Travel with Children - Flying with a Radian car seat?

Anybody have any experience flying with a Diono Radian?

I've perused my car seat boards and I haven't really found much. I got at least one "don't do it" on AS (great, my carrier of choice) because the head support on AS seats pushes the Radian forward so you end up with a very upright seat.

Has anyone rearfaced a Radian on board??

Anybody have any experience flying with a Diono Radian?

I've perused my car seat boards and I haven't really found much. I got at least one "don't do it" on AS (great, my carrier of choice) because the head support on AS seats pushes the Radian forward so you end up with a very upright seat.

Has anyone rearfaced a Radian on board??

Don't have one, but I have read that they're too tall to rear-face. I have heard that the backpack straps are a nice feature for travel, but it's a superheavy seat.

I'm sure there are some reviews on http://car-seat.org you could check out.

I know people who use it in cars and really love it. IMO, it is one of the few seats that rivals Britax for quality, comfort, design, safety, etc.

I have been extremely satisfied with the Cosco Scenera for air travel. It is really lightweight. Extremely basic. But it does the trick. It fits rear-facing even on commuters jets and 738s. Not the easiest for auto installation, but the tradeoff in how convenient it is to schlep through the airport and onto a plane makes up for that. Target has a special Scenera model with a higher RF weight limit, so look for that one.

I haven't flown with our Radians yet, but in cars, they are BEASTS rear-facing, so I am having a hard time thinking how that would work in an aircraft.

I understand it will work in bulkheads.

I loved my Radian for travel. I wheeled it on a cart down the aisles.

How old is the little one? Over a year? Some parents forward face it just for the flight. Safety compromise but one even car seat techs will make for an older baby/toddler. Then rf in the car again.

I love my Radian in the car. My back up seat is an Evenflo Titan. While light, it is fairly wide on top and it annoys me to install that thing in a car. My Radian is far easier to install. Vehicle installation is more important to me than comfort, but obviously if i can't use the seat on board, then I don't want to schlepp it around while holding an infant on my lap. Baby is 9 months old.

I do not want to struggle with a Scenera because I'm going to have to pack a pool noodle with me too, since they are notoriously difficult to install without. On a side note, the Scenera is going to become a Walmart exclusive. Right now they are pretty hard to find. Cosco introduced the APT that is more expensive than the Scenera so the two should not be confused!

ETA I would not have a problem forward facing on the plane. My concern is just that the Radian seems like it would be very upright, but the Titan looks like it will be very wide.

We've used a Titan onboard airplanes, and it didn't encroach on neighboring space at all

Ah-ha! Now we know the skinny on the elusive Scenera (well, recently...) So it'll only be available from Wallmart!

You've ruled out flying with a infant-bucket type seat I take it? Might be easier than any of the above. Maybe you can borrow one?

Ah-ha! Now we know the skinny on the elusive Scenera (well, recently...) So it'll only be available from Wallmart!

You've ruled out flying with a infant-bucket type seat I take it? Might be easier than any of the above. Maybe you can borrow one?

The only infant seats he would fit into would be the bigger than usual ones like the Onboard 35 or Snugride 35. I've already sold my infant seat.

The Combi Coccoro seems like the ultimate travel car seat to me. It's lightweight, feature-laden, and it has a stroller you can get that it clips into, and it's compact. The only downsides are that it has a smaller weight limit than other seats, so you don't get to use it as long, particularly if you have a chunk, and it's on the expensive side.

Perhaps it might be an option to consider, though.

I also like the idea of borrowing a Snugride 35. We used ours as long as we could for air travel (6 months in our case... big boy). If you're around Austin I'd be happy to retrieve it from the garage for you. ;) The buckets are soooo easy to install. I miss that! You don't realize how great it is until you move onto the bigger seats. But that kind of sums up most the parenting journey, doesn't it? :)

Speaking of installation, yes, the Scenera can be a little more challenging to install. We've managed to get it into most car service sedans/SUVs and rental cars without traveling with a pool noodle, but sometimes we've pushed the 1 inch of side-to-side wiggle room to its limit. We aren't *quite* as concerned with the angle, since our son is older, but we can usually get it pretty level. It does take a lot of time, grunting and fiddling to get it in sometimes. Oddly enough, it installs quite easily on planes. I can pop it in and get it strapped down in an AA seat in just a couple of minutes.

Interesting about the Scenera becoming a WalMart exclusive. I hope they will still offer the seats with a higher weight limit.

The Combi Coccoro seems like the ultimate travel car seat to me. It's lightweight, feature-laden, and it has a stroller you can get that it clips into, and it's compact. The only downsides are that it has a smaller weight limit than other seats, so you don't get to use it as long, particularly if you have a chunk, and it's on the expensive side.

Perhaps it might be an option to consider, though.

I also like the idea of borrowing a Snugride 35. We used ours as long as we could for air travel (6 months in our case... big boy). If you're around Austin I'd be happy to retrieve it from the garage for you. ;) The buckets are soooo easy to install. I miss that! You don't realize how great it is until you move onto the bigger seats. But that kind of sums up most the parenting journey, doesn't it? :)

Speaking of installation, yes, the Scenera can be a little more challenging to install. We've managed to get it into most car service sedans/SUVs and rental cars without traveling with a pool noodle, but sometimes we've pushed the 1 inch of side-to-side wiggle room to its limit. We aren't *quite* as concerned with the angle, since our son is older, but we can usually get it pretty level. It does take a lot of time, grunting and fiddling to get it in sometimes. Oddly enough, it installs quite easily on planes. I can pop it in and get it strapped down in an AA seat in just a couple of minutes.

Interesting about the Scenera becoming a WalMart exclusive. I hope they will still offer the seats with a higher weight limit.

Thanks, but I'm nowhere near Austin. I had the Onboard 35 and he by the he is 9 months and 30.5 inches now, so I'm guessing he probably would have had one or two more months left in it before he officially outgrows it.