your expereinces in flying with a small child?

[ericpat]

Last October my family traveled from Boston to Ohio for my brother's wedding. My 3 years-old-at-the-time daughter came with us. We did a bit of online research and determined the width of a passenger airline seat (There was page at the FAA's website, but I can't find it at the moment, but it was either 17" or 19" wide) and then researched car-seats to fit that form.

The one we decided on was a Graco CarGo. I'm pretty sure this is the one we chose. We seat-belted it into her seat on the plane, and we also used it in the rental car. It worked out fine. The flight attendants checked the seat as we brought it on, and it had what they were looking for on it so they let us use it.

We also had her take sips from a cup of water via a straw on takeoff and landing, since she's too little to perform the Valsalva maneuver.

 

[Thunderfoot]

You mention under five, but the real question is one of body mass (height over weight).

If the child is small-ish, I would go with the car seat, find one that fits and go with it. If the child is larger, a car booster may be a good option., the single lap belt is not a good option in my opinion and carrying a child in your lap is just asking for trouble (especially in coach).

As for the CARES system, both of mine were out of seats by the time that came around, so I can't help you there, but please DO use something.