Can you carry-on carseats?

So, my brother is getting married in April and by then, I'll have a little baby about 6 weeks old. So of course I am taking her with me. However, I'm so cheap I don't want to pay $15 to check in anything if I don't have to. Anyone know? of course then I'd have the carseat AND a bag... so would have be too many carry-ons? I don't even know if a carseat would fit--probably not huh. any ideas?

Take it as a carry on...when it doesnt fit the stewardess will check it into thier cabin...I've done it several times!

If you want to use a seat with her carseat you'll have to purchase that so it's something to consider. Otherwise you can hold her the flight and she's free (under 2 i believe) pretty sure the seat will have to be taken below though but you can bypass checking it in up front

yah what Amy said hahha...that's what I was trying to say about bypassing checkin

I flew with Xander when he was 8 months old. I checked his car seat & stroller combo, they kept it up front so that I had it when we departed the plane and didn't have to carry him all the way to the baggage department - not that it would have bothered me, I had him in his carrier for most of the wait until the flight, and then again getting off the plane (since they are not allowed to be in an actual carrier during the flight, you have to actually hold them in your arms - at least I did).

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!!!! And pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease do your best to USE the seat on the plane too! You can avoid the issue of "will there be an empty seat" by buying a seat for the baby, or you can hope for the best. Trust me, having baby use the seat in the air will make EVERYONE on that flight, especially baby, happier and safer. If you have any questions about using a seat on the plane, please check out car-seat.org. It's an amazingly informative site.

Do NOT check the seat, no matter what. The baggage handlers don't take the care you would, and the knocking around under the plane can cause the same sort of damage a collision would. Seats need to be replaced after collisions, so I wouldn't chance having that sort of damage happen when I NEED the seat at the other end of my destination.

All that said, if there is no space for you to use the seat once you're at the gate, they will gate check it. Very few seats fit in the overhead compartments on planes. The only one I know of is the Sunshine Kids Radian. Fab seat, rear-faces to 33lbs and forward faces to 65 or 80 pounds depending on the model you purchase.

I always leave them at the area where you can put your strollers, etc ... (right before you enter the plane cabin). Most airlines will tag your items right at the gate (I've never seen one that won't).

We went to Alabama (we live in WA state) when my daughter was 12 days old for my grandmothers funeral. You can take your carseat and stroller (travel system or umbrella) with you up to the gate... They will "gate check" everything and put it under the plane... When you get off the plane (either at your destination or a layover) they will bring it up to the door of the plane or to the gate you are arriving at... We have done this 3 times with my daughter (once when she was 12 days, again when she was 4 months and once more when she was 5 months) with no isses... They will usually provide you a big plastic bag if you would like to put your things in to keep them protected and they will usually give you a tag that says gate check... Everything that you will bring for your baby (carset, stroller) does not count towards your carryon allowance... I hope this helps!!!

thank you thank you thank you! just what I wanted to hear!!!

Okay, I don't have the attention span to read through everyone's responses, so here's my take on it.

My son was 5 months old when we went to Colorado and he slept on my boppy the whole way there... I'm a breastfeeder, so I wanted to be able to have easy access to the boob. For our toddler, we brought the carseat up with us and they definitely found us an empty seat, because they'd prefer toddlers strapped in. It's no big deal to check it for them if there isn't an empty seat.

But my 5 month old was a dream... he slept the whole way there and back on the boppy. It wasn't even an uncomfortable flight. (Going, I had a seat next to me empty and that was so much better, but coming home I had a laptop user next to me and that kind of sucked)

You can take it on if you buy another seat OR you get on a flight that has open seats and you can put the carseat in the open seat.

I would definitely take it on the plane with you - it makes traveling MUCH easier.

I'm not really worried about the flight and there is NO way I will pay an extra $250 for my baby to have a seat. If all else fails, I'll nurse her and then we'll both sleep. Sounds good to me.