Best convertible seat to RF on a plane/during international travel?

My family and I spend a month or more every year in Europe. I have an almost 3.5 year old son who currently sits rear-facing. I am contemplating buying a dedicated travel seat for him, and also one for my 10 month old daughter. We are very committed to keeping both kids RF as long as possible. My son is in the 20th percentile for weight (currently just under 30 lbs) but in the 60th percentile for height. My daughter is roughly 50th percentile for weight and 24th for height.

Question 1: Is sitting rear facing as important on a plane as it is in a car? I am assuming turbulence is the biggest issue? Seating my little 10 month old FF just feels wrong.

Question 2: In an ideal world, I would buy two of the same seats that could FF or RF on a plane (since some airlines won't allow RF installation) as well as in rental cars at our destination. I am happy to lug heavy seats, I am happy to buy pricier seats, but I do need seats that are compact enough to fit in a plane seat and also in rental cars. Any advice on what would fit the bill? If it's a mistake to limit my search to the same type of seat for both kids, I would certainly also be open to other ideas.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Calimom743 said:

My family and I spend a month or more every year in Europe. I have an almost 3.5 year old son who currently sits rear-facing. I am contemplating buying a dedicated travel seat for him, and also one for my 10 month old daughter. We are very committed to keeping both kids RF as long as possible. My son is in the 20th percentile for weight (currently just under 30 lbs) but in the 60th percentile for height. My daughter is roughly 50th percentile for weight and 24th for height. Question 1: Is sitting rear facing as important on a plane as it is in a car? I am assuming turbulence is the biggest issue? Seating my little 10 month old FF just feels wrong. Question 2: In an ideal world, I would buy two of the same seats that could FF or RF on a plane (since some airlines won't allow RF installation) as well as in rental cars at our destination. I am happy to lug heavy seats, I am happy to buy pricier seats, but I do need seats that are compact enough to fit in a plane seat and also in rental cars. Any advice on what would fit the bill? If it's a mistake to limit my search to the same type of seat for both kids, I would certainly also be open to other ideas. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Click to expand...

I would look at the Chico nextfit because it installs so darn easy using latch or seat belt. Also front to back it doesn't take up much room so if you get in a small rental car they could still rear face. I recently took my dd on Alaskan airlines with a rear facing britax advocate which was fine but definitely touched the plane seat in front of the car seat.

The nextfit is a heavy seat but you could buy a rolling luggage cart thingy to pull them in.

On your question 1 --- Research on child restraints for aircraft is very limited compared to what we have for motor vehicles. Overall, I think it is fair to say that RF is safer than FF for young children, but that the differences are not as important as they are in the car because (a) serious injuries of *any* kind are so rare in commercial aviation and (b) up-and-down movements during turbulence are more often the risk than longitudinal movements. RF carseats do better in sled tests that model the effects of a hard stop or similar.

If your airline allows it, I'd have both kids RF, as appears to be your preference. But if they don't allow it, I'd ultimately be OK with FF knowing that statistically they are still safer than in the car. (Although I agree that it would just look and feel very weird to have an infant FF, and I'd probably see what I could get away with once onboard, if the flight attendants weren't paying too much attention.)

On question 2 -- I like the above suggestion for the Nextfit. In the past we've also had good luck with Britax Roundabouts; easy to install both on the plane and in rental cars, almost no matter which vehicle you end up with. As the previous poster mentioned, it will probably contact the seatback in front of it, unless you're in something more spacious than the typical coach/economy layout. The Combi Coccoro is another favorite for travel since it is lightweight and compact.

I would FF him for the trip and travel with a Maestro.

Does your DD still fit in her infant seat? If so, I would bring that. There should be no question on the airline that a group 0 seat needs to be installed RF. If she no longer fits it, I would get a Coccoro. They were on sale at Target.com last week for $125 I think, not sure if that's still going. It's really an ideal travel seat particularly for a shortie. No pool noodles to install, multiple ways to install (LATCH/ISOFIX, seatbelt with lock-off/locking clip, seatbelt with euro routing). It's great on the plane either RF or FF (can get nicely reclined without impeding the recline of the seat in front of you).

For the 3.5yo, that's a matter of parental preference whether to RF or FF. Personally, I would get a lightweight FF combination seat at that age. I have two Nextfits for home use and love almost everything about them, but you truly could not pay me to travel with them. Too much weight, too much bulk. But I'm not a CPST and I hear your stated preference to RF as long as possible. Maybe a SureRide would work for this summer's trip? You'd almost certainly need to FF next summer, so you'd again be looking for a lightweight FF seat.

If it's a longer flight I would really recommend RFing on the plan as long as it is permitted and your seat fits. Even if there are no benefits safety wise I find it more convenient. It's easier for kiddos to nap in a RF seat since it is more reclined that when FF, they aren't kicking the seat in front of them, toys/food are more likely to stay in the seat or their lap as opposed to rolling on the floor where you then have to crawl to get it. I'm definitely a fan.