Which car seats fit in airplane seats?

[ad_astra]

I traveled by air quite a bit when my daughter was an infant. Her infant carrier fit ok in all the planes. Now that she is getting bigger she uses an Evenflo Triumph convertible (forward facing) in the car. There is NO WAY that car seat will fit in an airplane seat. She is too little for a booster seat. I don't want to spend more than I have to in order to find a seat that can be used on a plane and in the rental car. On the other hand, I want her to be comfy in the plane AND on long car trips in a strange car. Any suggestions?

[egoldber]

Are you sure the Triumph won't fit? The Britax MA (which is a BIG seat) fits very well on airplanes of all types. If you want a more lightweight convertible seat for travel, look at the Cosco Touriva / Regal Ride (one version is at Target and the other at WalMart) for about $50. Its highly recommended as a lightweight travel carseat by CPS techs.

And FYI, boosters cannot be used on aircraft anyway.

HTH,

[momtoB]

Hi,
Actually a booster seat with an integrated harness can be used on a plane as long as it has the sticker on it that says it's approved for airline use. I do agree with the recommendation of the Cosco Touriva though. That is the same car seat we bought for travel and as an extra seat for dh's car as well. You can get them at Walmart for just under $40.

Here is a link to the FAA's "tips for parents using a CRS" which may have some helpful information for you: http://www.faa.gov/fsdo/phl/tipsfor.htm

It says "Check the width of your CRS. While airline seats vary in width, a CRS no wider than 16" should fit in most coach seats. A CRS wider than 16" is unlikely to fit. Even if the armrests are moved out of the way, a wide CRS will not fit properly into the frame of the aircraft seat."

We also have a Cosco Alpha/Omega which is wider than the Touriva, and that fit in a standard airplane seat but only with the armrests up (and I also removed the big plastic base it comes with). Your current car seat will probably also fit with the armrests up, however that may not leave room for you (or whoever will be sitting next to your dc) to be very comfortable.

hth,
Cheryl
ds-4/21/03

[pearl]

Maybe how well a carseat fits in airplane seats depends on the airline??? Based on my experience, we had no problems using the Evenflo Triumph on a plane. We traveled on Southwest airlines in California. I'd like to know if I will run into problems with this carseat on ohter airline flights.