FAA approved child seat

[jockey]

We are taking advantage of the sales today and going to Halfords for a new child seat for DS. For our next trip to WDW we are flying with Continental and DS will be having his own seat- how will we know if our child seat is FAA approved.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I would think that this will be impossible to know, as all the seats you will be looking at are for automotive use, and will meet the standards required for European legislation.

have you had a look on the FAA web site to see if there is a list? there may be a car seat sold world wide which may be on it.

have you checked with Continental as to whichj European car seats are acceptable?

 

[jockey]

Just got off the phone with Continental and they suggest as long as its government approved or UN approved should be ok!

 

[Laurafoster]

Thats good, i never even thought about that! thanks for the info!

 

[bicker]

Beware if you're connecting in Newark: That might apply only to international flights. There are many reports of US domestic airlines refusing to board any child seats that don't bear the FAA certification on-board US domestic flights.

 

[safetymom]

http://www.aap.org/family/carseatguide.htm

Here is a list of approved car seats in the US.

 

[NotUrsula]

Unfortunately, other than Britax, that list doesn't include most brands sold in the UK. Seats sold in the US are required to have a specially-worded sticker on, that states that they are approved for use in aircraft. Seats sold outside the US won't have the sticker, and it is the sticker that flight crew are looking for. However, there is provision in the law for approval of non-US seats; it is just that most flight crew are not aware of what they need to look for in that case.

The US law that covers the use of carseats on aircraft is 14 CFR 121.311 (from the Code of Federal Regulations, http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi...E=14&PART=121&SECTION=311&YEAR=1999&TYPE=TEXT)

The pertinent section is here, at (C):

"...(B) Seats manufactured to U.S. standards on or after February 26,
1985, must bear two labels:
(1) ``This child restraint system conforms to all applicable Federal
motor vehicle safety standards''; and
(2) ``THIS RESTRAINT IS CERTIFIED FOR USE IN MOTOR VEHICLES AND
AIRCRAFT'' in red lettering;
(C) Seats that do not qualify under paragraphs (b)(2)(ii)(A) and
(b)(2)(ii)(B) of this section must bear either a label showing approval of a foreign government or a label showing that the seat was manufactured under the standards of the United Nations; (emphasis mine)

If your carseat has such a label, you may use it onboard a US commercial aircraft. By law, you cannot be prevented from using a properly labeled seat, provided you have paid a fare that entitles the child to his/her own aircraft seat. For simplicity, I suggest you print out (from the official link I posted, not from where I quoted it) a copy of the relevant section of the law, and carry it with you when you travel. Please understand that the crew will probably have to double-check on whether the printout is up to date, but having the proper citation will make that a much quicker process.

Also, just FYI, no carseat, regardless of the stickers on it, may be used onboard an aircraft in the US if the carseat lacks an integral upper-body harness. (This is in the full text of the law I cited above.)

Also, when you get your seat assignments, be sure to tell the agent that you plan to use a carseat whilst on board; there are some spots on the aircraft where carseats may not be placed, and if you are assigned one of them, the airline will have to find you different seats at the last moment, which is not fun.

 

[jockey]

Thanks for the info guys! Went to Halfords yesterday to buy a Britax and the sales assistant said there is no way the Britax will fit in an aircraft seat! It wouldn't fit in my mini cabrio either so going to have to buy the mini seat for that!

I will call Britax today and ask them as we intend to buy one for DH car!!!

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

How old is your child?
Also, with Virgin, and it may be the same for Continental, they do have child fitting seats availabe if you pre book.

If its a code share flight, that might be worth investigating

 

[NotUrsula]

Some of the Britax models sold in the UK/Eire are not sold in the US, but of those sold in the US (see the list Safetymom posted above) the only one with an upper-body harness that is not approved by the FAA for aircraft use is the Husky, which is too large. If you do have one of the other models that is sold in the US, I'm pretty sure that the size is the nearly the same as it is in the UK. (US models can differ a bit in how they are belted.) By all means, check with Britax about US aircraft certification, they may be able to send you additional documents.

The FAA's standard advice on size is that if the base of the carseat is no more than 17 inches wide, it should fit in an aircraft seat. Note that you normally cannot install a carseat in a bulkhead row, because you must be able to lift at least one armrest in order to install the seat properly. Not that you would get a bulkhead seat on CO in any case; like almost all US carriers, they reserve the bulkhead row for coach passengers who have Elite-level FF status or who have paid the full-price refundable fare.

As to the seats that Virgin and BA supply for babies, you will not find those on any US-based airline, nor will you find skycots. For liability and logistics reasons, US-based airlines do not provide these; they feel that it is up to the parent to provide a proper child restraint if one is to be used. BTW, you also will not find supplemental belt restraints (aka Belly Belts) for lap babies, as those are forbidden under FAA ruling.