Travelling to England - what to do about carseat

Hi,
I'm travelling with my 4.5 year old DD to England and am not sure what to do about a car seat for her. She currently has a Radian XT and a Britax Frontier CT. Both are rated for airline travel but I'm hesitant to take them on the flight. I'm flying with Air Canada and the car seat policy is vague. The last time we flew on Air Canada, the flight attendant refused to let me use the Radian for DD. He said she was too old to use a car seat on the flight. He made me Sky Check it. I really don't want to take that risk again.

I'm thinking to buy an inexpensive seat to take with us there and hope that I can bring it on board. I would prefer to keep her harnessed as I think she is too young yet to be boostered. She weighs 43 lbs and is 43 inches tall.

I read on a previous post that any car seat I bring would be illegal! But I don't think I can get anyone to purchase one for me there and then I wouldn't be able to use it here so that would be quite an expense.

Any recommendations for convertible seats? If it works out, I may leave the seat with my mother for those times that we travel to see her so we won't have to bring the seat on board.

At this point, I'm freaking out about how I'll keep her safe and am thinking I should just bring my Radian as we've travelled with it a few times. It's insanely heavy but I know how to install it with a seat belt. DD have almost outgrown it so we won't be using it for much longer anyway. I don't know about locking clips though. I'll have to look into that...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

I'm sorry about your Air Canada experience. You should have been able to use the carseat according to AC's own child restraint policy, which is on their website. I don't see anything in the policy that cites a height, weight or age limit for being able to use a carseat (other than the stated limits of the carseat itself).

Transport Canada also encourages -- but does not strictly require -- airlines to permit the use of certified carseats onboard.

One option would be to bring your Radian and a copy of the AC carseat policy and stick to your guns as much as possible (without getting kicked off the flight, of course!).

That being said, a child of your daughter's age and size can be appropriately restrained just in the aircraft lap belt. In the US, the recommendation for air travel is to use a carseat up to at least 40 lbs. (18 kg).

In terms of specific seats to bring, it is true that UK law requires carseats to meet European standards, which your Canadian seats won't, and thus will be "illegal." But it's highly unlikely that anyone would notice, much less that you would be fined for this. As far as I can tell the English police have other priorities--- and in any event, you don't seem to have much choice, since you say that you don't have any option for having a relative/friend purchase one for you over there.

One issue with the Radian is that it does not have lockoffs, and most European vehicles do not have automatic locking retractor (ALR) seatbelts, so you would need to get comfortable with using a locking clip.

Most Britax convertible seats do have lockoffs, but that would be somewhat of an expensive purchase for something that you may not use very much.

I know you said you're not ready to go to a booster, but given enough time to prepare and get her "booster trained," that might not be a bad option. I am guessing that while in England you will mostly be taking shorter trips with other adults in the car to help remind her about proper booster position? Our daughter started using boosters for taxis/travel at age 4 even though she was still harnessed in our car.

It is unlikely you will have a top tether and you won't have locking seatbelts in the UK, so you must learn to use your locking clip to install your seat (you cannot use LATCH without a top tether).

In your case, I would buy a high back booster there and leave it with your mother.

Most seats in the uk only harness to 18kg/40lbs as well.

Using a car seat on board an aircraft is irrelevant for safety. We have tons of data from FAA showing this very cearly. The only benefit wuld be to make sure car seat gets there safely and on time.

Using a US car seat in Europe is illegal and it doesn't matter if your are a tourist or a resident. No one will notice or car if you are using your US seat so this is not a factor.

A harnessed seat is not any safer than a high back booster for kids 4 and older. There are no stats, data, research or real life experiences showing this. A good option for you would be to puchase a Britax Adventure. Also called Highliner in UK.

It's cheap, light weight, comfortable and has adjustable angle. Use it during your trip and bring it back or leave for the next time.

Adventuredad said:

Using a car seat on board an aircraft is irrelevant for safety. We have tons of data from FAA showing this very cearly. The only benefit wuld be to make sure car seat gets there safely and on time.

Click to expand...

I suppose I'll ask again, where are your sources for this? If the FAA has "tons of data" showing that car seats on planes is irrelevant for safety then they sure have a funny way of expressing that.

"Did you know that the safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap? Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence."

Found here: http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/

As for the booster part, a mature enough 4 year old who can sit still 100% of the time may be safe in a booster yes, but at least in North America that is certainly not the majority of 4 year olds. However for travel, if someone is able to sit in the back seat with her to remind her is she moves out of position then I'd be comfortable with it.

Adventuredad said:

Using a car seat on board an aircraft is irrelevant for safety. We have tons of data from FAA showing this very cearly.

Click to expand...

Compared to automotive transport, the safety benefits of car seats on full size jet aircraft are certainly debatable. Even so, I ask that you please stop making unsupported references to FAA data in this regard, unless you provide a link to a relevant study from the FAA.

Thank you for your responses.

I think I will go the booster route. My mom lives in Montreal so I will purchase the seat in Canada and then bring it to England. I'm thinking I might try to check it in the box so that it will be hopefully well protected.

Can you make any recommendations on high-backed boosters? I would prefer ones that can use the latch system but it is not necessary. Also, a lower price range as I'm not 100% sure it will survive baggage check.

Hi there,

This is a good list of the better boosters available in Canada, and their pros and cons: http://vicarseattechs.com/our-favourite-seats/dedicated-booster-seats/

There are some that use LATCH/UAS, but these tend to be pricier. The Graco Affix might be the cheapest one of these. If you decide you don't need this feature, you can look for sales for the Graco Turbo Booster, which fits smaller booster riders well, and can be found for $50 or $60 on sale. I personally like the Turbo Booster with safety surround if there's a chance the child falls asleep in the car (which might be likely with long car rides combined with jet lag).

Regarding checking the booster for the plane ride, yes, using its original box is good, but the other thing you can do is bring the seat portion of the booster onto the plane with you as your child's carry on item, and then check the back portion in luggage protected by clothing. The bottom portion is the more important part, and is small. You won't be able to let your child sit on it on the plane, but you can stash it in the overhead bin. This will also ensure it arrives at your destination when you do and isn't damaged.