Airplane Travel - Salinas,CA

The car seat blog has a lot of useful tips for safe air travel:
Airplanes car seats and kids - what you need to know
Part 1: http://carseatblog.com/?p=6599
Part 2: http://carseatblog.com/?p=6635

More helpful info from a former flight attendant : http://flyingwithchildren1.blogspot.com/

I too would use the seats. We flew with my daughter 3 months before her 3rd bday and I found it helpful to tell her the plain was like a car and she can not get out of the seats. We were lucky that a lot of people were not up walking around or I may have been caught in a lie :O) Keep in mind that the seats have to be by the window, so if you're traveling alone with the two I'm not sure how that would work. What we did was one of us went on the plane for the early boarding and set up the seats while the other one ran our daughter around the airport trying to get her tired out. One huge perk of traveling with kids is you get to cut in line at the metal detector gate :O)
Happy travels!

last time I flew with a toddler we used out seat in flight- It didn't count against us for a carry-on and would have counted against us if we had checked it

I would use the seats on the plane . It will help a lot on the plane for you with out having the kids all over your lap. I think it may be hard for you to carry them to the gate, but some airlines have a thing where they will take them and put them at the front of the plane for you so when you are boarding they are right there.

Looks like you are getting opinions on both sides. So mine too will only be an opinion. We have traveled SWA and have travelled with our kids multiple times via plane. We actually make numerous flights multiple times a year. We fly longer distances too than what you are traveling.
I would carry my car seats on the plane with me. We would get luggage carts and just load them on there. We always packed our kids "Goodie backpacks" with snacks, new toys, writting boards and little Video players. Thier backpacks went on their backs. I carried one carryon and left hubby to pushing the luggage cart with the car seats and carry on. If your children are use to their car seats in the car, then the car seats on the plane can be your saving grace. I have found that the car seats give the children a little control and feelings of familiarity. It has always been my experience that they know how to sit in a car seat, but not how to sit buckled in a full size plane seat. On my many many flights, It has been my observation; USUALLY when there is a toddler that is up and down in the seat, in the aisle or kicking seats in front, they tend to be the "free range kids". The ones in the car seat are secured and give very little intrest of getting out or up. The lap ones and ones in the plane seats are so busy with messing around with buttons and air controls that the parents look sooo tired by the end of the flight. Plus the car seats are safer if turbulence were to occur. We have never done what Cathy A. suggested and have someone go with the early boarding and set up the car seats ahead of time; but I think that is an amazing idea. On many SWA planes, they have those double facing seats on the plan once you get on. If the "we" you speak of is you, hubby & girls that would be perfect. Also, do not forget the 4 juice boxes. Give them each a juicebox going up and coming down to help with ear pressure. It is not that long of a flight and know they will do fine. Also remember they will be 2 1/2 by the time of the trip. This will make a big difference developmentally. Have a safe trip.

You can take the car seats on the plane, but they have to go in the window seat, so you may have to sit in 2 different rows. Make sure you ask SW about side-by-side car seats; don't know their policy for a parent traveling with 2 in seats. Car seats can be checked as luggage at the counter and DO NOT count against your bag limit, which is 2 each on Southwest. Some kids are used to being in their car seats (mine aren't), so it may be easier and less stressful.

Also, SW doesn't do early boarding anymore. Family boarding is between the A & B boarding groups. Try to check in 24 hours before your flight, and you should get an A, which will give you better seat selection and more time once you get on the plane.

I personally think car seats aren't worth it, and I know it's been said that's it's safer, but have a discussion with your twins for a few weeks leading up to the trip that as long as the seat belt sign in on, they have to be in their seats with their seat belt on. Not taking the car seats gives them a little room to move around and play with whatever toys you take with you while they're allowed to be up and around.

My son has been traveling since he was 7wks, and as soon as he was big enough, he wheeled his own "pack pack" through the airport with the toys he decided he wanted to take. I know we travel quite frequently, but he even knows when he's allowed to get out of his seat. Flight attendants (especially Southwest... we LOVE SW!!!!) don't usually have a problem with little ones being out of their seats to play as long as they stay in the row. I let my 3.5yo take a walk every hour, and most flight attendants just love to watch him. I make sure he's not in their way for servicing, and he's not allowed out of his seat if it's rough even if the seat belt sign isn't on.

Another tip would be to start packing about 3-4 days before you're leaving and try to be completely packed with luggage by the door the night before you leave. The only things you'll have to worry about the day you leave are the stuffed animals the kids sleep with, etc. We also travel with a food bag with snacks, etc, and our DVD player ALWAYS comes out! A lot of traveling is what you make of it and how prepared you are ahead of time. Have fun!

We traveled Southwest with a 2 1/2 yr old and 5 month old. We checked their car seats (Marathon & infant carrier) and let our 2/12 yr old sit in the seat. It gave him more room and I couldn't even imagine dealing with a heavy/clunky car seat getting on the plane. You will already have enough to carry. We used a single stroller and I carried her with a bijourn. They will take a single or double stroller right at the gate and you get that back when you get off. It made life easy. We also had a back pack w/diapers, formula, etc, and a bag w/my purse, snacks, camera, and quiet toys for them to play with. We brought a DVD player but forgot the movies. =( Keeping them entertained with a movie would help too. Enjoy your trip.

I"ve ansered this a couple times before for Mamapedia peole, i hope this helps you too.

Car seat raise a kid up too high on a plane. There is often times no room for their little feet that way, and they have no option but to have them shoved against the seat in front of them.

And.......if the plane goes down, the carseat won't save them. So, check them. Much easier, and i can't see an upside for them ona plane. I flew.....i think it was 15 times when my daughter was between 4 months and 4 years old. Nix the stroller in the airport too if you can. As long as you can keep track of them without one, a stroller isn't needed. Let them get tired walking all over that airport so that they WANT to sit in the airplane seat.

When you fly home, if you're in the Denver airport looking for something to do, there's a great little kids play area, that is right by some people movers. I used to let my daughter run the wrong way onthe conveyer belts when there was no one around. It's like a fun little treadmill for them. There is also a coffe cart right there. It's as perfect a corner of an airport that anyone with kids could ever find.

Use the seats. Trust me. It is a pain to get them through the airport and get down the aisle on the plane, but well worth it during the flight. Your twins will understand they need to sit still and be relatively quiet. Practice installing the seats with a lap only belt before you go. The easiest way to get them through the airport is on a metal luggage cart (usually found at Target, Kmart or Walmart for about $20). Then gate check the cart and carry the seats above your head as you walk down the aisle. Install the seats, buckle in your littles and away you go.

I would never check a car seat - I know how my luggage comes out at the other end and it's often not pretty. Plus, what if they get lost?

I used a car seat one time on a plane (daughter was 18 months) and would never do it again. Bulky and awkward. We could not put the tray table down. We had a marathon. Check the car seat.

Here are some ideas on toys to keep them entertained.
http://www.bigbluetrunk.com/ourcorner/550