Marathon on airplane?

[jclober]

Hi,

Does anyone know how well the Marathon fits in an airplane seat? My son is 3 1/2 years old, approx 40lbs and 40" tall. We always found that the RA was a snug fit in airplane seats so I'm wondering if the Marathon will even fit. If not, I'll have to get a booster for the plane trip and to have for the car.

Also, if the Marathon does indeed fit, is there a car seat bag out there that will fit the Marathon? (Something with a strap that I can use to carry the seat on my shoulder.)

Air travel with children is so much fun! (oh yeah, that's sarcasm!)

Thanks much!

Jennifer

[Joolsplus2]

There's some saying... there's only 2 kind of travel: Travel with children or First Class :D.
Anyway, yup, the Marathon does fit quite nicely in airplane seats, lots of moms travel with them frequently.
This bag is cheap, and it actually fits the Marathon (cheap also apparantly applies to the quality, but its hard to find any bag that fits an MA! http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000789TK/qid%3D1123766802/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/104-8505745-9774355 )
You can also hook the MA to a luggage cart to wheel easily through the airport, or put it in a stroller (I could put mine on my Mac Volo and my 4 yo could ride on it..kind of wobbly, but airports are smooth...)
Anyway, if you decide to go the booster route, you can gate check it or check it (The Graco Turbo becomes two pieces easily and is easy to pack in a large duffel bag)...of course it can't be used on the airplane (no shoulder belts), but he's big enough to be "just as safe" as any adult on an airplane seat (maybe pretty wiggly! You probably do want to bring that MA!)
Good luck!
Julie CPS Tech and mom to 2 in seats
http://www.cpsafety.com/articles/RFAlbum/SarahMA.aspx

[dotgirl]

We've flown several times with our Marathon with no problem. (At least I assume it was no problem - DH always goes ahead to setup the carseat and then I board with DS at the very last minute.) One thing that seems to help is that if you ask, most airlines will give you an "extender" for the seatbelt - makes it much easier to get unbuckled at the end of the flight.

[cluelesswonder]

Jennifer,

I traveled cross country with my DD in her RA quite a bit. When I switched her to the MA, she was ok on a couple of trips, but the leg space between her and the seat back in front of her was abysmal. The MA made her ride so high up that the person in front couldn't recline their seat or her legs would be crushed.

Since we've mainly flown on Continental, I can only vouch that the MA does fit in the economy seats using a seat belt extender. If you do a search on this website under "airplane" or "plane" or "travel" you will find lots of installation tips. I posted a detailed installation as a response to a previous post.

Also, since I was travelling alone with my DD, I purchased the LoRider from www.kiddiecargo.com which essentially turns the MA into a "stroller". It's a cart that straps onto the MA and then your child can ride in the MA and get pulled behind you. If you wear a backpack, then you still have one hand free for other things. Britax now has its own car seat handle/stroller attachment which I probably would have purchased instead had it been available at the time. I don't remember what it is called. Perhaps someone else on the board knows.

On the other hand, once my daughter turned 3 we stopped bringing the MA due to the crowding she had. Now she rests comfortably with about 3 of the airplane pillows stuffed between her and the armrest in the window seat and can sleep either reclined or laying down. She loves that she can finally use the tray! The best part is that she can't kick the seat in front of her (not that she did very often). We still gate checked the MA since I need it to cart her around the airport ( we had a stroller at grandma's house).

HTH,
Karen

[jal]

We used an Marathon this Spring on one of the smaller planes (United Airlines Canadair Regional Jet) with no problems. The Eddie Bower cover sold at BRU for $20 fit just fine. It was a little difficult the first time you place it in the cover, but once you get the cover fully stretched out (it's stuffed in that package pretty tight).

[sarsah]

At your childs age and size, he is just as safe in the regular airplane seatbelt as he is in the car seat. I would save a lot of headaches and just check your Marathon to your destination.

You can't use a booster on an airplane -- a booster is only for shoulder belts, which, of course, they do not have on airplanes.

Sarah....mom to Jason & Devin

[Momof3Labs]

>I would
>save a lot of headaches and just check your Marathon to your
>destination.

Not debating the safety issue, but keep in mind that airlines do lose and damage car seats all the time, so checking your Marathon may lead to a lot more headaches...

We used our Marathon on Southwest in September and it fit just fine with the armrest up. In fact, I really didn't notice any differences between using the MA and using the RA (which we traveled with before DS outgrew it).

[duckbeav]

We have flown Southwest with a Marathon many times. When using it rear facing, the seat fit okay, but the person in the seat in front of us is unable to recline. When the Marathon is forward facing, there is little to no leg room for the child.

[duckbeav]

We have flown Southwest with a Marathon many times. When using it rear facing, the seat fit okay, but the person in the seat in front of us is unable to recline. When the Marathon is forward facing, there is little to no leg room for the child.

[duckbeav]

We have flown Southwest with a Marathon many times. When using it rear facing, the seat fit okay, but the person in the seat in front of us is unable to recline. When the Marathon is forward facing, there is little to no leg room for the child.

[Momof3Labs]

The unable to recline thing is true of any seat RF on an airplane.

I honestly didn't see any issue with DS's legroom in the Marathon on the airplane, and he didn't complain about it either. He is 42" tall with long legs.