There was quite a bit of talk about air travel in the CSFTL group over the weekend (one ended well one did not) and this video along with some great articles were shared so I thought I'd pass the info off here.

First, seeing this video showing why techs don't recommend checking seat was pretty unbelievable. I'm sure this isn't how all car seats are treated by airlines but my gosh I couldn't believe how this guy was throwing the seats around and found it really concerning that when your seat is out of sight, you really have no idea what is being done to it!

Even worse, almost all car seat manufacturers require that a seat be replaced after *any* accident, even a very minor fender bender with the child not even in the seat or that side of the vehicle being directly hit. It makes me wonder how this would compare to taking a direct impact to the concrete. ;/
http://thecarseatlady.wordpress.com/tipsheets/reuseaftercrash/

On this site you can see some seats that came out of a completely totaled car, but aside from being pretty dirty look structurally okay which just furthers the concerning thought on "visually inspecting" a seat upon arrival. eek!
http://carseatnanny.blogspot.com/2011/03/why-i-do-what-i-do.html

There was also some great info shared about why you should use your seat *on* the plane including a current petition to mandate child safety seat use. The petition is currently frozen due to the shutdown but you can be directed to it from here and sign when the shutdown ends:
http://childseats.weebly.com/

You can also check out the NTSB video "Airline - Child Passenger Safety - Autopilot" on YouTube and read multiple articles about the tragedies some parents have faced b/c their kids weren't properly restrained: (warning: they are really hard reads, just to be prepared)
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1999-02-12/news/9902120412_1_brown-lohr-child-safety-seats-parents-laps
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2008-07-29-lap-children_N.htm
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/columnist/mcgee/2008-07-29-lap-children_N.htm

And the car seat lady has a whole series on info & tips to make travel easier! http://www.thecarseatlady.com/airplanes/airplanes.html

I know that alot of us bees travel by air quite regularly (well not really us specifically b/c we usually drive everywhere) so I knew it'd be beneficial info to share!