Traveling with a toddler can be very daunting. Especially when the travel time revolves around nap schedules, feedings, and potential meltdowns. Coming prepared with plenty of snacks and new toys can be helpful in avoiding meltdowns, but what about sleep? I have tried many different products to help my toddler sleep on the airplane and now it was time to try Kooshy Kids inflatable plane cushion.
The Kooshy Kids Kooshion is an inflatable airplane bed for toddlers. I’ve seen plenty of images online of these airplane seat extenders and I was certain it would help to make my toddler more comfortable on our next flight.
Here are our thoughts on using the Kooshy Kids Kooshion for flying with a toddler.
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Kooshy Kids Kooshion Review – Table of Contents
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What is the Kooshy Kids Kooshion
The Kooshy Kids Kooshion is an inflatable footrest or cushion made to extend the seat area between your toddlers airplane seat and the seat in front of them. The idea is that it gives your toddler more space to play and sleep, without having to be on your lap!
It’s not just for airplanes. It can be used on airplanes, trains, cars, and even as a footrest at home!
The Kooshy Kids Kooshion is made of high-quality PVC and comes with a lifetime warranty. There are two main compartments that can be filled with air depending on the space you need filled. The bottom being narrower allows it to fit easier between seats, aisles and other small spaces. This creates the shape of a mushroom. The cushion can also be flipped over for a wider base in order to have more stability.
You can choose to inflate either compartment or both at the same time for maximum height. The cushion is comfortable and easy to inflate. Each compartment can be inflated in about 3 seconds.
Because it is made with PVC it is easy to wipe clean.
The Kooshy Kids cushion can be bought separately or bundled with your choice of pump for an extra cost. I chose the bundle with the bag, cushion, and ‘smart pump pro’.
Kooshy Kids Kooshion arrived in a small drawstring bag with the cushion (retail 74.99 USD) and ‘smart pump pro’ (retail 59.99 USD) inside. It was packaged nicely and the cushion was folded up very small. It was so small in fact I was able to fit my water bottle, a few of my sons toys, and snacks inside the bag.
Even after the cushion was inflated and used, I was still able to fold the cushion back up easily inside the bag and fit all of my previous items. The drawstring bag, with the inflatable airplane cushion inside, is also small enough to fit inside of a backpack or carry on sized luggage.
I chose to carry it by itself as the drawstrings made it easy to just throw over my arm. A backpack style is nice, however, these days many people use backpack diaper bags for travel, so it was difficult to use it as it was intended.
Using the Kooshy Kooshion on the Plane
This inflatable airplane bed for toddlers is the perfect size for traveling. It only weighs 1.5 pounds or 0.68 kilograms and the cushion can hold up to 242 pounds or 110 kilograms. This was great news to me as most of the time I have a lap child while traveling so a cushion to help stretch out my legs was a nice option.
Delta Airlines is one of the approved travel airlines that allows the cushion to be used while in flight. Be sure to check the website for a list of approved airlines to make sure the airline you’re traveling on is one of the approved airlines before you travel.
However, the cushion must be stowed during takeoff and while descending. My recommendation is to use the Kooshy Kooshion for long international flights where you want your toddler to have a good sleep.
It is also only useful if you don’t use your toddlers travel car seat on the plane.
What I Loved About the Kooshy Kids Kooshion
Using the Kooshy Kids Kooshion, here are the pros that I found:
The Kooshy Kooshion was well made. It felt durable and the material was comfortable.
Given all that parents need to carry, I appreciated that it was small and compact when deflated and folded.
I like that it has a high max weight capacity. Sitting next to my toddler, I was able to get more comfortable by putting my feet on it.
Parents can choose which pump they would like to get with the inflatable cushion.
What I didn’t Love About the Kooshy Kids Inflatable Cushion
Compare to the JetKids BedBox, you lose access to anything you put under the seat in front of your toddler.
Again, unlike the JetKids BedBox, there’s not much room to keep your other toddler travel essentials with the airplane toddler bed.
On the international website a cover is available for purchase. I hope that is made available to the US soon to keep those yucky airplane germs away.
While not a complaint about the Kooshy Kids, I also think it could be fun to have the option of child size backpack so my son could carry it by himself.
Using the pump to inflate it was quite loud, but it was a quick inflation. I even heard a family behind me getting worried and asking, “what is that loud sound?”. That had me feeling a little embarrassed and as if I didn’t want to continue inflating the cushion. I might consider using the hand pump in the future.
Comparing the Kooshy Kids Kooshion
The Kooshy Kids Kooshion is most similar to the Fly Tot or the Plane Pal.
You’ll need to purchase any of these three toddler airplane beds from the company or a distributor.
They all have a similar shape and work to fill the space between the seats similarly. Each of them has two sections that can be inflated separately.
Pumps for the Kooshy Kids Kooshion
There are three different pumps available. Hand pump ($9.99 USD), Tiny Pump ($44.99), and the Smart Pump Pro ($59.99). My cushion came with the Smart Pump Pro.
The pump comes in an organized box with a separate little bag, 50cm USB charging cord, 4 air attachments, and a manual.
The pump is very small and only weighs 5oz. It has two speeds, can be used as a power bank to charge your phone or tablet, and has a torch.
The two speeds are a bit confusing to use. At first I thought the pump wasn’t working or not charged enough because in order to use the pump you need to ‘double click’ to get the ‘high mode’. The ‘low mode’ can be used by doing a ’long’ press. The power bank is easy to use and can be done with any USB capable cord.
The charge life of the battery is long and can be used to blow up the cushion 150 times. The light is easy to use and even has a little silver handle to tie up or hold easily. The light has a charge life of about 72 hours. Compared to the ‘Tiny Pump’ that doesn’t have any of those three features, I would say the Smart Pump Pro is worth the extra $15 USD.
The bag was a pleasant addition to help keep those important pieces separate from the cushion, so you don’t lose all of them. However, when I first opened the bag, I was taken back by all the pieces as well as the manual.
The manual was not very user friendly and did not help me much when trying to determine which valve was to be used with my cushion. There are many pictures and descriptions in English and Japanese, but I wish there was a picture that specifically said use this valve for the Kooshy Kooshion. It took a lot of trial and error and I’m still not convinced I am using it correctly.
It is really nice that it comes with the extra attachments so that it can be used to blow up other things but can get confusing. With the attachments I am able to blow up my Bosu at home that I had previously blown up with a hand pump and now I can use my electric pump. I can see myself using this pump for many other things around my house in the future.
Tips to Successfully Use the Kooshy Kids Kooshion on the Airplane
- If you’ve called your airline and they told you inflatable cushions for planes are not allowed, that may not be the case. The customer service desk may not know what you are talking about. A lot of times it is up to the discretion of the flight crew.
Your biggest risk is that you end up carrying the toddler travel bed for the airplane and not using it.
- You cannot use a travel bed for toddlers on the plane during takeoff or landing. Don’t try. In fact, I usually wait until the meal has been cleared and everyone is settling in.
- What if you do get told that it is not allowed on the flight? Apologize and put it away. Be polite. Getting angry and creating a fuss will not make anything better.
In fact, we recommend going out of your way to treat the flight attendants well as they can be so helpful to parents of small children on a flight! - Don’t give the flight a crew a reason to ask you to put it away. Only use your airplane seat bed for toddlers in seats that won’t block anyone. The window seat is best.
Inflate it quietly without bothering other passengers and we recommend doing it within the confines of your seat rather than in the aisle. You’ll want it in place as you inflate the travel cushion anyways. - Always put the seat belt on your child. If there is turbulence, you’ll have to wake your child to put on their seat belt so it’s best to do it before.
- Position your toddler properly. Put your toddlers feet on the cushion with their head on their own seat, to avoid them being hit by the seat if the person in front reclines.
About Kooshy Kids
Kooshy Kids is an Australian based travel company that sells cushions, backpacks, travel toy kits to adult headphones, packing cubes, and RFID travel wallets when delivered outside of the US. While, the US store offers less products, they offer lifetime warranties, free shipping at a certain threshold, and “approved airline” money back guarantees for the inflatable airplane cushions, as well as new member discounts when given your email address.
Aside from the Kooshy Kids Kooshion, which we were excited to try, the US store also offers a Kooshy Kloud (retailed $59.99 USD) for children. This inflatable pillow/cushion that wraps around the upper body of the child, making those hard armrests a soft place to lay down.
Final Thoughts on the Kooshy Kids Kooshion Toddler Airplane Bed
I can see the Kooshy Kids Kooshion being quite useful and worth the investment for long flights with a toddler.
While it seems expensive compared to these budget airplane travel beds, it has features that you just won’t find with any of those.
As a personal preference, I do prefer the JetKids BedBox airplane bed for toddlers over the Kooshy Kids Kooshion as I like the additional storage it provides.
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This post was written & edited by:
Lauren Berry
Lauren Berry is a guest author on Baby Can Travel.
Lauren is a travel enthusiast, book lover, and outdoor explorer. She is a Navy spouse living and traveling abroad. She enjoys sharing her love of travel with her young children.
Celine is the owner of Baby Can Travel. Not only does she have years of experience traveling with babies & toddlers, but she's been helping new parents travel with their babies and toddlers for over a decade.
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.