******* airlines - argh! They sure don't make it easy!

Ok - so my daughter is too old to be held long haul on the lap but too young to be without a "child restraint system".
Coming from the UK we don't have a cdn approved carseat so that's out of the question. Been nosing around online trying to find answers.

Anyone used the CARES system? Air Canada accepts those. There's one, yes just one, currently on ebay that I'm bidding on. £90 on amazon just seems extortianate. Just wondering if they're worth it, or whether to suck it up and have her sit on our laps but in the hopes we can get a 3 seat row with an empty one.

There are a few threads on the subject, might be worth doing a search.

Here are some alternative websites you can buy on.

Have you thought about renting one instead of purchasing? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CARES-Harn...item4ac9401e5e

http://www.gadgets4travel.com/cares-...ness-576-p.asp

http://www.crelling.com/MODEL-27%20SINGLE%20SEAT.html

http://kidsflysafe.com/buy-now/

Thanks - had done a search but not pulled up much ... clearly doing it wrong lol

Thanks for the links. A couple on there I'd not found myself. Had considered renting but seems a hassle to send back from canada-side, then thought that as we're planning on flying at least once a year, and she's just petite so would probably use for a while, that it might be worth it.

thinking thinking ...

You are welcome.

I just found this link to suppliers throughout the world, if it is on any use - it may even be cheaper to buy it in the US and have it sent over.

http://kidsflysafe.com/buy-now/find-a-store/#europe

http://www.amazon.com/Child-Airplane...=cares+harness

Reread your post so changed mine....

If your daughter is <2 then she is still elligable to travel on your lap. Our youngest went across that Atlantic at age 18 months (albeit on the 4.5-5hr flights to and from St. John's). She'll be travelling on my lap to Toronto next month at 21 months and yes thats going to be a bit of a handful for 3.5hrs but we'll manage.

If you are booking a seperate seat then the CARES thingy looks like the easiest thing to use. Lugging a car seat onto a plane is for the birds IMHO. We'll probably get one for next year for our visit to the UK.

We use the Cares thingy. A lap belt would be no good for our squirmy little one. Its very easy to use - loop round the back of the seat and has two loops which you put the lap belt through and it turns it into the kind of harness you would get in a kids car seat i.e. over the shoulders and across the lap. It hardly takes up any space either as opposed to taking your car seat on board.

If she is under two you can still have her on your lap, although for a long haul it might be a bit of a nightmare if she is on the older side of being under two. If you are buying her a plane seat then the Cares thing works well. If she gets squirmy you can slacken it off a bit after take off and tighten it up again for landing!

Good luck!

We flew to the UK 2 years ago, in December with a 3 year old in her own seat, just plain airline seat, a 23 month old on hubby's lab and a 6 week old on my lab God only knows what we were thinking but we survived. Went last year in June to Italy for my brother's wedding and then in December to the UK for Christmas. Then a 4 and a 2 year old in normal airline seats and an infant on my lab (8months/14months) and that was fine. Our girls are good flyers though. Never used any the Cares system only loads of DVDs,colouring and crackers

thanks all

I know she could go on our nap ... just not sure we want to do that - she's such an independent little thing. We did it when she was a just shy of a year and that was a handful lol.

If it's financially possible for you to get her a seat then I would. Even if she ends up on your lap, at least you got an extra seat for extra space. It's a long flight. You could also ask if the seats at the Bulk head are still available. They cost extra but as you wouldn't have a row in front of you it's loads more spacious.

Safe flight!

Hi if your flying to canada with ac on the ac869 from LHR to yyz the flight has plenty of seats avail from experience if you can get bulkhead seats at row 12 there's plenty of room

Flying AC on ac889 to yow on 12/11/13

If you do have to buy one, sell it after you've used it...even if you don't get the full amount back...not all is lost

When our daughter was under 2 we never bought her a seat and both times that we flew with Air Canada we were lucky enough to end up with an empty seat and as they were overnight flights she slept a lot
These days we always travel with her car seat. It's a hassle but she's safe, comfortable and stays in her seat without kicking anyone in front! It also saves us having to hire one with the car when we arrive at our destination.

Gosh that IS lucky - we've never had that when we've flown to Calgary. Don't know if Ottawa is less busy? Plus we're flying on a Tuesday.

We've decided to suck it up and pay for a seat. Just safer knowing that there's that option - especially when it comes to meal time Now I just need to win that ebay bid! khkhkh