Last Updated on January 24, 2026 by Rebecca
We liked to travel pre-kids, and we still like to travel with kids. So far, we’ve taken our toddler on 30 flights. This includes four international trips plus plenty of domestic trips, almost all of which have involved either rental cars or taxis. And we’ve brought a car seat on every single one of them. Here’s what we’ve learned about how to travel with a car seat for a baby or a toddler.
Car seats we’ve used for travel
We own three car seats: a Chicco Keyfit 35 for the baby stage, a Graco Extend2Fit for our car at home in the toddler stage, and a Cosco Scenera Next for travel. We’ve traveled with both the Chicco Keyfit 35 and the Cosco Scenera Next. Here’s the rundown on each:
Chicco Keyfit 35
If you’re thinking of traveling with the Chicco Keyfit 35, it’s probably because you already use it as your infant car seat, since this isn’t specifically marketed as a travel car seat. That said, it works just fine for travel, in our experience!
The Chicco Keyfit 35 is relatively heavy to carry at around 10 pounds. That said, if you have a compatible stroller, the weight isn’t particularly important. When moving through the aiport, you can put your baby in the car seat and the car seat in the stroller. Keep in mind that you don’t need to bring the base with you for travel, just the car seat itself.
We’ve taken several trips with our Chicco Keyfit 35, including both international and domestic travel. On each of these trips, we purchased our baby a seat on the flight and brought the car seat on the plane. The Chicco Keyfit 35 is FAA approved, and it fit well in plane seats.
Our baby was comfortable in his own familiar car seat. He was able to nap as well as you could expect from a distractable baby in a new environment. We really appreciated the canopy that could be snapped down to ensconse the baby in a cave of darkness.
The Chicco Keyfit 35 is easy to install in taxis and rental cars, but you should definitely practice the baseless installation a few times at home first. This way, you won’t be trying to figure it out while jetlagged, exhausted, and probably dealing with a cranky baby.
Cosco Scenera Next & Cosco Scenera Extend
The Cosco Scenera Next has been widely cited as a travel seat, and for good reason. This seat weighs only 6.8 pounds. It feels noticeably light when you pick it up. The Cosco Scenera Next car seat doesn’t come with a base, which makes it very easy to install on the go.
That’s the good news! The bad news is that the Cosco Scenera Next was discontinued in 2025 and replaced with the larger Cosco Scenera Extend. This seat is apparently still quite light, which is definitely a plus for travel, but we haven’t been able to try it out ourselves just yet.
The major disadvantage of the Cosco Scenera Next, which seems to also be the case for the Scenera Extend, is the seat belt path on flights. The seat belt is routed right behind the child’s lower back. The buckle of the airplane seatbelt ends up right in the middle of the car seat. The padding on the Cosco Scenera Next is thin enough that you can very easily feel the buckle jabbing through the material. It looks very uncomfortable!
This isn’t a problem in cars, however. In cars, the seatbelt buckles in at the side of the car seat, so there is no buckle behind the child’s back. The Cosco Scenera Next is very quick and easy to install in rental cars or taxis. Just make sure you practice a couple times at home to get the hang of it!
How to travel with a car seat on a plane
To get your car seat on the plane, you have three main options:
- Bring your car seat on board
- Check your car seat
- Get a car seat at your destination
Here’s the rundown of each:
Bringing your car seat on board the flight
Our first choice is always to bring our car seat on the plane itself. It’s the best way to make sure that the car seat remains in good condition when traveling, and it’s the safest for your child to be in a car seat on a plane, especially during takeoff, landing, and turbulence. We’ve also found that our toddler sleeps best in his own familiar car seat, which is a huge plus on long flights or redeye flights.
The downside, of course, especially for children under 2, is the cost of buying an extra ticket.
If you do decide to bring your car seat on the plane, here are some logistical tips and tricks that we’ve learned on our past trips:
Bring a compatible stroller. You can wheel the stroller all the way to the gate and gate check it, or you can even bring it on board if it’s small enough to fit in the overhead bin. If you do decide to bring the stroller on board, note that most airlines don’t count strollers as your carry-on bag, so you can still bring your regular carry on.
You will likely have to remove the car seat from the stroller when you go through security, although some airports will allow you to keep the car seat-stroller system assembled.
Most airlines will allow families with small children priority boarding. We’ve found that it’s best to take advantage of this. You don’t want to be blocking an aisle full of travelers while you’re trying to install a car seat and get your kid settled.
Know where on your car seat the FAA approval sticker is. The flight crew has often asked us to see it before they allow us to install the seat.
Check your car seat manual before boarding to see if it should be installed forward-facing or rear-facing on on airplane. We have had to show this to flight crew members who weren’t familiar with our particular seat.
No one is allowed to sit blocked in by the car seat. This is because they wouldn’t be able to evacuate quickly enough in an emergency. That means that if you’re sitting in a section of seats with a window, the car seat needs to be placed next to the window. The flight crew will have to move you to make this happen if you didn’t book a window seat. On an aircraft with two aisles, it’s fine to have the car seat between the aisles because no one will be blocked by it.
Checking your car seat on a flight
Most airlines will allow you to check a car seat for free. It won’t count as part of your baggage allowance. This is definitely the most affordable option for traveling by plane with a car seat. No need to buy an extra seat on the flight.
The major disadvantage of checking a car seat is potential damage to the car seat. Car seats can sustain invisible damage in car accidents that can limit their ability to keep your child safe in the future. It’s reasonable to assume that the same may be the case when car seats are tossed around by baggage handlers.
If you do decide to check a car seat, you can consider gate-checking it and putting it in a protective bag so that it sustains the least possible amount of damage.
The very safest way to check a car seat is to pack it back up in its original box and packaging, which the manufacturer specifically designed to keep it safe. It may even be cost-effective to purchase a brand-new, inexpensive car seat like the Cosco Scenera and make a point of keeping the packaging. This may not be much more expensive than purchasing a car seat travel bag.
On longer flights or redeye flights, it may also be more difficult for your child to sleep without a car seat. Then again, some children might prefer to contact nap on a plane, anyway.
Getting a car seat at your destination
The final possibility is getting a car seat at your destination. If you’re visiting family or friends, it might be cost-effective to purchase an inexpensive car seat and have it shipped directly to them. They could install it in their car and pick you up at the airport, or they could bring it to you to install in a rental car.
You can also rent a car seat along with your rental car or from a company that rents out baby gear. This can be expensive, and it may not be safe. You have no way to know if the car seat has been handled properly by past families or if it has been in an accident in the past.
How to install a car seat in a taxi or rental car
Cars abroad
If you’re American, you’re probably used to installing your car seat using your seat belt’s lock function. If you pull the seat belt all the way out, it locks, allowing you to install the car seat. However, the US is the only country in the world to require seat belts to have this function. Thus, if you’re bringing your car seat on an international trip, you’ll likely need to bring a locking clip.
Locking clips are inexpensive, and you can buy them online. If possible, it’s best to purchase them directly from the manufacturer of the car seat to ensure that they’re high quality and effective.
It takes a little practice to learn to install a seat safely with a locking clip, so be sure to practice several times before you leave home! You don’t want to be the one holding up the airport taxi line because you’re trying to watch YouTube tutorials while struggling to install a car seat!
Installing a car seat in taxis
You can install a car seat in any taxi or Uber that has a seat belt. Note that in some parts of the world, seat belts are sometimes covered over by seat covers in taxis and are thus not usable. In this case, it might be wise to hire a private car service so that you can inquire about this in advance.
We’ve found that we’re often in rush in an airport taxi line or Uber pick-up zone, so it helps to pre-plan exactly how we’re going to get on board. In our case, Mom stays with the child and helps the taxi driver load the luggage while Dad quickly installs the car seat. Then we load up the kid and we’re on the way! The taxi driver will probably be annoyed with you for the extra time it takes to get set up. It just is what it is. Be prepared for this.
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