Flying alone to Europe with a 4 yo

Hi,

I am flying alone for the first time with my 4 yo in about 2 months. He's currently 39" and 40 lbs, approx.

He currently has an Evenflo Triumph that he's about to overgrow and I'd really appreciate any suggestion you might have for a new car seat. I feel strongly about having him harnessed as long as possible and I will use it in the plane as well. I decided to fly American Airlines just for that reason, since everybody I talked to at Iberia told me that the decision of allowing my son's car seat on the plane or not depended on the FA's mood at the time of embarking :S

Thank you for your help!

Yeah, Iberia took my car seat away once. My son was only a year old!

You might want to look into a RSTV. Easier in Europe than lugging the seat around.

You're not taking a stroller, I assume. There's a 20lb limit on AA.

What are you going to be using for travel within Europe?

If it's a newer vehicle, you can easily use LATCH, so a fully harnessed seat would be practical.

If you're relying on public transportation like Taxis, I think you should go with a bubblebum. He's small, but it's more practical than trying to install on the run. Anyway, something to consider.

As far as carseats -- I travelled with a Radian 65 for several years when I travelled to & around Korea & Germany. With the pillow option, my dd could comfortably sleep on aircraft (never has since). The non-base seat style provided plenty of legroom and an ability to use the tray unlike based-seats.

I installed it on several German & French vehicles using the LATCH system. Never used the seatbelt, but it does come with a clip if it's necessary. (European seatbelts don't lock). The narrowness fit well, plus the ability to customize with the pop out base. I didn't find any vehicles it didn't fit well facing forward.

The Radian + a higher weight luggage cart (abt 150lb limit) really were a good combination for travel & airports. She'd sit in it when she tired out or I'd use it to pile up bags/stuff on top of the seat.

I travelled as a single adult with my daughter internationally when she was 4 & 5 years old. LOL, still do, but she outgrew the combo by her 6th b-day. I miss those days. It was a hassle dealing with it, but she did sleep, so worth it, imo.

hth gives you some ideas. Good luck

Actually seat belts do lock in most cars. Mine, my dh's and our past cars... Toyota, Land Rover, VW and Mercedes. Maybe true with older cars or other marks but our seat belts lock. One thing that is different is that the front air bag can be turned off, which I understand is not allowed in N. America (??)

Eclipsepearl said:

Actually seat belts do lock in most cars. Mine, my dh's and our past cars... Toyota, Land Rover, VW and Mercedes. Maybe true with older cars or other marks but our seat belts lock. One thing that is different is that the front air bag can be turned off, which I understand is not allowed in N. America (??)

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There are two different types of locks. Automatic retracting locks click every few inches as they are tightened. Once they click you can't extend them out again without retracting the entire length. Then there are regular locking belts that lock upon any abrupt strain placed on the belt. All 3-pt belts in the world do that (that I know of) or there wouldn't be much point to the seatbelt. ARL, OTOH, is not standard in Europe. We have, in our family, Citroen, lancia, rover, Suzuki and I recently tried a ford and a VW golf. None of them had ARL. We have them in our 2010 Prius though.

Thanks for the explanation. My old VW had the standard locking but I had to use a clip. It only locked if you jerked on it. My Yaris does as you explained but I'll go do an experiment. I'm sure my dh's Lexus has ARL. It's a newer model. You've picked my curiosity...

For the record, LATCH or what they call "Isofix" is getting quite common. Tether hooks though remain rare.

Eclipsepearl said:

For the record, LATCH or what they call "Isofix" is getting quite common. Tether hooks though remain rare.

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I've found that tether hooks are on newer hatchback/wagon styles for VW & Mercedes German specs, for sure. My friend's older Toyota also has them (hatchback)... so it could be non-sedan cars where they exist more frequently.

In sure The yaris has them as its a Toyota like the Prius

my Prius manual says there are top tethers somewhere (it's shown in the ISOFIX anchor section of the manual) but I've never actually looked as DD is still RF and the TWE has no top tether anyway.