forward facing on the plane but rear facing in a car. Cozy n Safe Fitzroy is similar but the rear facing mode can only be used up to 13kg.

Although these aren't officially approved for use with just a lap belt it is physically possible to fit them this way. There are no seats currently on sale meeting the EU/UK regulation which are allowed to be fitted with just a lap belt anyway.