Installing car seat on airplane

[AMB1]

When DD was 3 months old we purchased her a seat on the plane and installed her infant car seat without any difficulty. She slept the entire flight and the trip was hassle free.

This year we are flying at night and I am hoping both girls will sleep on the plane. Our youngest will be 14 months and uses a Britax Roundabout convertible car seat. I am willing to purchase her a plane seat if I can install the Britax. I have read that I need to request a seat belt extender from the flight attendant and that many flight attendants are less than helpful about car seats.

Please tell me your experience installing a Britax Roundabout on an airplane.

Thanks

 

[teresajoy]

I didn't have the Roundabout, but I've used the Britax Marathon on a plane. I never had to ask for an extender. To me it was harder to unhook the seat than to hook it in, but bother were very doable.

Are you using it rearfacing though? I guess that would be different.

 

[AMB1]

Thanks! I expect she will be forward facing by then. I have read that you have to flip the seat belt buckle upside down or something or it will be impossible to unlock at the end of the trip. I can not quite figure out what they mean.

 

[Cedarmom]

Is she rear facing or forward facing? Both are easy to do w/ a Roundabout. If you are installing forward facing, you'll want the belt extender. Getting it in is easy. Getting it out is dang near impossible. I've done it, but I also had a good friend that it took 3 flight attendants and the pilot to get the seat out. With the extender, just shorten it all the way so the release is on the outside of the seat. W/out the extender, the release is up against the back of the seat and you can't open it (if the seat is in tight enough, anyway!).

As far as fitting in the seat itself, you shouldn't have any problems fitting the roundabout! Good luck.

 

[snubie]

We have traveled with both a Roundabout and a Marathon. We did not ask for the extender on one trip and we managed fine. When we asked for the extender on later trips, we were not given any trouble but the FA's. They may not have been knowledgeable about installing the car seat but they weren't mean or unhelpful about it either.
It was nice that on all the flights we have taken with DD, the FA's have always offered us juice or water for DD prior to pushing back from the airport to have during take-off (helps with the ears).

 

[teresajoy]

Is she rear facing or forward facing? Both are easy to do w/ a Roundabout. If you are installing forward facing, you'll want the belt extender. Getting it in is easy. Getting it out is dang near impossible. I've done it, but I also had a good friend that it took 3 flight attendants and the pilot to get the seat out. With the extender, just shorten it all the way so the release is on the outside of the seat. W/out the extender, the release is up against the back of the seat and you can't open it (if the seat is in tight enough, anyway!).

As far as fitting in the seat itself, you shouldn't have any problems fitting the roundabout! Good luck.

Yep, that's the problem I've had getting it out! Since airplane seatbelts have to be lifted up to release (no button), it's REALLY hard when you have it in there tight! So, if you have the buckle upsidedown, you aren't trying to open it against the carseat. You will understand better when you try to do it!

 

[Swimalie]

I have the Boulevard and on my first flight I was alone (flying to meet my husband) and didn't get the extender. I was on a lay over and had a short time to get off the plane and get to the next one. And I couldn't get the seat belt to lift up and unlatch! I was panicking. It took myself and 3 other people 10 min to get the car seat unhooked.

I HIGHLY recommend you get the extender. It just makes it so much easier.

 

[kpm76]

I've installed a Marathon several times and the trick for me is to put the seat back so I can maneuver the seat belt then put the seat into the upright position again. It's especially helpful to do that when you are uninstalling. Good luck

 

[AMB1]

Thanks everybody who responded.

I think I understand the issue about the buckle needing to be flipped over. I just have to remember when the time comes! The idea of reclining the seat during installation and removal also makes sense. Hopefully we can get the extender.

We will be landing at MCO around 11:00pm, so I hope to be able to get the tired kiddies off the plane quickly.

 

[bdiddy]

Thanks for posting this! We just decided to take the car seat for our 3 yr old and I would have had no idea about any of this.

We don't have a Britax though but I'm assuming that you would have the belt issue (having trouble getting the seat out) no matter what car seat you have, right?

And as for the seat extender, do you just request it when you get on the plane or is that something that needs done beforehand like when you check in?

Thanks!

 

[Manda]

We traveled with our Roundabout several times and never had a problem installing it on the plane. I usually pushed the arm rests up first, but didn't do anything else special to get it buckled in or unbuckled.

 

[Cedarmom]

Ask for the belt extender as you are getting onto the plane. I ask that first FA that greets you at the door to the plane. They usually have it to me by the time I get to my seat and am ready to start installing.

Britax seats have a plastic thingy on the back that make it more difficult than most to unbuckle. Most seats are no problem, but the extender eliminates any problems you might have.

 

[wmharley]

we did this..

i went with my older DD first. Immediately asked for the extender in case we needed it.

I tried the regular seatbelt and it was just barely missing when I had it full up. The BE was too long, so the only way was to recline the car seat, and strap it in reclined. the belt went through the front car seat belt opening (used for rear facing) and it worked.

 

[Bren's Mom]

I tried the regular seatbelt and it was just barely missing when I had it full up. The BE was too long, so the only way was to recline the car seat, and strap it in reclined. the belt went through the front car seat belt opening (used for rear facing) and it worked.

Anyone who is going to install a car seat anywhere, plane or car or any other vehicle, ONLY use the rear-facing belt path when the seat is rear-facing and ONLY use the forward-facing belt path when the seat is forward-facing. What the pp above did, if I'm reading this correctly is use the seat forward-facing with the belt in the rear-facing belt path. That is not good.

 

[Tasmen]

We don't have a Britax though but I'm assuming that you would have the belt issue (having trouble getting the seat out) no matter what car seat you have, right?

I believe this is a problem with only the Britax seats. We have both a Britax Marathon and a Combi Maxi-Cosi convertible seats. I got two different kinds JUST to avoid the Britax seat hubbabaloo on the planes. We travel with the Maxi Cosi and have had no issues with it at all on planes.

One thing you may want to also do is take the instruction book for the seat with you. For the first time on a flight, I actually had a flight attendant inspect the seat to make sure it was FAA approved. It's helpful to have the instruction book that mentions FAA approval. You should also inspect the seat and find out where the sticker is located that says 'approved for airplane travel' so that you can point it out if questioned about it. It may never happen but better to be prepared than not!

 

[justhat]

I found more trouble with flipping the buckle than not. I just recline the seat when installing/uninstalling. That gives it enough room to unbuckle when you're getting off the plane.

We've also installed our Roundabout rearfacing on planes and that was much easier so if you can do that I would.

 

[stacy6552]

I've got it down to a science. Recline the seat and extend the belt as far as it will go. That way you will be able to easily get the belt fastened behind the seat. Then sit the seat back up and tighten the belt. No extender needed.

 

[jessica52877]

I just wanted to add that on some car seats there is no plastic between the seatbelt and the seat itself. In a regular car this is not an issue since the seatbelt is on the side and just the flat belt rests up between the cover and plastic back but on an airplane the buckle tends to land smack in the middle of the seat, thus making it uncomfortable for your child. I assume a seat belt extender would handle that issue possibly too but I never got the chance to try it out. I did have to stuff a blanket on both sides of the buckle in the seat but on top of the cover to try and keep everything even.

Hopefully that makes sense. If you run across it when installing you'll know what I am talking about right away.

 

[wmharley]

Anyone who is going to install a car seat anywhere, plane or car or any other vehicle, ONLY use the rear-facing belt path when the seat is rear-facing and ONLY use the forward-facing belt path when the seat is forward-facing. What the pp above did, if I'm reading this correctly is use the seat forward-facing with the belt in the rear-facing belt path. That is not good.

on an airplane that was the only way it fit... putting it on the front facing slot, caused the belt to push too far up into what would be my son's back, with the buckle right there in the middle. That seat wasn't going anywhere with the tightness I had it in.

 

[jessica52877]

on an airplane that was the only way it fit... putting it on the front facing slot, caused the belt to push too far up into what would be my son's back, with the buckle right there in the middle. That seat wasn't going anywhere with the tightness I had it in.

This is the issue I was speaking of, it sounds as if the seatbelt landed right where it did when I installed ours. I am sure it was a long 5 hour flight to CA for my son with it in his back but thankfully the blanket took away a bit of the poke and he was almost 6 at the time.