Anyone fly with Marathon car seat?

[Jennygt]

I am planning to buy the marathon for my ds, we are going to wdw in sept and I want to use it on the plane, a friend at work told me that just because the seat is FAA aproved that does not mean that it fits on the plane. We will be flying continential, thanks for any tips!

 

[Princess Roo]

I haven't flown Continental, but I have used it on Delta and Airtran. It fits fine, but unfortunately does put DS' feet in prime kicking-the-back-of-the-tray-in-front-of-him position I don't know if that's because it's so big or if all carseats do that. (We've found it helps to take his shoes off, BTW. He doesn't kick as much and it's not as hard.)
We love the seat for the car, BTW!

 

[lil mermaid]

We have flown on Continental 5 or 6 times with our Marathon. It does fit -but it is tight. We usually have to leave the armrest up.

I found these instructions on installing a Britax seat in an airplane recently (unfortunately, never had them when we flew) and it seems as though they would make things easier:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=13&topic_id=46400&mesg_id=51531&page=

Edited to add - Princess Roo is SO RIGHT about the prime kicking position

 

[babym66]

We've taken our Marathon on AirTran several times. They are right about the seatbelt extender! Makes it so much easier. My daughter doesn't kick but the tray wouldn't fold all the way down-I was stuck holding the drink, the snack, the crayons, the coloring book...
As a last resort, gate check the car seat. They will give you a gate check tag as you board the plane. Leave it at the bottom of the jetway as you get on the plane. It will be brought to you as you exit the plane.

 

[Jennygt]

Thanks for the advice all! Does the arm rest have to be down during take off/landing? I can remember having it up and laying on my dh shoulder, my friend told me that I can't have the arm rest up, true or false?

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Interior arm rests can be up.

Marathon + toddler + airplane seat = one kicked and grumpy passenger in front

I was actually trying to figure out a humane way I could restrain my little one's legs. He just kept forgetting to not move his legs.

 

[Jennygt]

We are traveling with Dgma and Dgpa so we plan to get the seats in front of us so he will be kicking family all the way to Orlando!

 

[flynnmnstr]

We are using Marathon on Continental in August. There is four of us so we normally sit 2 and 2. I think I'll put the little guy in the Marathon behind me and DS 5, so we will be the brunt of his kicks.

 

[NotUrsula]

I was actually trying to figure out a humane way I could restrain my little one's legs. He just kept forgetting to not move his legs.

It is actually quite easy, easier still if you plan ahead. Use either a light blanket or a pr. of extra-long pants (pj's are a good choice). These methods don't attach the child to the seat, so they don't pose any danger for an evacuation. You usually won't have to use these methods more than a couple of times -- kids learn by experience.

With the blanket, put two corners under the child's tush, then fold it up and over and tie the corners together, with the child sitting cross-legged. The blanket goes over the carseat buckles, btw.

Using pants is more comfortable and easier with the buckles; put the child into the pants, then tuck the ends of the pant legs up under the child's tush. The child's legs can swing side to side, but not forward. Pants for this purpose need to be at least about 18 inches too long. (My 9 yo recently outgrew the pj pants that I used to carry for this purpose when he was little; they just got reused for their real purpose when he was big enough.)

 

[PoohHappens]

Just a warning, I used my roundabout on a flight once and when I buckled the seat the metal lift thingy to undo the belt ended up facing the back hard plastic part of the seat. I did not realize this problem and gave it a good pull and made it nice and tight with my knee in the seat as I always do. When I went to remove the seat I could not get my hand wedged in there and even when I did I did not have enough room to lift the metal thing to get it to release. After about 10 minutes someone helped me and reclined the seat back which made better access and we eventually got it out. I did not read the above mentioned instructions so maybe this is mentioned or what the seat belt extender is about. I will say it probably quite commical for the rest of the folks watching me try to wrestle the thing out of the seat and keep track of the toddler all at the same time. If I had not almost been it tears I would have been laughing too.

 

[seetheworld]

We are traveling with Dgma and Dgpa so we plan to get the seats in front of us so he will be kicking family all the way to Orlando!

Yes, we are in the same boat here. Grandparents will be sitting in front of the car seat so that another passenger doesn't get kicked. My DS doesn't even kick - the car seat just puts his feet so close to the other seat in front of him. It works out great when a family member can sit directly in front of the child with the car seat. I will be sharing my tray tabel as well. I wish that it could lay flat with his car seat.