Need narrow seat for air travel based in UK

UKChris

New member
Hi there,

I am based in the UK and will be travelling to Brazil in January with my 10 month old daughter. I have paid for a seat on the flight and would like to buy a car seat that will be accepted on the flight. Air France have specified the seat must be approved for air travel and no wider than 42 cm or 16.5 inches. I checked the actual flight on seat guru and the seats are 17 inches wide. I am struggling to find a seat available in the UK that is not too wide, the Britax Eclipse was recommended as a very narrow seat, but this is still over 17 inches wide and I am concerned it won't fit. Consequently I am looking at the possibility of importing an American seat.

We will be doing a lot of travelling over the next couple of years in Europe as well as South America, so I am looking for a narrow car seat that will be accepted on all planes and easy to fit into rental cars.

Thanks so much for any help!

Chris
 
ADS

gigi

New member
Can you still use your infant seat? If so I would bring that.

I have flown a lot with seats and never had my seat measured. A little past 17" should be fine. I would just get a light, narrow seat with the proper approval and use it.

In the US we tend to rear face longer than my relatives in the UK (standards here have changed to rear facing to 2+ years old).
 

Adventuredad

New member
In the US we tend to rear face longer than my relatives in the UK (standards here have changed to rear facing to 2+ years old).

It's true that habits in UK are very poor and parents often turn kids forward facing at 9 months. Habits in US are also very poor regardless of the recommendation of staying rear facing until two years. People on this board are of course an exception but habits in general are that parents turn their kids forward facing as early as possible. Norm is 12-15 months. Despite my many and extensive travels to the US I can still count on one hand the two year old rear facing children I have seen. Despite being a car seat freak:) and looking into pretty much every car I see. The issue of unrestrained children is also far larger in US compared to UK.

Britax Eclipse is as far as I know a forward facing seat which should be unthinkable for a 10 month old child. It would also bee too wide for the criteria. Safety on the flight should not be a factor regarding the car seat.

We have tons of data from FAA showing very clearly that using a car seat on board an aircraft is irrelevant for safety. If every single young child in US would have used a car seat on board an aircraft we would not have saved a single life during the past 20 years. During this time 800 000 people lots their lives on the road. You should therefore focus on keeping your child safe on the ground in Brazil. Not an easy challenge. Not sure exactly where you will be traveling in Brazil but the county has like most other Central/South American country traffic and car seat safety so bad it's difficult to believe which I have experienced in person.

Airlines hate people using car seats on board aircrafts and make the criteria for a suitable seat as narrow as possible. It slows down boarding and does not make the kids any safer. There are extremely few rear facing seats fitting into 42 cm width. The only two in Europe are Kiss 2 and Triofix which can be installed with Isofix or seat belt. These are great rear facing seats but extremely poor travel seats since these are very heavy like all Isofix seats. All ECE R44 seats are in theory approved for aircrafts but most are too wide. Lots of airlines also don't allow rear facing seats.

Using a narrow infant seat would likely be your best option. My preferred option has always been to keep my child as a lap baby and gate check the car seat. Did 60+ flight with the kids during their first few years and it always worked great. Most of these flight were long transatlantic flights. Checked their Britax Hi-Way seats in car seat bags with extra protection of bubble wrap, diapers and extra clothing.

Britax Hi-Way is together with Britax Max-Way the two best rear facing travel seats due to their low weight and compact size. You can forget about using rear facing seats on board aircrafts in most locations in Europe. Some airline don't allow car seats at all and in general they all prefer gate check. The criteria is also very narrow for allowed seats. Not really an issue since car seats on board an aircraft is irrelevant for safety.
 

joolsplus3

Admin - CPS Technician
Most airplanes have flip up armrests and that makes the width requirements largely irrelevant, so most seats that are airline approved fit fine. I'd be tempted to import a Cosco Scenera NEXT for incredible light weight and fitting any car rearfacing. The trick with it is that you will need to use a locking clip in cars without isofix or locking seat belts. I'd rather learn to do that than carry a bulkier seat, personally. Combi coccoro is a cushier choice you might look at, I believe it has lockoffs? But the install takes a little more effort to keep it solid www.carseatblog.com has reviews of both.
Posted via Mobile Device
 

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