Flying with a Frontier 85

[longtallsally05]

Has anyone ever fit a FR85 in an airplane seat? I realize that everyone will think I'm bonkers, but I really need to know if the carseat will fit. Our plane seats have a width of 17 inches, and a pitch of 31 inches. I think we can raise the arm rests between the airplane seats.

We want to take our super-tall 4 yo harnessed in her FR85 on the airplane, so we will have it to use @ our destination. After our visit, we are driving a car back home. It is an 800 mile trip, so I'd rather have her harnessed than in a booster because I know she'll be sleeping in the car. I would take DD's Radian 80, but I already know the RN80 won't fit properly in the car we're picking up (been there, tried that).

I want to avoid checking a car seat or high back booster, and seatguru.com says that the aircraft won't accomodate large items in the overhead bins, so we can't do carry-on. I certainly don't want to buy yet another car seat @ our destination. Even if I bought one online and shipped it to my IL's house, they wouldn't have the darn thing installed in their car when they came to pick us up @ the airport (been there, and yep, they really did that to us :31:).

Help me out, fellow BBB people; tell me your experiences with flying with a Frontier 85!

TIA!!!

[bubbaray]

There is not enough money on the planet for me to even attempt to fly with my FR. No way, no how, even if it meant not using a seat whatsoever at my destination. I would not fly with the FR.

If I did lose my mind and fly with a FR, I don't think it would fit in coach seats. I don't even know how you could get it down the aisle, unless you carried it over your head (which makes my shoulders hurt just thinking about it).

Is your DD newly 4 or closer to 5? How much does she weigh?

My DD#1 started in the Monterey 1m after she turned 5 and she sleeps in it regularly. Sleeping in a booster that fits properly isn't a problem IMO.

If you are going to be at your destination, why can't you have the grandparents meet you with a seat you purchase online and have shipped to their house? Like a Nautilus? Or even a booster if she is close to 5. They don't have to have a seat installed in their vehicle to meet you, just have them bring the box to the airport and you install the seat.

[mom2binsd]

I'd bring it to the gate, if it fits in the seat great if not, have them gate check it. I'd just let the gate agent know you might be gate checking it if it doesn't fit. Try to get on asap to try it out.

It doesn't sound like you are concerned about hauling it through the airport (if you have two adults that shouldn't be an issue).

[HIU8]

There is no way I would take that beast onto an aircraft. I would, however, gate check it. Does your 4 yr old have to be harnessed on the plane? Is she able to sit on the aircraft seat buckled in and not complain? If so, just gate check the seat and use it at your destination.

[AnnieW625]

I would not travel with that seat ever! We have the regular Frontier. I'd travel with a Britax Marathon (which I think is a beast) before I traveled with that seat. We bought a Safegaurd Go (now the Safety First Go) (http://www.amazon.com/Safety-1st-Hybrid-Convertible-Booster/dp/B002UP391K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1286985547&sr=8-1) to use once we are at our destination. Once DD1 had outgrown the Evenflo Triumph 5 we started letting her sit in the airplane seat by herself and she did just fine.

ETA: read the whole post over. I would just check the Frontier at the curb (it would be worth paying the extra couple bucks to do so) or check in at the ticket counter. I am sure it will fit in a car seat bag. I just wouldn't want to carry it on the plane. If you are worried about your daughter sitting well in the plane you could always rent a CARES harness, but honestly if your 4 yr. old has been on a plane before I am sure she'll do fine in the seat by herself.

[o_mom]

Buy a Maestro for $70 and save everyone the pain of travelling with a Frontier. :) If she fits in the Radian, she will fit in the Maestro and it will fit on the plane. The Go is a good travel seat if you have LATCH or at least a tether anchor at your destination, but not nearly as tall, so may not work if she is very tall.

[longtallsally05]

Thank you for the input, though I am still curious if anyone has ever actually flown with the FR85. Anyone?

DD is 4 years old, 46 inches tall and weighs 47 lbs. We own a Radian 80, a Frontier 85 and a TurboBooster for DD, and I really don't want to buy anything else. I would bring our Radian 80, but I know from experience that I cannot achieve a proper fit with the RN80 in the vehicle we will be driving home. The FR85 fits well. I suppose I could put her in the TB, but I bought that envisioning short trips (eg. carpooling) only.

I am concerned about the 2-day car ride back to our home. Although DD meets the height & weight requirements to use a booster, she isn't mature enough to sit upright & not wiggle around during an 800 mile road trip. I want DD harnessed because she still sleeps in her car seat and slumps to the side in a booster. I just don't think the TB is as good as the FR85. I am not concerned about DD on the flight. We own a CARES harness; DD has outgrown it & sits in airplane seats just fine.

We will not have LATCH or tether anchors @ our destination, nor on the ride home (I'm looking into having the car retrofitted with a tether anchor), so a Safeguard Go wouldn't work, even if I owned one. My ILs are NOT going to bring a box/car seat with them to the airport if I buy one online & ship it to them. I tried that last time we visited & they never even opened the box, instead leaving the infant seat base @ home. We had an improperly restrained child who cried bitterly all the way back to their house. I was angry. :hopmad: They didn't care. They won't even park in the parking garage so I can have a few minutes to focus on proper installation. They insist on picking up @ curbside so I have to hustle to install with cars honking and Philly cops yelling @ us to move. It is a lovely way to begin a visit with the ILs, let me tell you!

The only options I see working for us are:

1) take the TurboBooster and check it

or

2) take the FR85 and

a) use it on the plane or
b) check it

I have been reluctant to check baby gear that I will need @ my destination ever since United killed my gate-checked Chicco C6. I would prefer to fly with the FR85, but I'll do what I have to do. I'm really not concerned about schlepping it thru the airport, as we will have 2 adults on this trip. I'm used to taking loooong plane trips with my 2 children leading DD, carrying DS, schlepping a stroller, a Scenera & all carry-on gear by myself. I'll stick DH with the FR85, mwah ha ha ha... if it will only fit on the plane...

[arivecchi]

My Britax Boulevard barely fit in the seat so I cannot imagine that a Frontier would fit! I join the chorus of posters in that I would never travel with mine.

If you decide to take it, I would gate check it in a padded bag, wrap it with blankets and/or coats and hope for the best.

[longtallsally05]

Hmm...sounds like I'll have to decide which to check, the FR85 or the TB.

Darn. I guess I was hoping for a BBB miracle! Anyway, :thanks:

[HannaAddict]

Yes, I have flown with our Frontier for our tall four year old and I think on one trip he was possibly a five year old. We just used our Frontier 85 this summer too, with his sister (on the return trip we gate checked it but she rode down in it.) Both fit fine in the seats, Hawaiian Air and Alaska on a different trip. No harder to install than our MA or BLVD and since it was on the window, didn't interfere with anything. Our kids both liked it better than their MA/BLVD since it sits lower so they could use the tray table. The higher seats don't work with the tray table.

We were going to be on extended trips with more time in the car than just a short hop and brought his seat. He was not using a booster seat yet and had outgrown his MA/BLVD. I don't know if I would have tried it alone, but my husband had no trouble. We also used our stroller to help carry stuff (Zippy) and gate checked the stroller.

Don't be afraid, it should fit. We did and survived and have posted about using it on this board before.

[HannaAddict]

My Britax Boulevard barely fit in the seat so I cannot imagine that a Frontier would fit! I join the chorus of posters in that I would never travel with mine.

If you decide to take it, I would gate check it in a padded bag, wrap it with blankets and/or coats and hope for the best.

It fits fine, easier to install than a Boulevard. It sits lower and works great!!

[longtallsally05]

Well, maybe there IS hope, after all! Thanks, HannaAddict. I'm going to forge ahead and try it. I also like mom2binsd's idea to see if we can gate check if it doesn't fit. I'll take a sturdy car seat bag to cover it, just in case we have to gate check it. I really hate gate checking b/c the G-Luxe I bought to replace the C6 has not been the same since I gate checked it on a couple of Delta flights (so long, standing fold...)

Anyway, thanks!