pumpkinlou

Hello!

What did those of you travelling with little people do with their car seats when leaving the UK? Was wondering whether to get new when we arrive in NZ or can you put them through with your luggage at the airport?

Thanks

Lou
xx

Am Loolah

Hi Lou,

We checked ours on as luggage on the plane so we had it when we arrived in Auckland.

zummerzet_lou

we are taking ours with us ...

James is 4, so has a booster seat with high back one, and that will be packed in our luggage.

Lauren is 2, and has a Britax Eclipse, and that one we can take on the plane, and she will sit in it for the flight. As such, this does not count towards our hand luggage allowance (I hope!!)

Lou

pumpkinlou

Hi Lou,

we have the same car seat for our two year old so will check if we can do the same!

Thanks

Lou
xxxxx

eddie_nz

send them on the plane,

We've turned up at the gate before with them in plastic bags they get send as hold luggage

Also they were sent outside out luggage allowance as they are saftey items

However that was a few years ago when airlines weren't in huge financial issues and had custome service

eddie_nz

Oh I forgot to say the range of car seats available in the UK is much bigger than NZ

to such an extent I sometimes return from the UK trips with car seats for friends and family

pumpkinlou

Hi Eddie,

Thanks for the reply. My youngest's car seat is a bit worse for wear so may get her a new one before we go.

Cheers

Lou

eddie_nz

Oh yes

Something you will learn is that NZ doesn't have the population to support a large range of products in some areas so the choice can be dire. Combine that with relativly low purchasing power due to the dollar and somethings you'd like just aren't availiable in nz

:-(

pumpkinlou

Yes, I have heard that before. I am stocking up on shoes and clothes (any excuse!!) as I have heard that the choice of shoes is not brilliant.

My OH keeps saying I wont need my gorgeous stilletto knee high boots, just fleece, tracky bottoms and hiking boots

we'll see eh!!

Lou

Stoof

i still haven't quite got my head around this (not that we're near booking flights yet, but i like to be prepared!!)

we'll have a two year old in tow too and i've been wondering about this - do you have to make special arrangements with the airline about the car seat, or is it the only way they're allowed to travel, or is it personal choice as a passenger etc etc?!?!

i've not been able to find anything on airline websites that refers to infants travelling in car seats, so any info/advice hugely appreciated!!

cheers

eddie_nz

children don't have to sit in car seats on planes

Normal seat and seat belt on landing/takeoff are the only rules

Stoof

wow! swift reply! cheers eddienz!

Littletoe

I found that taking car seats just takes up too much room. Plus, they could get a battering through travel and be less safe. Although there's not a huge range here, there's still adaquate safe seats here, look at these shops online

babycity.co.nz
and, babyfactory.co.nz. There is a huge market for second hand seats as well as rentals, depending on how you feel about that. Plunket is a good place to start for rentals.

If you intend to arrive and rent a car initially, you can just rent the seats with the car company in the interim.

You just end up taking so much crap, its much better to leave/sell things that aren't important. I have also included an email I received from the LTSA in case any one is interested in the laws here with regards to seats....

As the driver, you must make sure that any child under five years is properly restrained by an approved child restraint. They must not travel in the car if you can't put them in an approved child restraint.Children aged five to seven years must use a child restraint if there's one available. Otherwise they must use a safety belt if one is available. If there are no child restraints or safety belts available, they must travel in the back seat.

The type of child restraint you need to use depends on the age and size of the child.
Infant restraint: Birth to 9 kg (or up to 13.5 kg) (approx. 6 months)
Convertible (baby to child) restraint: Birth to 18 kg (approx. 4 years)
Front-facing child restraint: 9-18 kg (6 months to approx. 4 years)
Booster seat: 14-26 kg (approx. 4 years to 7 years)
Child harness: 14-32 kg (approx. 4 to 7 years)

I have provided the following link to a factsheet on our website where the above information was obtained from.

www.landtransport.govt.nz/factsheets/07.html

I have also included a further link to all child restraint information available on our website.

http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/roa...ld-restraints/ [/I]

lapsed kiwi

When we migrated our just less than 2-yr old (for whom my employer paid for a plane seat) sat in the plane in his car seat that we brought from the UK. The advantages of this is that he was safely constrained in the event of any turbulence etc (or worse), and had a familiar seat to sleep in. In practice, he didn't sleep very well, and having the car seat in one seat of our row of three made it much more difficult to stretch out. Also, they are not the easiest things to lug around an airport. We had no problems with Singapore airlines allowing this on the plane and it did not count as baggage. By contrast, my cousin flew back to UK after a holiday here and was refused permission by Air NZ to have a seat in the plane - so I would check with the airline first, preferably by email.
On balance, I probably wouldn't use a car seat in a plane again and haven't done when we have traveled with our kids since emigrating. We have also bought a couple of seats since arriving (because of a new baby) and found no problem with the selection or price of items available; there are about four competing shops in Albany alone with shelves full of these things, and I'm sure this is the case in any city. You might be a bit less lucky if you're shopping in Eketahuna though
I'd say if you have a decent seat, bring it but check it in. If it's getting past it, buy one here

pumpkinlou

Thanks for your replies everyone.

hmm? Not sure what to do now. May just take the car seats and check them in as my 4 year olds is fairly new and was expensive and will last till she is 11 apparently!!

The plus of taking my 2 year olds on the plane is that it reclines so she could sleep a bit more comfy in it, but it is bloomin heavy to lug around the airport!!

oh decisions decisions.......................

Lou
xxxxx