RF convertible on Northwest

I had an interesting conversation with a flight attendant today on Northwest. DS2 (18 months, 27.5 pounds) was RF in a Scenera next to the window. Towards the end of the flight, one of the flight attendants came over to me and said that his seat is supposed to be forward facing. She indicated that the other flight attendants were new and didn't know, but that seats "with a back" (i.e., convertibles, as opposed to infant carriers) needed to go forward. She tried to explain that it had something to do with the seats breaking forward and that convertibles are different that carriers but it didn't make much sense.

I had forgotten to take the FAA regs with me, but I politely asked if she was sure, indicating that I had checked the FAA regulations before the flight and they said RF is ok, as long as you install it in accordance with the seat manufacturer's instructions. I said that I'd be interested in seeing what the manual said because it seems to conflict with what I had found when I looked it up.

She came back at the end of the flight to let me know that I was right
She said that Northwest recently changed their manual too, to eliminate any reference to weight of child for FF/RF and that RF is fine, as long as you are in the window seat (which DS was). She did say, however, that if the person in front complains about the lack of recline and they don't have another seat to move him to, the child needs to be turned FF (I'm not sure what happens if the kid is under 1 - I didn't ask; I also don't know why anyone would want to recline into the lap of a child in a carseat - prime kicking target ).

Just thought I'd share.

yeah why would you want to recline your seat into a toddler? i totally agree that it would be a bad idea, what i want to know is if like halfway through the flight the person infront decides they want to recline, would they come make you uninstall, turn around, and reinstall the seat, mid flight? i would think at that point you would just be able to say TS its not gonna happen. i mean they cant kick you off at that point. and if the person in front was like, oh i'm definatly gonna lean my seat back, then i wouldnt do anything when my child kicked them

I am glad you stuck your ground and had her look up the info to prove you were right.

Now if she had told you to turn your seat forward facing, that would mean a whole lot of time waiting to rethreading the straps on the seat (provided she told you prior to take-off) so that the straps would be at or above the seat. In order for the seat to be used forward facing, you must follow the manufacturers instructions which would mean doing those steps. I don't think they realize that the seat must be physically altered (harness moved) when forward facing vs rearfacing.

If it had been me, I would hold my ground even if they had said the person in front of me wanted to recline. If I paid for the seat, then my child will use the seat in the manner the FAA allowed me to use it.