Asked by: Jinhong Kleisner
travel travel accessories

Can you check car seats for free?

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No. Every U.S. airline allows you to check a car seat free of charge when traveling with a child. You can check your car seat at the airport baggage counter or wait and check it at your gate.


Likewise, do car seats get damaged when checked?

If you are going to have to check the car seat, you can minimize the time the airline has to damage it by gate checking. You still need to have the car seat cover to put over the seat before gate checking to keep it as safe (and clean) as possible. If it is damaged, let the airline know.

Also Know, how do you check a car seat at the airport? To gate check a car seat, alert the gate agent of your flight. They will print a baggage claim label and provide a color-coded gate check ticket. You then bring the car seat to the bottom of the jet way and leave it at the end of the ramp right before you get on the plane.

Similarly, it is asked, do airlines charge to check carseats?

Most U.S. airlines and international airlines will let you take a car seat with you for free, either as checked baggage or as a gate check item.

Is it better to gate check a car seat?

Gate Checking Your Car Seat Means It's Less Likely to Be Damaged. If you are escorting your car seat to the gate there will be less people handling it. This means the chances of it being damaged while traveling through the airport are a lot smaller.

Related Question Answers

Galder Schinkels

Professional

How do I know if my car seat is damaged?

If the plastic looks whiter (if it's gray or black), if you can see any dents, scrapes, or itty bitty fractures (look like spiderwebs), you definitely need a new seat. But don't be fooled into thinking no visible damage means all is good -- damage to the seat can be invisible, or in a spot you can't see.

Bacary Heimann

Professional

Do you need a bag to check a car seat?

If your car seat is FAA-approved and your child has his or her own plane seat, you can take it onboard to use during the flight. Otherwise, you will need to check it as luggage, either at the airline check-in counter or gate.

Leonard Jakunin

Professional

Where can I get my car seat checked?

Inspection stations are frequently located at local automobile dealerships, police stations, fire houses, hospitals, and many more places. To find an inspection station in your area, please visit the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Web site: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm.

Mehboob Ageitchik

Explainer

Can you bring your car seat on the plane?

Yes (with a few exceptions). If you have a seat booked for your child and a car seat that is approved for use in aircraft by the FAA, then you can bring and use a car seat on board for your child. Car seats will say “This Restraint is Certified for Use in Motor Vehicles and Aircraft.”

Lezlie Crevillen

Explainer

Can you rent cars with car seats?

Unless you're a member of AAA, which entitles you to the free use of one car seat with every rental through Hertz, renting a car seat is bound to cost you something. Most major companies charge between $10 and $15 per seat per day, and cap those fees at a maximum of $60 to $70 per seat per rental.

Clotilde Aixendri

Explainer

Is Gate checking free?

Gate checking is always free of charge, and basically means your carry-on will be put into the cargo hold with all the other checked luggage.

Aqib Gottling

Pundit

What does gate check mean?

Gate checking refers to the practice that allows passengers to check in their bags directly at the gate. Passengers travelling with young children can check in their strollers at the gate, free of charge. For each child, airlines allow passengers to check in a stroller and a car seat.

Yvelisse Goppert

Pundit

Does a 4 year old need a carseat to fly?

Although they allow for children under 2 to sit on a parents lap, the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) recommends for all young children to sit in a FAA approved car seat at all times during a flight. Some are so bad that the carry-on bags can go flying through the plane.

Adargoma Aupperle

Pundit

Can an airline sit a child away from parent?

Under these new rules, airlines will have to help seat children under the age of 14 close to their parent, guardian or tutor, at no extra cost and at the earliest opportunity.

Yineth Buga

Pundit

Is diaper bag considered carry on?

Breast pumps and diaper bags are exempt from carry-on bag allowances.

Ivar Mendigaray

Pundit

Do car seats count as a checked bag?

Children's strollers and child safety seats are not counted as part of the standard baggage and therefore can be easily checked for free. For your convenience, these items may be checked at the curbside, the ticket counter or at the gate.

Zhonghua Behnen

Teacher

How do I know if my car seat is FAA approved?

FAA Approved Car Seat Sticker – FAA approved infant car seats, and FAA approved toddler car seats must have a sticker affixed to them that reads “This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft”. A flight attendant may check for this when you are boarding.

Maiteder Layana

Teacher

Do car seats fly free on American Airlines?

American Airlines will allow one free checked (or gate-checked) stroller, one free checked (or gate checked) car seat, and one complimentary carry-on diaper bag for each child under 2 years traveling without his own seat (lap child).

Illah Halyapin

Teacher

Is a birth certificate required for a child to fly?

Airlines. Policies can vary by air carrier, but in general, for domestic flights, they do not require identification for minors or adults beyond those specified by the TSA. In those cases, the airline may demand proof of the child's age such as a birth certificate or passport.

Gentza Fessler

Teacher

How do you travel with a car seat?

If you don't plan to bring your car seat on the airplane, it's best to check the car seat when you drop off your luggage. Most airlines will provide a plastic bag for each car seat. Ask for a bag if it's not voluntarily offered. The bag will protect your car seat from getting damaged or dirty.

Videlina Oyarvide

Reviewer

How do you carry a carseat?

First, here's how Puente's technique works.
  1. Turn the car seat so your baby is facing you.
  2. Loop your arm that's directly next to the car seat through the handle so the handle rests on the inside of your elbow.
  3. Twist your hand so it's facing away from your body, and use it to support the car seat underneath the handle.

Dulcelina Sivasubramanian

Reviewer

Are portable car seats legal?

The RideSafer is a safe and legal and certified to US federal standards (FMVSS 213). Often times these “car seats” are from unknown foreign manufacturers and don't say anything about meeting federal motor vehicle standards (specifically FMVSS 213).

Hoyt Sabri

Reviewer

When can you fly with a baby?

In general, most airlines allow babies at least 2 weeks old to fly.

Dong Peusen

Reviewer

Why do gates check car seats?

car seats and strollers) rather than regular luggage. The reason many parents choose to gate check their items is: the items are less exposed to the terrors of the baggage handling system (more on that later!) and so are both more likely to actually end up on your flight and less likely to be damaged.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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15th June, 2020

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