[EricHudson]

Hi,

We (both parents) will be travelling from USA to England (~8 hours direct flight) with a 20 month old and a 5 month old. The last time we traveled by plane was when my eldest was 5 months, we took his car seat and he slept the entire night flight and napped on the day flight in his car seat so I am anticipating my daughter will do the same. Where I am struggling is what to do for my 20 month old. His only regular car travel is to and from daycare so all his naps and night sleep have been in a crib/cot at daycare, he has been sleep trained since 6 months and is an independent sleeper.

We have paid seats with extra legroom for both children and the flight to England will be a night flight, but the return flight will be a day flight. My hope is that both will sleep on the night flight and I expect neither will sleep on the retuning day flight.

I see a lot of mixed recommendations on car seat vs no car seat for toddler. Since he is not used to sleeping in his car seat is it wishful thinking that he would sleep in it, especially if I have to put it forward facing which would be more upright? Would we be better off with CARES for takeoff and landing and an inflatable bed for sleep (we are traveling on AA so they allow them), or just allowing him to lay across his seat and my lap? My fear is that we take the car seat on board and I end up with a large lap child and no benefit from the extra seat we paid for because I have a car seat strapped in that I have no where else to store.

I don’t have a car seat suitable to take on a plane for my toddler and am considering the cosco scenera next or graco contender slim. The cosco scenera is light and cheap but I have read that they often need to be forward facing on the plane and the seatbelt buckle is right behind their back.

Would appreciate any advice or personal experiences people have.

[Rogalik]

I flew alone with my toddler and baby last month and booking an overnight flight made a big difference—they both slept most of the way. I packed new small toys, snacks, and didn't worry too much about screen time. If you’re still booking, travelbusinessclass was super helpful for finding better seat layouts and getting the best deals with extra space, which made feeding and diaper changes way easier.