buckling carseats on the airplane

[PoohGal05]

I KNOW this sounds like a simple question, but how are carseats buckled on the seats of airplanes? Since seatbelts in cars have to threaded through the back of forward facing carseats for toddlers, the straps in airplanes don't appear to be long enough to do the same job.

And as long as we are on the subject, are the seats of airplanes wide enough to fit a standard size forward facing carseat?

 

[Tara]

They're long enough, trust me. just do yourself a favor and flip the buckle upside down before you buckle and tighten it. If you leave it with the flap facing up, like it would be in your lap, when you tighten it, the flap will be very snug right against the back of the seat, making it very difficult to lift the flap to unbuckle the belt.

All airlines have slightly different seat widths but I was never on a plane that our Britax Marathon didn't fit in, and that includes smaller regional jets.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

What kind of car seat? You need to make sure it says on the label it is FAA approved.

I have never had a problem with the seat belt fitting thought the back of the seat, I have flown with a Britax Companion Infant seat, and after that I used a Cosco Scenera just for travel. I have a Marathon which I know people travel with on planes (and I have never seen anyone have a fitting problem), but I would never want to lug that through an airport and once I get back the last thing I want to do I re-install a car seat in the parking lot. Having a lighter car seat for travel was a great investment, I paid $45 for the seat and sold it on Craigslist for $25 when DD outgrew it.

Most manuals show how to install on a plane, take a look at it before you leave for the airprot.

 

[ParrotBill]

In case it's not obvious, you need to flip up the armrest.

The carseat must go in the window seat.

 

[1PrincessMomma1]

In case it's not obvious, you need to flip up the armrest.

The carseat must go in the window seat.

I fly with a Britax Roundabout and I've never had to flip up the armrests. I've flown on everything from a small regional to the DC10.

 

[NotUrsula]

The Roundabout may not require it, but the most popular carseat for aircraft use, the Cosco Scenera, does. You won't get it into position without raising the armrest.

The easier way to get the carseat on to the plane is to carry it upside-down and sideways -- think of the shape of the number 7. It that position you'll whack fewer people with it as you walk down the aisle.

As a general rule, it will be easier for a man to carry the seat onboard, but easier for a woman to install it. Being shorter with smaller hands makes installation in tight quarters easier.

To install it, first lift the armrest, then recline the aircraft seat fully back. Next, extend the aircraft seat belt out almost as far as it will go, leaving only a couple of inches of grab space for the tab end. Position the carseat in the proper direction and thread the seatbelt where it needs to go, then turn the seatbelt's buckle one-half twist before latching it. Set the carseat fully into position and pull up on the seatbelt until it is snug. Lastly, push the recline button and pull the aircraft seatback back to full upright position. (Installing with the seat reclined and then pulling it upright pulls out about 3 inches of "cushion-squish-slack" in the seatbelt; this is a substitute for kneeling in the carseat as you would in an automobile.)

Flipping the buckle is important because the seatbelt buckle on an aircraft is a gate-latch design. It is next to impossible to easily open the latch if the top of the buckle is flush against the shell of the carseat; you want it to end up facing away from the shell. If in the end with your particular seat the buckle ends up under the upholstery making a lump against the child's back, then you should ring the call bell and ask the FA for a seatbelt extender. Then you can shorten the main seatbelt and use the extension to "bridge" the middle of the carseat between the two seatbelt buckles.