Carseats that allow use of airplane tray?

Unregistered · Aug 15, 2013

Hi there. I'm shopping for a travel seat for my FF, 37", 32 lb son, and started looking at the Radians. One of the appealing things about them is the ability for my son to use the seat tray on the plane. Some less appealing things: weight, price, seems tough to install, don't need RF.

Are there any other seats that allow use of the tray? Tried to do a search but didn't find an answer. I see that Sceneras and Maestros are often recommended for travel. Do they work with the trays? Thanks in advance!

Oh, we have a Frontier 90, but I don't ink it's FAA approved and I can't imagine lugging it on a plane!

ketchupqueen · Aug 16, 2013

Welcome! You're correct that the Frontier 90 isn't FAA approved. The Maestro should allow the tray partway down but not fully; ditto the Scenera.

How old is your son and what's his torso height? One to look at may be the Harmony Defender, but once we figure out what he'll fit and for how long he'll need it, we might be able to recommend additional seats.

Patriot201 · Aug 16, 2013

Some seats might work well (with the tray table) in Coach Plus, but not in regular Coach. If you are flying Business or First Class, the set up of the tray table is very different.

Once we have the answers to ketchupqueen's questions, we can help more.

Unregistered · Aug 16, 2013

Hi! OP here. My son is 2.5 and though I don't know his torso height, he is long-torsoed. He stopped being able to use his Maxi Cosi Priori around 36" because the crotch strap was too short. We have the Frontier's strap in the 2nd position.

We usually fly coach, but do have an upcoming LA to Hawaii flight on AA in first class (miles), though I've read it's not a great plane and not much of a first class (still sounds good to me!).

Dillipop · Aug 16, 2013

Of the seats I've flown with, the radian was the only one I've found that allowed the tray to lay flat enough to place anything on it so that it didn't immediately slip off.

jujumum · Aug 16, 2013

We've flown on JetBlue with two different planes using the Maestro and the tray fit perfect with the cup holders removed. We pop the cup holders off when getting to the airport and pop them back on when leaving. Without the cup holders the seat also fits through the scanners. The cup holders are apparently mandatory for use, but I've made the parental decision to take them off on the plane.

Most folks love the Radian for travel but we found it way too heavy.

DMS721 · Aug 16, 2013

We had no problems using the seat tray when we flew with the maestro.

Unregistered · Aug 16, 2013

OP again. The Maestro sounds promising, but I'm a bit worried about the lack of recline. Wonder if a 2.5 year-old would do better in a Radian, despite the cost? We recently did a long drive with the Frontier 90 and when my son fell asleep, I did wish that reclined a bit more too.

If we did go with a Radian, would it be worth the extra cost for the R120 over the R100?

Rebekah · Aug 16, 2013

I second that the Radian is a pain because of the weight. The folding is awesome though. If you go with one, I highly recommend getting a carseat cart to lug it around. Some people don't mind the weight, so that is up to what you think you'll prefer. It was super easy to install FF, though.

As for the tray table, the Radian did allow it to be all the way down on one flight regardless of recline, but on another flight it worked only as long as the carseat was not reclined which then resulted in terrible head slump when sleeping. If you have someone to hold the child who will occupy the seat so that you can switch it, then it won't be too bad. I could not adjust it without unbuckling the seat and removing my daughter, but I was alone so we just dealt with not using the tray for that flight.

Knowing what I know now, I would not take a Radian, and just buy something light. I hope that all makes sense and is helpful.

ketchupqueen · Aug 16, 2013

If you want recline, the Radian is not your seat- the ”recline” is not much of one (unless you want to rear-face.)

Unregistered · Aug 16, 2013

Thanks, all. I will try to find alternatives to the Radian, as I think my H will balk at the weight and price and learning curve. I don't need much of a recline, but the Maestro being only fully upright does give me pause. Guess I'll look into other options that may not allow tray use.

wendytthomas · Aug 17, 2013

The cool thing about the Radian is you can put the little recline down, recline the plane's seat as you're installing, tighten everything down, then pull the plane's seat back up. Then during flight you can recline the plane's seat and the Radian reclines with it, still perfectly installed.

Wendy

monica-m · Aug 17, 2013

If you do go with a Radian, I highly recommend a u-shaped neck pillow put on backward for sleeping. I bought one in the airport for our return flight last vacation because DS was so uncomfortable on our flight there. That was our first time traveling with our Radian.

Unregistered · Aug 18, 2013

OP again. That's really cool about the Radian reclining with the airplane seat! I have no idea what to do. Perhaps I should've bought the Radian instead of the F90. So confused.

I looked up the Defender, but I saw it can't overhang the seat at all. So does it really work on tiny plane seats?

Rebekah · Aug 20, 2013

Unregistered said:
OP again. That's really cool about the Radian reclining with the airplane seat! I have no idea what to do. Perhaps I should've bought the Radian instead of the F90. So confused.

I looked up the Defender, but I saw it can't overhang the seat at all. So does it really work on tiny plane seats?

The F90 is not FAA certified because of the ClickTight. If you bought it solely for the purpose of using it on the flight, then I would definitely return it.

Unregistered · Aug 20, 2013

No, we bought the Frontier for our second car, not the flight. That said, my H was not happy to find me looking up yet more carseats on Amazon. He thinks it's ridiculous to buy one just for travel and thinks that DS is now big enough to be comfortable in an airline seat without a carseat. He proposed checking in our Recaro ProRide or the Frontier and just using it in the car at the destination. I'm not ready to drop this, but super sigh.

mayasmommy · Aug 21, 2013

I have brought the Radian on several flights, and while we were able to somewhat lay the tray table down flat-ish, I wouldn't say it was terribly usable. I don't think that there is a car seat that can be used on a plane where you can also use the tray table.

My recommendation would be to get the Radian, and a CARES harness. Use the CARES on the plane, and if you need a seat at your destination put the Radian in the overhead bin for the flight to avoid having to check it.

FWIW, if you decide to fly with the RAdian, buy two shoulder straps so it can be carried like a knapsack. I have tried the luggage cart thing with the Radian, and it is so rigid and so heavy that it really doesn't work. It has to be really tied down, well, which is hard to do when you have to release it and redo it in a hurry at security because it can't go through attached to the cart.

Also, I had a super hard time getting my Radian folded tightly enough for the teeny Velcro strap to catch. It has to be super tight for that. So I bought a length of double sided Velcro at Home Depot and used that to extend the strap. Works great.

We are travelling to India in October and I will be using the CARES harness for the first time with my son. On a 16 hour flight it is really important that he be able to be safe AND use the tray table. he is 37" and 27#. We also want to avoid having to haul the Radian, especially as we will not be using it at our destination since, well India is not equipped for car seats. I will try to come back after that and inform more on how it goes with the CARES.

wendytthomas · Aug 21, 2013

There are problems with the CARES, though. First, it doesn't actually tighten the lap belt. And without a crotch strap there's nothing preventing a child from sliding down and out.

Second, the buckle is still big and right there, so at 16 months a child may not leave it alone.

The good news is that if you have the Radian in the overhead you can scrap the CARES at any time.

I'd put my child in the Radian at all times. If you're dragging it there, may as well use it. The child will probably be more comfortable in a seat that fits.

Wendy

jewlsvern · Aug 22, 2013

wendytthomas said:
The cool thing about the Radian is you can put the little recline down, recline the plane's seat as you're installing, tighten everything down, then pull the plane's seat back up. Then during flight you can recline the plane's seat and the Radian reclines with it, still perfectly installed.

Wendy

High jacking here! Can you elaborate on this? I'm flying on Saturday with a Radian and am not sure I understand this. What is the little recline and how would you be able to tighten the car seat with the airplane seat reclined?

ketchupqueen · Aug 22, 2013

The Radian allows the tray table down on most planes- I have pics on Southwest somewhere.

Carseats that allow use of airplane tray?

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