Carseat for a plane

kristin7400 · Jul 9, 2008

I'm taking my daughter on a transatlantic flight in a few weeks & I need a 5 pt harness for her as she is cognitively delayed & won't stay in a regular booster. Her everyday seat is a Britax but it is too wide for the plane's seat. She is 8yrs old and about 52lb. Her torso length is right at 17in. She doesn't need any extra support as she is physically healthy. I know I can use a harness but I'll need a carseat anyway for the car. Everyone keeps suggesting the Radian80 but I read that it has to be tethered for the back to stay upright. Any ideas? Thanks, Kristin

SusanMae · Jul 9, 2008

The Radian80 doesn't the back tethered. They are thinking of the SafeGuard Go.

I think the Graco Nautilus would be better for you. It has a higher top slot than the Radians, I believe.

Susan

Unregistered · Jul 9, 2008

The Radian80 does not require a top tether, but depending on how she sits in the seat she may be at the max height for it. The Graco Nautilus has an easy 18" torso position and would be a great seat for the plane.

MomToEliEm · Jul 9, 2008

See if you can find a Nautilus in a store near you (walmart or BRU may have them in stock). With her torso height, it may fit her (suppose to be 18.5" torso height), but you may want to stick her in the seat just to make sure she still fits.

The Nautilus is taller then the Radian so I would choose it over the radian if I had a choice. It is also cheaper. Both the Nautilus and the Radian have been used on airplanes by various people and no one has indicated that they don't fit.

Do you currently use a Britax Regent? That is the only britax seat that I know of that doesn't fit on an airplane. I think all the other britax seats are certified for airline use and should fit in the seat. I haven't heard of anyone flying with the Britax Frontier yet though, but hopefully it would fit.

wendytthomas · Jul 9, 2008

MomToEliEm said:
I think all the other britax seats are certified for airline use and should fit in the seat. I haven't heard of anyone flying with the Britax Frontier yet though, but hopefully it would fit.

All of the other Britax seats do, but the highest top slots of them are 17", so her daughter will have outgrown them.

The Frontier is FAA approved with the harness in, so I guess it *should* fit in the seat. That's the reason the Regent isn't. It's too wide.

Wendy

The Bjorns · Jul 9, 2008

The price of the RA 80 is a bit much if your DD is going to outgrow it soon, but it's a dream on a plane. We took our Radian 60 and Marathon on a trip and it was so simple to fold it up--security was simple, taking it down the airplane was easy and installing it was a breeze (makes me wish cars had airplane-style buckles). The MA was also a snap for traveling. We actually had the MA on a folding luggage rack with RA sitting inside the MA and bungee corded the entire thing together.

Test the GN and the RA to see which one fits your DD best. I have seen a couple of sales running on the Radian right now if you do decide to go that route.

Unregistered · Jul 9, 2008

I just wanted to make you aware that if you are flying on a non-american carrier, they might not allow you to use the carseat on the plane. I would recommend you call the airline (if it's a foreign one) to double check. American carriers have to allow you to use it.

Oh, and since your daughter is over 40lbs, I would print this out, just in case they give you trouble...
http://www.airweb.faa.gov/Regulatory_and_Guidance_Library/rgAdvisoryCircular.nsf/0/60d70126cf679d5a8625723b007841e7/$FILE/AC%20120-87A.pdf

I know I've seen a FAA Advisory on higher-weight harness seats for special needs children, but can't find it right now. I'll post again if I find it.

Carseat for a plane

kristin7400

Guest

SusanMae

Senior Community Member

Unregistered

Guest

MomToEliEm

Moderator

wendytthomas

Admin - CPST Instructor

The Bjorns

New member

Unregistered

Guest

Car-Seat.Org Facebook Group

Sponsors

Forum statistics