Planes with a child under 2

Airline personnel are very concerned about the use of a carseat, but no one seems to know how to actually do it. Everything I read says a child under 2 must be secured in a car seat or else held as a lap infant and that they could not be bucked just buckled into a plane seatbelt. It also states that carseat use is much safer than holding a lap infant, but it's obvious that carseat use on planes is not that common.

Plane 1 Victoria BC to Vancouver BC. 20 min. The gate implied it was easier to not use the carseat. We gate checked the seat. We assumed that meant we would hold her as a lap infant. Once on the plane, the steward said Ms.I had to be buckled into a seat with the seatbelt. Ms.I was not interested in complying. We said she was under 2 and a lap infant. He said we paid for a seat, therefore she was not. He implied we were lying about her age. I offered her passport. I was worried at this point that they might just kick us off the plane. Finally the steward gave us the safety briefing for a lap infant and Jonathan was also also able to get her buckled in the belt at the last second. Ms. I was petrified by the plane and hid her face on Jonathan’s arm the whole trip.

Plane 2 Vancouver BC to Hong Kong. 14 hours. We needed the carseat. The gate asked if it was a forward facing carseat. It was! They looked over the carseat - Allowed. Someone carried the carseat onto the plane for us. I buckled it in. The stewardess gave it a tug to ensured it was secure. Ms.I was great in her seat. It had cup holders though, which meant we couldn’t get the tray down for her to eat. I fed her with a spoon, and handed her snacks. She slept great in it. Trying to get her to sleep for the night was more challenging. I tried leaning over her chair with her buckled in to breastfeed her. It must have looked like I was trying to smother her.

Plane 3. Hong Kong to Singapore. We missed our flight, and they needed to rebook us. The challenge was that with a carseat, we needed a window seat. It took them a while, but ’m glad they sorted that out before we got on the plane.

Gate check looked at the car seat. They called over more people, but let it on. The stewards kept looking at the carseat. The seat was buckled in but the steward was now trying to read the French label of the carseat. I told them the English label was on the other side of the carseat (the window side) and that this was our 3rd plane ride with the carseat today. They let it go. We were literally the last people to board the plane and in the 2rd to last row. Ms.I slept most of this plane ride.

Conclusion. Basically be prepared to calmly defend the use of the carseat. I basically said “It complies”; “It was checked over at the gate” and “We’ve used it on planes before” over and over again. The airline personnel usually looked relieved to hear that. I also wish I'd had a physical copy of the carseats on planes rules with me and next time I'll carry it with me.