Airplane seatbelts with Airbags

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor

• Aug 10, 2009

• #1

Some seats on some airplanes now have airbags in the seatbelt. I am guessing that carseats cannot be used in those seats, but have not found much information on whether they are safe for kids at all. What about the CARES device?

 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor

• Aug 10, 2009

• #2

Well, I just found on the CARES website that it cannot be used with the seatbelt airbags, which is what I assumed. Does anyone know about the safety of those airbags with children not in carseats or CARES?

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Aug 10, 2009

• #3

I've never heard of these. Is there a picture somewhere showing what they look like/how they work? I assume there must be some kind of warning label/marking showing where they are and warning not to use under a certain weight/age? Is there a way to disable them, or do only some seats have them? I'm very curious about this concept.

 

D

DahliaRW

New member

• Aug 10, 2009

• #4

I started a thread on this awhile back, and linked an article that explains more: http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=93257&highlight=airbag

 

mommycat

Well-known member

• Aug 10, 2009

• #5

Interesting. Subbing.

 

U

Unregistered1

Guest

• Oct 18, 2009

• #6

Bumping because I want to discuss this. I just read that the air bags are supposed to be safe for children as young as 2 because they inflate away from the person instead of toward them, but this still doesn't solve the problem of car seats and lap babies. In no way would a seat with this feature be safe for a child under 2, who SHOULD be in a rear facing car seat on the plane. The air bag would inflate in the belt path and that would be BAD. As far as lap babies, well, any number of things could happen, none of which turn out well for lap baby. They put these on commercial planes, what are we supposed to do with our little ones?

 

ketchupqueen

CPST and ketchup snob

Staff member

• Oct 19, 2009

• #7

Maybe they could provide a limited number of seats (10 or something) without them for people with car seats or lap babies-- priority given to people with car seats? (It might cut down on the number of lap babies...)

 

N

Neatfreak

New member

• Oct 19, 2009

• #8

Well, air travel with my kids has just become even more stressful for me now ...

 

InternationalMama

New member

• Oct 28, 2009

• #9

Just remembered this thread when I read this on the Air New Zealand website:

"Please note: the Business Premier lie-flat seat is sideways facing therefore the seatbelt has an airbag in it. This means infant car seats are not able to be used in the Business Premier lie-flat seats on our refitted B747 and B777 aircraft as it would impede the deployment of the airbag in the event of an emergency. Infants under the age of 2 years are still able to be seated on their parent/guardian's lap and will be provided with a specially designed infant's seat belt which will not inhibit the safety features of the airbag seat belt."

So at least on these planes the seats with airbags can't be used with carseats.

 

crunchierthanthou

New member

• Oct 28, 2009

• #10

ketchupqueen said:

Maybe they could provide a limited number of seats (10 or something) without them for people with car seats or lap babies-- priority given to people with car seats? (It might cut down on the number of lap babies...)

Click to expand...

I heard a report about this on NPR Monday morning. They said they would primarily be in bulkhead seats and small private jets. They said that the rows of most commercial jets are close enough together that the airbag doesn't provide a benefit (compartmentalization?). It would restrict families with young children from sitting in the bulkhead, but overall I don't think it will be an issue.

 

Pixels

New member

• Oct 28, 2009

• #11

The article linked upthread indicates that the airbags will be primarily in bulkhead and exit rows, and that the rest of the rows, the seats are close enough together to provide protection via compartmentalization (without using the term). They said the seatbacks are engineered to break in a way that provides cushion.

 

spokaneCPST

CPST Instructor

• Oct 28, 2009

• #12

My original question was triggered by adoptive parents traveling overseas. On these long flights, some parents upgrade to first or business class. Cathay Pacific has the airbags in their upper classes. Their website also says that carseats can't be used in their "new style" economy seats, which makes me wonder if the economy seats have them now too.

interesting discussion - I'd love to hear more.