Videos of our flight/flying solutions for preschooler

natysr

New member
I just uploaded a couple of short videos to youtube.

The first shows my son rearfacing in a Britax Marathon on an airplane. He is 30 pounds and 39 inches tall. He has long legs in relation to his torso. He wears a size 4T in pants for lenght.

Rearfacing on a Plane

The second video shows how we get it all through the airport. Sometimes Jordan rides strapped into his seat, but this particular instance he said he wanted to walk, then changed his mind and hopped on for a ride.

His seat is connected to our rolling carry on with the Traveling Toddler. His blanket is safely buckled into the seat. ;) Jordan had a backpack, DH had a backpack, and I had a small diaper bag in lieu of a purse. Our trip was 5 days long and that was all we had. We didn't even need to check a bag.

Traveling Toddler
 
ADS

snowbird25ca

Moderator - CPST Instructor
Those are great Natalie, thank you so much for sharing them!!!!

(Where do you buy a travelling toddler anyways, I'm thinking it's miles easier than the gogo kidz...)
 

natysr

New member
Yep, I got mine through Amazon.com.

I've been really happy with it. I like it because we basically can carry 2 things that we will need with one hand. And it keeps us from having to check a bag. (We pack light whenevery we can). It still won't wheel down the plane aisle because the marathon is too wide. But one solution to that is to gate check the carry-on.
 

glockchick

New member
Thank you. I have a few questions though.

The one time I flew (yes, in my life), we took dd's marathon. The plane aisle was so narrow that we had to lift the marathon over the seat backs on the plane to get it in. Thank goodness we got to board first or we'd have been bonking people on the heads.

Then, there was not enough room for it rear facing. Maybe y'all were on a bigger plane? So I got it installed ff, not as tight as I would have liked, but tight enough. She rode great and fell asleep and all was good until time to leave.

We couldn't get the dang seat out. The buckle was behind the seat and it opened by flipped a latch plate. There just wasn't room to flip it open.

Eventually the captain came back and helped up wiggle it loose enough to unbuckle it, but it took a good long time. Like the stewardesses were done cleaning up and getting everything ready for the next flight long time. :eek:

So on the return flight, I opted to gate check the seat and she rode in the lap belt. I know that was an awful solution, but what else could I have done? How would I handle this if I had to do it again?
 

crunchierthanthou

New member
We couldn't get the dang seat out. The buckle was behind the seat and it opened by flipped a latch plate. There just wasn't room to flip it open.

Trust me. You're not the only person to get a ff Britax convertible stuck on an airplane. :eek:

One quick trick is to flip the buckle (female end) and buckle it backward. That usually leaves enough room to lift the plate and unbuckle, but can still result in some scraped hands.

The best solution is to request a seatbelt extender when you board. That way you can have the buckle outside the beltpath. Just be careful not to get it wedged on the edge of the black plastic harness protector because it can still get stuck. :whistle:
 

natysr

New member
Thank you. I have a few questions though.

The one time I flew (yes, in my life), we took dd's marathon. The plane aisle was so narrow that we had to lift the marathon over the seat backs on the plane to get it in. Thank goodness we got to board first or we'd have been bonking people on the heads.

Then, there was not enough room for it rear facing. Maybe y'all were on a bigger plane? So I got it installed ff, not as tight as I would have liked, but tight enough. She rode great and fell asleep and all was good until time to leave.

We couldn't get the dang seat out. The buckle was behind the seat and it opened by flipped a latch plate. There just wasn't room to flip it open.

Eventually the captain came back and helped up wiggle it loose enough to unbuckle it, but it took a good long time. Like the stewardesses were done cleaning up and getting everything ready for the next flight long time. :eek:

So on the return flight, I opted to gate check the seat and she rode in the lap belt. I know that was an awful solution, but what else could I have done? How would I handle this if I had to do it again?

You are correct, the seat is to wide to fit down the aisle without lifting it above the level of the armrests, then it barely squeeks by. If I fly w/ DH then I pre-board with the seat during family boarding time and DH stays behind with our son to let him runaround more. I've never been on a plane where I could not get the seat to fit rearfacing. The plane in the video was a Southwest flight. (all their planes are the same). One tip is to recline the seatback of the plane seat, then install the marathon, then put the plane seatback back upright. You certainly won't be able to install the marathon at a 45 degree angle, but it will fit.

As far as installing it forward facing, you need to flip the buckle of the airplane seatbelt before buckling it. This way when you reach back there to release it, you are lifting the lever toward the plane seat, not toward the carseat. Another thing to make things easier for a FFing install is to ask the flight attendant for a seatbelt extender. This will give you the option to unhook the seatbelt from two different locations and you can choose the one that is easier to access.

ETA: sorry Crunchy, we were posting at the same time.
 

glockchick

New member
I think our plane must have been smaller. I had to lift it above the headrests. It wouldn't fit down the isle at all between the seats. I could barely get it around the curve to get in the plane. I really had to maneuver it.

It wouldn't install rear facing at any angle. The seat in front kept the front part of the base off the seat.

We flew continental, but I'm not sure what plane type. I know it was smaller than the "big" planes, but since I haven't flown before or since, I don't know the difference. It had 2 seats on one side and one on the other. There was only about 4-6" clearance if that between my knees and the seat in front of me. I'm average height and weight. :confused:
 

vonfirmath

New member
Can we just get the plane makers to stop making the seats recline so people stop having these complaints?

We warned the person ahead of us they would not be able to recline this flight when installing the Marathon, but they still cursed when, later in the flight, they tried to recline and discover they couldn't.!
 

Northriver

New member
Great video. No matter what I do, my child kicks the person in front of them. RF solves this problem! Perhaps it is a bit of an inconvenience to the person in front not to be able to recline, but a great trade off to not be kicked the whole flight.

You are SO nice to let your child ride through the airport! I transport my carseat in the stroller, and make my child walk.

I also got a carseat stuck on a plane once! I always flip the buckle but I guess I forgot because I was so stressed out. Our original flight had been cancelled and although we rebooked we didn't have seats together. When the got that straightened out, they didn't let us preboard that flight, my daughter and I were both sick, we were in the bulkhead and they were trying to take my purse - UGG! And wouldn't you know it, when we landed, I could NOT get the carseat out. The pilot finally came and did it for me! I'd never been so grateful to be back in Iowa in all my life.
 

glockchick

New member
When I did it, I put the carseat in the stroller and left her strapped into the seat. A completely non-approved solution I'm sure, but it worked for us. :)
 

Northriver

New member
I have a little Maclaren Volo, and my carseat is onlyreally stable in the stroller upside down. It would definately be a non approved solution to strap my child in that, lol! With my oldest child, I did strap the carseat to one of those little folding luggage things with wheels but frankly, for the most part when I don't have the stroller, I feel it is easy enough to just carry the carseat. Love that bar on the back of my Roundabout that was perfect to carry it with. Loved traveling with that seat, lightweight, not too bad to get down the plane aisles. I was so sad when DD outgrew that seat.
 

glockchick

New member
Never know, kid might like it. LOL!

I have an old mac quest and strangely enough the base of the Marathon fit it in just perfectly nice and tight. I wouldn't have thought it would work, but it did.
 

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