Key Features
One of the original budget inflatable travel beds for airplanes is the 1st Class Kid Pillow. It only has one valve and one chamber. One unique feature of the 1st Class Kid Pillow is that it allows the valve to be positioned at the top to make it easier to fill in place.
It’s also one of the bigger airplane beds at 18″ x 18″ x 12″.
Key Differences between Premium and Budget Inflatable Airplane Beds
There are several differences between these more cost-effective airplane travel beds for kids and a more expensive inflatable airplane bed for toddlers. The biggest differences are quality, price and features.
Quality
The price is higher, but so is the quality in the name brand inflatable toddler flight beds. With the more expensive models, you’ll see far less complaints about the inflatable cushion becoming deflated during the flight or getting delivered with a rip in it.
If you are using an inflatable cushion as an airplane bed for a baby, you really don’t want it to be deflating. I’ve used my Fly Tot inflatable airplane cushion several times a year for over 4 years and have never had an issue with it deflating.
Price
These budget inflatable airplane footrest are much less expensive, typically around $20, while the premium ones can be 4-5X more.
Features
Another key difference is that the ones in my list of budget blow up cushions for planes don’t come with a pump. Where the premium toddler travel beds for planes all come with a pump.
The shape of the premium inflatable airplane travel beds is also a big difference. Rather than just a cube, they are more mushroom shaped. The top is wider allowing it to have a better fit between your toddlers seat and the seat in front of them. It also give more options to fit it by flipping it upside down for flights with very limited leg space.
Airline Approval
One final difference is the companies that you are buying your airplane bed for toddlers from. There are companies like Flyaway Designs who are working to get their Flyaway kids airplane bed approved by the airlines and that’s why you’ll see it approved by over 50 airlines.
Tips for Buying A Budget Inflatable Airplane Travel Bed for Toddlers
When looking to purchase one of these inflatable cushions
for travel, check the dimensions of it. I would recommend getting one that is 18
inches tall by 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep. You’ll only need to inflate
it to the point that it fills the space, but it will be far less useful if it’s
too small for the space.
Aside from complaints about the inflatable airplane footrest
being delivered with a hole or leaking after only a couple of uses, the biggest
complaint is getting it to fit properly as a child airplane seat extender.
There are several complaints about not being able to fit in the space once it’s
inflated or that it moves around too much.
In the first instance, it likely has too much air in it to get it down onto the floor between the two seats. In the second, there’s not enough air in the toddler airplane bed.
The solution is to fill it most of the way, put it in place then perform some crazy yoga moves to get your head down to the valves to fill it the rest of the way.
In my experience, you’ll get a better fit if you fill it in place. A pump will make this so much easier.
If you have two or more kids, it can be more cost effective to get a two-pack of inflatable airplane cushions.
Can You Use an Inflatable Seat Cushion on the Plane?
Let’s just get this out of the way…. Some airlines have
banned these types of products, even the premium versions. Check to make sure that
isn’t the case for your airline. I read countless reviews from people that were
surprised that they weren’t able to use them.
I can’t stress this enough – check with your airline before buying. Besides the airlines that have outright banned the use of an inflatable flight cushion for toddlers, other airlines only allow specific brands like the Flyaway Kids Bed. To make matters more confusing, some airlines leave it up to the discretion of the flight crew.
As an example, we were able to successfully use our inflatable airplane beds on a Korean Air flight to Seoul, but on the flight home a different flight crew asked us to deflate them. This is a risk you take, but purchasing a budget airplane bed mitigates the risk somewhat.
A few airlines which do not allow use of these toddler travel beds for planes include: Emirates, Korean Airways, Hawaiian Airlines, Asiana, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, Air Malta, Egypt Air and Qantas.
Tips for Successful use of an Airplane Bed for Kids
Based on my years of using inflatable airplane beds for my kids, here is some advice I have for you:
1. Make sure you test it before you go. Inflatables are prone to leaks, especially in lower priced ones.
2. Your baby or toddler needs to have their own reserved seat in order to use an airplane bed for babies. Unless you get lucky and snag a spare seat.
3. Be aware that they can only use it in certain seats, which are window seats and the middle seat on larger airplanes with a middle block of seats. They can never be used on a seat which would block another passengers ability to reach the aisle.
4. Make sure your child is still able to be buckled while in the seat.
5. Installing the inflatable airplane bed for kids should not affect any of the other passengers. Install it within the confines of your seat, not in the aisle.
6. Don’t try to blow up the toddler airplane travel bed during take off and be prepared to take it down before landing, even if you need to wake your child.
7. Watch out for misleading images that show two kids laying side by side. Airlines do not allow that. Your kid should be wearing their seat belt and they will make you wake your child to buckle them if there is turbulence. The seat belt works better if you have their head near the back of their seat. Another advantage of this sleeping position is that their legs are on the pillow in case it deflates.
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Celine Brewer is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she’s helped millions of new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade. In addition to writing on her baby travel blog, she has shared her expertise on traveling with a baby or toddler by contributing to articles about traveling with a baby with the Washington Post, USA Today, the Lonely Planet magazine and Pregnancy & Newborn magazine.
Celine also writes about family travel on the site FamilyCanTravel.com, which she co-owns with her husband. Being from the Canadian Rockies, she shares her passion about her home and travel to Banff National Park and area on their site TravelBanffCanada.com.
