child seats?

[Officer448]

hey to all. quick question. my family will be traveling via delta connection (freedom, then asa) in a couple of weeks, and i was wondering what i need for my 3 year old to travel on the plane. i read somewhere that booster seats are not allowed, so i was wondering about car seats. We will need a car seat when we get to our destination, but how do you know if one is "airline approved". thanks in advance.

[MusketeerMan]

Originally Posted by Officer448

hey to all. quick question. my family will be traveling via delta connection (freedom, then asa) in a couple of weeks, and i was wondering what i need for my 3 year old to travel on the plane. i read somewhere that booster seats are not allowed, so i was wondering about car seats. We will need a car seat when we get to our destination, but how do you know if one is "airline approved". thanks in advance.

If it's a newer carseat, it's most likely FAA approved. Check on the side there should be a label and it will specifically say "Approved for airplane use" or something along those lines. It's not required that the kid sit in it on the plane, so you can check it as baggage...but since you had to buy your kid a ticket, you might as well use it.

[MQAAord]

Most car seats manufactured since 1983 are aircraft approved. Not all, but most. Check the label/sticker on the seat, usually located on the side or bottom of the seat, for the phrase "approved for use in motor vehicles and aircraft".

Booster seats, which are just "bottom" pieces to raise a kid up, are not approved because they do not have a rigid back. This creates a very unsafe condition in a crash because airline seats have a break-over feature that seats in automobiles do not have.

Generally, if a carseat is a one piece restraint with a rigid back, it will be approved for use in aircraft. A common reason for a newer seat not to be approved would be the size of the carseat's "footprint". The Britax Regent, for example, is a very large carseat, and while it's a great seat, it is not aircraft approved because of its size.