Thank you for visiting the US Airways web site.
Thank you for your information. Your concern about the rear facing car
seat is understandable and we aknowledge it. Please be aware that if a
passenger positions the car seat that way, it will be allowed since our
online statement does not say that if you position the car seat RF you
will be removed from the plane. Ultimately it is a passenger's choice
on how they want to do it.
It is the passenger's responsibility to educate themselves as you have,
on what is safer. Since the FAA does not even require that a car seat
is used, we cannot make something mandatory and we cannot force
passengers to do it one way or another way. That is why the website
information will remain unchanged. Also, please be aware that the rest
of the airlines have similar rules since they are also based on the FAA
rules. Below you will find the reasoning behind the FAA not making car
seats mandatory, this can be found on
www.faa.gov.
FAA Announces Decision on Child Safety Seats
WASHINGTON, DC — The Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) today announced that it will not mandate the use of
child safety seats on airplanes because of the increased safety risk to
families.
The agency said its analyses showed that, if forced to purchase an extra
airline ticket, families might choose to drive, a statistically more
dangerous way to travel.
The risk for fatalities and injuries to families is significantly
greater on the roads than in airplanes, according to the FAA. Last year,
nearly 43,000 people died on America's highways as compared to 13 on
commercial flights.
"Statistics show that families are safer traveling in the sky than on
the road," said FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey. "We encourage the
use of child safety seats in airplanes. However, if requiring extra
airline tickets forces some families to drive" then we’re inadvertently
putting too many families at risk."
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) supported the
FAA's decision based on current FAA and NHTSA studies that show a
mandate could result in another 13 to 42 added family member fatalities
over 10 years in highway accidents.
As the nation's leading advocate for the use of child restraint systems,
NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey W. Runge, M.D., today said that NHTSA
supports the FAA's decision. He said, "This is good public policy that
is in the best interest of safety for the traveling public."
To encourage families who fly to use child restraint systems, the FAA is
also broadening the categories of the types of systems that airlines can
provide on aircraft by amending its regulations permitting the use of
alternative child restraint systems to improve safety for children
otherwise secured only with a lap belt.
We certainly agree with your statement and thank you for the information
provided. We also wish that every passenger would get informed like
yourself and decide to purchase a second ticket so they can use the car
seat and that they place it RF.
Sincerely,
Alma Guzman
US Airways
Internet Support Desk
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