It’s that time of the year again! And instead of blasting you with a wall of text on how to safely transport your car seats when travelling (obviously when not in use) I have taken the time to give you a nice short and informative “infographic”.
Now, when it comes to aeroplane travel and bringing your car seats – there will be different opinions! Some will say NEVER do it, other’s will say “we did it, and it was fine”, and some will even say “we just don’t bother with seats on holiday”.
Right? I’m sure it’s quite evident that by taking the time to make a guide on it – I think you definitely should take the time to bring your car seats.
Not only because going in a car means a child needs a car seat, no matter how “short” the journey, but also because of the safest place for a child on a plane? Is in their car seats. So when possible, bring them on board.
But bringing them on board the plane is not always smooth sailing, especially when you fly in Europe. European airlines are the least “car seat friendly” if compared to for example the US/Canada. You more often than not end up arguing with the cabin crew.
Even if you have a print off from the airline website stating you can use the car seat you have taken with you, or you paid for your child to sit in their own place (if under age 2).
The sad fact is that the cabin crew and captain can say “nope” and then where do you stand? So better to know how to safely cargo them and be prepared for something like that – than having them thrown into the cargo hold before take off…
As if travelling with kids weren’t stressful enough, right?
Safe Packing
Before you take a look at the infographic, here are the things you need for the safe transport of your car seat. :)
Using packing peanuts is completely optional! But everything else + your own car seat’s cardboard box is needed! If you don’t have your car seat box from when you bought the seat, you can get them some places
ASDA/Tesco/
As for a size guide, you are looking at a rough approximate:
High back booster box: 60x50x55
ERF seat box: 70x50x70
Here are some exact measurements that were given to me by ‘Rear-Facing Toddlers’:
Download Infographic:
Please note that I can not by any means guarantee that your car seat would never be damaged when sent. The cargo is handled by human beings, after all. However, what I can do is share with you what is considered the safest way to package it for travel. After all – car seats leave the factories, then get sent worldwide to the retailers and so forth.
The car seat you ordered online, has already travelled a bit before it came to your door. It already did some travelling before it came to the shop as well, but at least by following this guide, you can safely say you took all the correct steps to ensure its arrival was without issues.
Therese has completed the ‘Advanced Child Car Seat Training Course’ at TRL (Transport Research Lab) and is a CPD accredited car seat expert. She blogs about in-car safety, car seats, tips, reviews, giveaways and advice. She’s a mum on a mission to change the law and raise awareness. She is also a breastfeeding advocate and gentle parenting promoter who loves cloth nappies, baby-wearing, BLW and co-sleeping/bed-sharing.