URGENT SWA Carseat Question

[Beast2Prince]

We are flying out tomorrow morning for the first time with a carseat. We own 2 Eddie Bauer carseats that both measure 19 1/2" from outside of armrest to outside of armrest. I talked with Southwest and found out their seats are only 17 1/2" from armrest to armrest. They did say that if the seat says it is aircraft approved that it should work. Ours does day it is aircraft approved when used with the harness. By harness I'm guessing that means the harness that straps our son in. We will be using that but are now worried neither of our carseats will fit on the plane. If anyone can tell me if they will or not I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[Tara]

What kind of seat is it? I'm not sure what you mean by "when used with the harness" -- is it a booster seat? Can it be secured with a lap belt?

The real question isn't how wide is it at the widest point, but how wide is it at the point where the plane armrests would hit it. Many seats are a bit more narrow just below their armrests, so you will probably be fine. We have a Britax Marathon, which seems like one of the biggest seats available and it fits.

 

[2Princes2Princesses]

"When used with the harness" means that the seat is convertible into a booster seat, where you remove the base and put the seatbelt on the seat, etc. You have to use it as a carseat for it to be FAA approved, as a booster it is not.

Our Evenflo triumph is HUGE. It is at least 18 inches wide, I think it was 19 when we measured it. It fit into the SW seat with the armrest down. It was actually wedged in there nice and tight, just like you want it to be.

I was really worried about the fit, but we did fine.

 

[NotUrsula]

I have one. It will fit. Two next to one another would be nasty tight, though; you are going to want to sit 2-2 in successive rows. It doesn't matter whether or not the armrest can go down; it is OK to ride with it up if there is a solid object (such as a carseat, or a large person's back) that is up against it.

FYI: it doesn't matter what the mfr. calls the seat in terms of whether or not it will be approved for aircraft use. What matters is the FAA definition, and the FAA defines "booster seat" as a seat that does not have an integral upper-body harness. Seats that lack them automatically are not approved for aircraft, seats that have them are eligible for certification. As long as your seat has the certification sticker and you are complying with the approval terms, then it is OK on US-based carriers.