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View Full Version : Need help with car seat for airplane travel!



Amy Sims
08-08-2000, 12:38 PM
Hi! I need a good suggestion for a car seat to fly with. My 4 1/2 month old son is 20 lbs and over 27" long, and it is time to give up the infant seat/snap -n- go combo.

We bought a Britax Roundabout for our car, and we love it. It is so heavy and big, though, I just can't see trying to carry it through the airports along with the stroller and baby. (I will be traveling a lot without my husband)

I heard the Century 1000STE was a good plane choice, but it only goes to 22 lbs rear facing. Does the baby need to be rear facing on planes up to 1 yr old also?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Amy

Janneke
08-19-2000, 12:21 AM
We just traveled on Delta with the Century Accel car seat. It worked fine. Not too heavy, but hard to carry with everything. My husband strapped it on to our backpack. The only thing that is strange is that the buckle snaps right under the baby's bottom. You can feel a big lump there from the buckle. I do not know if it is this way with all seats. This seat is rear facing to 30 lbs. The only other problem we had was with the flight attendants. It took all three of them to come to us to tell us that it is safer and in there manual that the baby should be forward facing. I pulled out of my bag a copy of the FAA web site where it states that it is safer to be rear facing. Luckily I read about it before the trip. Delta is NOT kid friendly. No pre-boarding.

Amy Sims
08-22-2000, 01:44 PM
Thanks for your info about your car seat. We actually ended up with a Costco Touriva at the recommendation of someone on a car seat board, and it seems to be okay. It is definitely lighter than the Roundabout. It needs more padding, and it is a tight fit rear-facing in a regular isle--it would not recline enough and my son's head kept falling forward! But in a bulkhead seat it works fine.

Just a note on Delta travel: My husband is a pilot for Delta, and on his last trip he asked a flight attendant about the rules in their manual. He showed my husband what it states in their manual, (about rear facing up to 20 lbs, and forward facing from 20-40 lbs) but at the end it says it is ultimately the decision of the parent. So their manuals are not saying that it is required to be forward facing above 20 lbs. And, if you want to pre-board, you can do so after the first class, when they call the medallion members. I asked and they said it was fine. They just don't call it out. Hope that helps the next time you travel!

Also, I was just curious about the FAA info you showed to the flight attendant. I have been on their web site, and can only find references to rear-facing 20 lbs, forward-facing 40 lbs, which is the same as the flight attendants manuals. Could you give me the link to where it says it is safer to be rear-facing?

Thanks so much!
Amy