u/Far-Listen-6179

I found it hard to find detailed info ahead of time about traveling with various car seats so here’s one for posterity, sorry for the lack of structure in it. The tl;dr is that the car seat is great for travel if you don’t mind the weight

We bought the Chicco fit3x specifically for this trip because our normal Graco is so bulky. After testing the Cosco Scenera Extend in store I opted against it because the padding is thin and I doubt we’d use it aside from travel (but it is super light and seems fine). We have another on the way so it seemed like an ok time to get a second car seat, and the Chicco is ClearTex which is a nice bonus

My wife and I traveled with my 20ish month old toddler on a direct 2 hr route via Southwest. The first plane was I think a Boeing 737-800 (or 737 MAX 8), the second plane was a Boeing 737-700 with slightly narrower seats and noticeably less legroom space

For both flights we sat just aft of the wings/emergency exits. If the sun is low in the sky I recommend booking a seat on the shaded side of the plane. Southwest apparently no longer does pre-boarding for families and put us in group 3 for one flight and group 5 for the other. We gate checked a stroller which was available at the jet bridge on landing. They required us to install the car seat in the window. Because our kid is under 2 they were fine with him being on my lap for takeoff/landing, we brought a copy of his birth certificate for age verification but weren’t asked for it

I have TSA precheck which got added to his boarding pass automatically. We brought on food pouches, shelf stable milk, and a filled reusable child’s water bottle. Both times they pulled stuff aside to swab/test but it seemed random which things the agents cared about. They opened his water bottle and tested the water (because parents putting explosives inside their child’s drinks is a massive vector for terrorist attacks I guess). Highly recommend bringing a stroller, but I had to put it through the scanner and carry kiddo through the metal detector. I had to remove the car seat from its bag and put them through the scanner

We bought a cheapo car seat bag off Amazon (yorepek). I’m a tall and moderately fit man, and found it very easy to carry but slightly uncomfortable for long periods. It’s actually a bit easier to put another backpack on your front to balance out the weight. I was able to walk down the airplane aisle with it on my back and carrying my kid without hitting anyone. The car seat has a large recessed handle thing on the back that makes it easy to carry and put in the bag

The seat fit perfectly in forward facing with the arm rests down, but the seat belt buckle landed right at the middle of the back. It doesn’t seem completely uncomfortable, the cushioning turns it into a mild lump, but probably noticeable for kids. For the first flight both rear and forward facing modes were able to get to the same recline level, which was about the same as we use in the car (it doesn’t seem possible to get it reclined enough for an infant but I didn’t try) On the smaller plane, rear facing didn’t let me get as much recline, and the cup holders got in the way of the arms (the cup holders collapsible and removable so I think rear facing would’ve still worked ok with the arm rests down). We wound up doing forward facing for both flights. We tried using a seatbelt extender, and maybe I didn’t use it effectively, but it only shifted the buckle by a few inches, so it wasn’t useful.

Our kid ended up on our lap 90% of the flight (including takeoff and landing), but it was still nice having the empty seat so I could hold him in whatever position he wanted without disturbing anyone.

I was a bit nervous about having to memorize all the different installation methods for the trip but they’re all quite conceptually easy IMO, especially the airplane ones. I recommend bringing the manual with you in case they want proof of FAA certification (they’re didn’t for us) because I’m still not sure where/whether it says it on the car seat

One negative about the car seat is that it’s a huge pain to switch from LATCH to seat belt, since the clips have to be stored in a compartment under the back cushion. I just did a seat belt install for everything during the trip

On the flight back I had to do a diaper change in the air, only the front lavatory had a changing area. I found it quite difficult to do the change so I’d avoid it if you can

We allowed+encouraged a pacifier during the flight to help alleviate the air pressure changes, but his ears still bothered him and there was some crying esp during takeoff and landing. Our pediatrician said we could give something (maybe Tylenol?) before the flight but we didn’t

If I could do the trip all over again, the only thing I would’ve changed is to have a shorter trip and spend more on things to make it more convenient/relaxing

I found it hard to find detailed info ahead of time about traveling with various car seats so here’s one for posterity, sorry for the lack of structure in it. The tl;dr is that the car seat is great for travel if you don’t mind the weight

We bought the Chicco fit3x specifically for this trip because our normal Graco is so bulky. After testing the Cosco Scenera Extend in store I opted against it because the padding is thin and I doubt we’d use it aside from travel (but it is super light and seems fine). We have another on the way so it seemed like an ok time to get a second car seat, and the Chicco is ClearTex which is a nice bonus

My wife and I traveled with my 20ish month old toddler on a direct 2 hr route via Southwest. The first plane was I think a Boeing 737-800 (or 737 MAX 8), the second plane was a Boeing 737-700 with slightly narrower seats and noticeably less legroom space

For both flights we sat just aft of the wings/emergency exits. If the sun is low in the sky I recommend booking a seat on the shaded side of the plane. Southwest apparently no longer does pre-boarding for families and put us in group 3 for one flight and group 5 for the other. We gate checked a stroller which was available at the jet bridge on landing. They required us to install the car seat in the window. Because our kid is under 2 they were fine with him being on my lap for takeoff/landing, we brought a copy of his birth certificate for age verification but weren’t asked for it

I have TSA precheck which got added to his boarding pass automatically. We brought on food pouches, shelf stable milk, and a filled reusable child’s water bottle. Both times they pulled stuff aside to swab/test but it seemed random which things the agents cared about. They opened his water bottle and tested the water (because parents putting explosives inside their child’s drinks is a massive vector for terrorist attacks I guess). Highly recommend bringing a stroller, but I had to put it through the scanner and carry kiddo through the metal detector. I had to remove the car seat from its bag and put them through the scanner

We bought a cheapo car seat bag off Amazon (yorepek). I’m a tall and moderately fit man, and found it very easy to carry but slightly uncomfortable for long periods. It’s actually a bit easier to put another backpack on your front to balance out the weight. I was able to walk down the airplane aisle with it on my back and carrying my kid without hitting anyone. The car seat has a large recessed handle thing on the back that makes it easy to carry and put in the bag

The seat fit perfectly in forward facing with the arm rests down, but the seat belt buckle landed right at the middle of the back. It doesn’t seem completely uncomfortable, the cushioning turns it into a mild lump, but probably noticeable for kids. For the first flight both rear and forward facing modes were able to get to the same recline level, which was about the same as we use in the car (it doesn’t seem possible to get it reclined enough for an infant but I didn’t try) On the smaller plane, rear facing didn’t let me get as much recline, and the cup holders got in the way of the arms (the cup holders collapsible and removable so I think rear facing would’ve still worked ok with the arm rests down). We wound up doing forward facing for both flights. We tried using a seatbelt extender, and maybe I didn’t use it effectively, but it only shifted the buckle by a few inches, so it wasn’t useful.

Our kid ended up on our lap 90% of the flight (including takeoff and landing), but it was still nice having the empty seat so I could hold him in whatever position he wanted without disturbing anyone.

I was a bit nervous about having to memorize all the different installation methods for the trip but they’re all quite conceptually easy IMO, especially the airplane ones. I recommend bringing the manual with you in case they want proof of FAA certification (they’re didn’t for us) because I’m still not sure where/whether it says it on the car seat

One negative about the car seat is that it’s a huge pain to switch from LATCH to seat belt, since the clips have to be stored in a compartment under the back cushion. I just did a seat belt install for everything during the trip

On the flight back I had to do a diaper change in the air, only the front lavatory had a changing area. I found it quite difficult to do the change so I’d avoid it if you can

We allowed+encouraged a pacifier during the flight to help alleviate the air pressure changes, but his ears still bothered him and there was some crying esp during takeoff and landing. Our pediatrician said we could give something (maybe Tylenol?) before the flight but we didn’t

If I could do the trip all over again, the only thing I would’ve changed is to have a shorter trip and spend more on things to make it more convenient/relaxing