Will a Graco Snugride Infant Seat Fit in Overhead Compartment?

My family and I were living overseas in Japan, so I travelled frequently with my, now, 11 month old. Unfortunately on the first trip we bought a seat for him and also used the snugride, but since he mostly slept on me, it seemed a waste of money. After that we would check both the carseat and stroller (they will put it in a plastic bag for you) and I used the baby bjorn carrier when he was small, and now I use the Ergo carrier, but any similar baby carrier or sling will do. I find it to be the BEST thing on an airplane because it makes getting on and off the plane easy, plus with my son, if it was time for his nap, or if it was an overnight plane ride, I would go into the bathroom on the plane and sway him back and forth until he fell asleep. And then he would sleep in the carrier on me. We have taken about 6 or 7 plane rides with him now and it has worked everytime. I hope this helps, I know that travelling with a baby can be stressful, but at 4 months he will mostly sleep, which is a good thing! Also if no one has told you this yet, plan to feed your baby on take-off and landing because this way he won't feel the change in pressure and you won't have a screaming child on your hands. Good Luck and Hope this helps!

Did you buy a seat for the baby? If so, you can just seatbelt the infant carrier right into the airplane seat. If not, you can ask if there are any extra seats upon boarding and they may let you use one to do the same thing (this happened to me once). Otherwise you will have to check the infant seat at the gate with the snap & go. GL!

nope, but no need. just check the car seat and stroller at the gate. Piece of cake!

Hi D.,

Please don't think I'm being mean, because I'm really only trying to give you some perspective (one mommy to another)...if you won't drive a car with your beautiful baby in your lap, why would you do so in an airplane, which is very succeptible to varying levels of turbulence? If you can still get a seat for your son, I think you should. We took our baby on his first flight at 17 months, with his car seat. It was a huge pain, but we knew that he was safely secured the whole time.

Whatever you do, I hope you have a great trip!

Most airlines will check both the car seat and stroller at the gate at no extra charge. I recommend requestiong to be seated in the bulkhead seats. When checking in, ask if the flight is full. If not, you may me able to request that the seat next to you be blocked so you can use your carseat on board. Otherwise request a bassinette if your child is under the weight requirement. Have a great flight.

P.S.- I brought a oversized garbage bag to protect the carseat after learning that my flight was full. Checking the carseat along with the rest of my bags was more comfortable for us and I ensured that it arrived clean.

You don't necessarily need to bring the base to the infant seat. It is possible to strap in his car seat without the base. Check out the instructions to his seat...ever notice the extra groove/hook along the sides of the seat (around the baby's thigh area)? That's wear the car seatbelt can go so his seat can be safely strapped in. My daughter just outgrew her infant car seat and we never once used the base...it was infinitely easier getting in and out of taxi cabs without the base.

It's also no problem to check in the seat at the gate along with the frame. But I agree with the other moms...always try to bring the seat to the gate and ask at the gate (not at the ticketing counter) whether there is a chance of an empty seat for your baby so he can have his own seat. The flight attendants have every motivation to keep your baby happy for the entire flight!

Sorry, I can't provide an answer about the overheads, but wanted to share my experience. We didn't buy a seat for my (at the time) 9 month old daughter when we went to a wedding in Scotland, but luckily on the outbound flight we were able to use the carseat (there were lots of empty seats.) Unfortunately on the return flight we barely made the plane (don't even ask ...) so we had to check the stroller and seat at the gate, so if you need to you can check both. Just get there very early, bond with the check in folks and show off your beautiful baby - if you are lucky, they will try to help out, or give you and your hubby aisle and window - nobody will want THAT middle seat, as I found out! Good luck.

They'll check both base and infant seat at the gate. But, my advice is to walk on with him in the seat, see if there is an empty seats available which you can use to sit him strapped in the infant seat (more comfortable for both of you), if not you can stil walk off with the base and have it checked at the gate.

I don't have that type of seat, but what we do when we fly is gate check the whole thing, with the base attached to the seat as to not waste luggage space.