West Jet refused RF seat

[smackeen]

Person just commented on a board of mine how when they flew home on westjet, the rep said no rear facing seats allowed. They made her install it forward facing for an infant (not infant seat). Child did not meet min to FF.

I have heard numerous times that people have rearfaced on airplanes. Was it just an uninformed rep? Or is there a reason that a seat cannot rf with west jet?

 

[cantabdad]

Transport Canada promotes the use of child restraints on aircraft, but unlike FAA, they seem to stop short of actually mandating that carriers permit their use. So you may be somewhat at the mercy of the airline, although I've always heard that Canadian carriers were good about this.

WestJet's own website says that you can use an approved CRS. I've never taken them, but on another Canadian carrier, Porter, we had no problem at all using a convertible carseat RF. (And there was another child on the flight using an infant carrier.) WestJet's seat pitch ranges from 32" to 34", which is very typical and should be plenty of room for anything other than perhaps a Radian or one of the larger Britaxes. Overall it does sound like an mis-informed flight attendant, which is apparently not uncommon.

 

[stephpook]

I'm not sure about West Jet, but I just installed a Scenera RF on two different Southwest flights and no one said a word.

 

[stephpook]

Oops, sorry. Didn't realize you were in Canada.

 

[Pixelated]

I've RF numerous times on Westjet without issue with my infant/child seat. Sounds to me like a mis-informed flight attendant. I would complain, loudly.

 

[bubbaray]

I bet if you complain they comp you some tickets

 

[Pixelated]

The confusion perhaps comes from the requirement to be on a forward-facing PLANE seat. Car seats can't be installed on aft (rear) facing seats but I have heard of some flight attendants confusing this to mean no rear-facing car seats.

 

[katymyers]

I would be pissed! I'd definitely complain to someone about that! What if it had been a newborn? Surely they wouldn't have had them put a newborn forward facing in a convertible. Or what about an infant only seat? Do they insist those be forward facing too? That is completely unreasonable and at the very least the cost of their child's ticket should be refunded.

 

[TexasMama]

One time a flight attendant told me this, too. She said I should forward face (baby was under ONE at the time, too) because she had most often seen it that way.

I politely babbled on about AAP, research, etc and just did my own thing.

She glared at me, but I figured if she complained about me she would lose that battle any way.