Can I take my daughter's Britax Boulevard on the plane?

[Disneyfriend]

Hi there,

We're flying with our daughter this September. She'll be 11 months old at the time of our trip. We've purchased a separate seat for her.

But I'm wondering if we can bring our regular car seat (a Britax Boulevard) for the plane? On the transportation forum, there is a post right now which states that most airline seats are maybe 17-18" wide. Her car seat, according to http://www.carseatdata.org/csnumbers.html, measures 19.5 inches.

Do we need to get a separate car seat for her just to take on the plane? We love, love our Britax and really would like to take it to WDW as well.

Has anybody tried to bring their child's Britax Marathon/Boulevard/Decathalon onto a plane?

Thanks in advance,

Disneyfriend

 

[Tiger926]

That's my post - our Graco Comfort Sport fit very snuggly last year and it's almost 17", therefore your Britax is not going to fit at 19.5" unless you are in First Class as those seats are bigger. You would have to check your car seat (I wouldn't take a chance with such an awesome seat should something happen to it!), or, perhaps you can buy another one to use when you travel.

Perhaps some others who have used any Britax models on planes can better comment, but based on your width measurements, and all I've just learned over the past few days about car seat widths and how they differ, I don't think your seat is going to fit.

Good luck and happy travels, Tiger

 

[BelleBoo&AmisMum]

We've flown multiple times with our marathon without problems. We've always had to raise the armrests to install it but we've been able to push them back down after it's in.

good luck!

 

[grlpwrd]

Hi, I noticed you are from Hawaii. I'm a local girl. What airline will you all be traveling on ... Hawaiian, Delta, Aloha, or ?

You can always check the dimensions of a particular plane at www.seatguru.com . I think raising the armrest does make a difference like someone already mentioned, too.

GL!

 

[sharibrat]

We have taken our daughters Britax Marathon on several planes.

 

[Tiger926]

That's good to know! I myself am still confused about the whole car seat despite the fact that we've flown lots of times! I still see airlines and FAA recommending that car seats be under 17" in order to fit properly, so it must have to do with the armrest. I always thought they had to be down for some reason to. My hubby said our Graco Comfort Sport fit snugly, but we always have the armrests down - I think that raising an armrest would invite a toddler to play with it, so I think we'll just stick with our Graco as we know it fits, although our new Chase seat is a bit smaller that your Britax, so I guess it would fit too with the armrests up.

We just don't want to take a chance with it not fitting, but this info about the Britax fitting is interesting as they are the biggest car seats around!

Happy travels to you and your family, Tiger

 

[o2bacelt]

We too have a Marathon and have flown with it on several occassions, we do have to put the arm rest up to install, we've always left the arm rest up but we've done that as a personal preference. We've never had a problem with our seat. Just make sure your seat is FAA approved.

 

[WDWorBUST]

We've flown with our Britax Marathon multiple times now without problems.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Hi, I noticed you are from Hawaii. I'm a local girl. What airline will you all be traveling on ... Hawaiian, Delta, Aloha, or ?

You can always check the dimensions of a particular plane at www.seatguru.com . I think raising the armrest does make a difference like someone already mentioned, too.

GL!

Hi there! Glad to "meet" you! That is one very cool website you gave me!! I have bookmarked it for future use. Very helpful.

We're flying American to the mainland. We usually do Hawaiian, but got on American this time. It will be a long flight, obviously! Dreading that part of our trip, but what can you do?

Disneyfriend

 

[Disneyfriend]

Thanks to all who have replied that you have been able to take your Marathon with no problems. I think we may give it a shot . . .

I've never flown with a car seat before, to tell you the truth. Are they pretty easy to install?

Thank you again!

Disneyfriend

 

[Christypl]

We moved from HI to FL 6 months ago. I have a Marathon and it fit fine. But...boy is that a long flight!!!!!

 

[o2bacelt]

The car seat is fairly easy to install, just make sure you turn the buckle so that it faces the back of the seat, it makes it much easier to get it unlatched from the seat.

We try to board early and we're usually the last off the plane, it's just easier that way, we have plenty of time to get our stuff together and get comfortable before getting on the plane and then we don't have to fight the crush getting off the plane.

We also gate check a stroller as well so we've got quite the pile of stuff getting on the plane. One of the moms here on the Dis has a link for a car seat rolly cart thing that works for Britax seats, we're going to get one before our trip in October, it'll make it much easier to roll all that through the airport instead of carrying that giant seat.

 

[Disneyfriend]

We moved from HI to FL 6 months ago. I have a Marathon and it fit fine. But...boy is that a long flight!!!!!

Hi Chrsty,

I hope you're enjoying your new location in Florida. Yes, I'm really dreading the flight . . . . But it should help a little that dd has her own seat. We just flew to the mainland last month and did not get her a separate seat. This should be better!

Disneyfriend

 

[Disneyfriend]

The car seat is fairly easy to install, just make sure you turn the buckle so that it faces the back of the seat, it makes it much easier to get it unlatched from the seat.

We try to board early and we're usually the last off the plane, it's just easier that way, we have plenty of time to get our stuff together and get comfortable before getting on the plane and then we don't have to fight the crush getting off the plane.

We also gate check a stroller as well so we've got quite the pile of stuff getting on the plane. One of the moms here on the Dis has a link for a car seat rolly cart thing that works for Britax seats, we're going to get one before our trip in October, it'll make it much easier to roll all that through the airport instead of carrying that giant seat.

Thanks a lot, Chris! You'll be there right after we will . . .

Disneyfriend

 

[all4fun]

Honestly you shouldn't have any problems with the width, and you should put it in r/fing for an 11-mos old just like you would in the car. The only problem you might have is not getting a 45 degree recline, because the BV's are so tall and the space between the rows are more narrow than the backseats of most cars. The lack of a 45 degree angle shouldn't bother an 11 mos old at all though, as most older babies & toddlers actually prefer to be seated a little bit more upright (and it's perfectly safe, btw, even in a car at this age).

Click here for pics of a Marathon r/fing in an airplane seat

Btw, since you have a Britax seat, if you plan on traveling a lot with it, you might want to invest in a GoGo Kidz Cart to help you haul it through the airport:

www.gogobabyz.com
Just thought I would mention it!

hth!

Cheryl

 

[Disneyfriend]

Honestly you shouldn't have any problems with the width, and you should put it in r/fing for an 11-mos old just like you would in the car. The only problem you might have is not getting a 45 degree recline, because the BV's are so tall and the space between the rows are more narrow than the backseats of most cars. The lack of a 45 degree angle shouldn't bother an 11 mos old at all though, as most older babies & toddlers actually prefer to be seated a little bit more upright (and it's perfectly safe, btw, even in a car at this age).

Click here for pics of a Marathon r/fing in an airplane seat

Btw, since you have a Britax seat, if you plan on traveling a lot with it, you might want to invest in a GoGo Kidz Cart to help you haul it through the airport:

www.gogobabyz.com
Just thought I would mention it!

hth!

Cheryl

Cheryl,

Thanks so much for posting the pictures! That really helps to visualize what we need to do. Thanks a ton.

We actually bought a car seat cover (for our last trip) that has backpack-style carrying straps. Works pretty well. The cart is a great idea too.

I appreciate your help!

Disneyfriend