Travelling question

Dillipop

Well-known member
I've flown with britax marathons rear and forward facing, a snugride 35 rearfacing, an evenflow rearfacing and forward facing, and a sunshine kids (now Diono) forward facing. I've never had a problem fitting any of them.

I prefer my kids to be in seats in the plane. They know when their harness is on, they aren't allowed out of their seats. Just like in a car. They sleep better in their own seats an it makes the whole experience easier for me. I actually like having a seat next to me that I can lean on and sleep. And if I'm traveling alone with the kids, I know they won't get up and cause trouble if j have to run to the bathroom. As it negates the worry that the seat may get damaged or not make it to our destination and that I won't be out the cost of our seats- since those little gate heck tags have a little waiver on them that the airline isn't responsible for damage.
 
ADS

DawgDad

New member
Please tell me in that picture you also had the seat in front of that RF car seat. Poor person can never recline their seat. I am also not paying $500-700 for another plane ticket so my infant (4 months) can take up an entire seat when the majority of the time I or my wife will be holding her to keep her from crying on the plane the whole time. While it may be recommended, it's not even remotely practical and while there are more accidents that occur on the ground, they rarely produce injury to anyone, much less death that would have been prevented in a lap belt only install of a car seat.

Accidents that occur on planes usually have advance warning. Outside of mid-air collisions, collisions on the ground are typically known seconds in advance, not milliseconds as they are in car crashes. I think I have this one covered as a self sacrifice that will provide better protection than a car seat could. I was in one where the plane exceeded the runway limit and we went into the dirt narrowly missing the front fence by 3 feet on the nose. We all had to jump down the slides and it was recorded as an accident in the TSA record books. The 80% stat is skewed quite a lot.

I tried to install our Britax Boulevard on a flight down to Orlando when my daughter was 3.5 and when I put it in the seat completely and correctly installed FF (not going to inconvenience the passenger in front of me to do ERF), I had no more shoulder room in the middle seat. It didn't fit. There is a good example.

And sorry Seattle-Tacoma sucks for you, but it's been great for me everytime I fly up there with Delta. I check bags because I am usually up there for 3-5 days on business...never an issue. We have an office in Bothell. The rental car thing is a hassle having to ride the bus out there and then go down 400 escalators just to get to the Hertz counter. I do enjoy Rainer on a clear day though...which is about 2-3 times a year. :p
 

Dillipop

Well-known member
As a passenger, I'd prefer not to recline my seat due to a kid rearfacing behind me than to have a kid ffing behind me and kicking my seat the entire time...
 

DawgDad

New member
The sanctimonious attitude on both sides of this issue drives me up a wall.

Eh, I am probably bringing some outside issues into this conversation (not having even a remotely good Friday). I apologize if I offended...different experiences for different people. Was surprised at some of the information shared in this thread.
 

T4K

Well-known member
I'm not offended in the slightest. But people somehow particularly get touchy when it comes to flying.

I used to fly a ton for work and now fly only about 4-5 times a year for leisure but people go bonkers when they have to fly.
 

Brianna

New member
As a passenger, I'd prefer not to recline my seat due to a kid rearfacing behind me than to have a kid ffing behind me and kicking my seat the entire time...

This times a million. And it's not like the recline on airplane seats makes them that much more comfortable...
 

cantabdad

New member
Wendy gave a more comprehensive reply but I would also like to address the issue of crash survivability.

I think it's fair to say that there is a consensus that survivability has increased over the past few decades. There have been improvements in engineering, cabin design, fire retardance, emergency response, etc. It is also higher than many people realize. Certainly there are catastrophic events that are not survivable (mid-air collision, missile strike, etc.), but as NTSB noted in 2001:
Nearly 96 percent of the occupants involved in a [commercial] aviation accident over the past 18 years survived the accident, and in over 46 percent of the most serious of these accidents (accidents involving fire, serious injury, and either substantial aircraft damage or complete destruction), more than 80 percent of the occupants survived.
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/safetystudies/SR0101.pdf

A more recent example is the Asiana crash at SFO in 2013. This was a high-impact crash landing that probably would have resulted in scores of fatalities in prior decades, yet only 3 of the 291 passengers died. Of the 3 fatal injuries, 2 were un-belted and were ejected from the aircraft. NTSB concluded that these passengers likely would have survived if they had fastened their seatbelts.
http://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/summary/AAR1401.html

I would be the first person to admit that requiring carseats for all children is not going to make a major dent in fatality levels -- simply because there are so few fatalities in the first place. However, it would be an improvement and would be consistent with improving survivability for all passengers. Speaking just for my own family, our kids have sometimes been fussy during travel (hungry, tired, etc.) but being in the carseat does not seem to have ever been an issue.
 

DawgDad

New member
This times a million. And it's not like the recline on airplane seats makes them that much more comfortable...

It's more out of necessity. When I fly for work, I like to have access to my laptop. On a typical 757 (which has SUPER narrow seats and barely any leg room) in coach, I need to have a recline so I can access the keyboard of my laptop on the tray in front of me, especially if the passenger in front me is reclining. It's a domino effect. Flying all the time like I do and have been doing for close to a decade (officially in January next year will mark my 10th year...yay), I have seen the lack of understanding by passengers to others on all sides of the fence with children, people without children, elderly, you name it...it's bizarre.

I try to find a way to make a flight as convenient for others as it is for myself and my family. That's the vein I am coming from on my recommendations...keeping things simple. My kids are pretty awesome when it comes to behavior (in public...sigh), so I might be in the minority...but it's my perspective on top of what I have observed in my hundreds of flights (million miler...woooo) as an informed outsider.
 

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor
Staff member
Please tell me in that picture you also had the seat in front of that RF car seat. Poor person can never recline their seat.

Nope. I offered to buy her something for her inconvenience, and then when I turned my daughter back around (she was four, her direction was her choice but she was uncomfortable with the buckle in her back) I tapped her on the shoulder to let her know.

I tried to install our Britax Boulevard on a flight down to Orlando when my daughter was 3.5 and when I put it in the seat completely and correctly installed FF (not going to inconvenience the passenger in front of me to do ERF), I had no more shoulder room in the middle seat. It didn't fit. There is a good example.

And a great example for me. I flew with a Britax Wizard tons of times. It needed a twist or a seatbelt extender forward facing (classic Britaxes here, not the new ones) and I was quite comfortable next to it. Your experiences are not those of all others. My kids also generally fall asleep on planes and do well with their own space.

So given that either way can happen (my kids have also each been That Kid on a plane once), I err on the side of safety.

And sorry Seattle-Tacoma sucks for you, but it's been great for me everytime I fly up there with Delta. I check bags because I am usually up there for 3-5 days on business...never an issue. We have an office in Bothell. The rental car thing is a hassle having to ride the bus out there and then go down 400 escalators just to get to the Hertz counter. I do enjoy Rainer on a clear day though...which is about 2-3 times a year. :p

Never said it sucks. I don't check luggage normally, but the few times we've had to gate check something it goes to baggage. I asked about it and the flight attendants (several airlines) have said that's the way Seattle is. I find it odd and annoying. Overall I like the airport. I haven't rented a car here since before we moved, so that's since changed. And Rainier is out most of the summer. Two to three days over the winter. Heading up to Bothell you can even see Baker sometimes off of I-5.

Wendy
 

EmmasMom

Member
I'm not saying all baggage handlers throw bags and car seats, but I know not all of them understand the importance of a car seat. Just like most people don't know they expire. I have seen gate checked seats throw around many times, and I've seen many seats not make it to their destination. I know I wouldn't want my daughter riding in a seat that had been mistreated or damaged.

I've taken her on 14 flights and used Britax Decathlons and a Graco Nautilus. Heavy seats, but I used what I had. She was comfortable and safe. I had 1 gate checked stroller returned broken.

Here is a video I found quickly on google:
[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lzmJr1a-BHU[/ame]
 

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