flyerCO

The black nub is a magnet. Not sure how but supposedly it causes the air bag to turn off.

teCh0010

The 717 has airbag seatbelts?

appleguru

Every D1 seat I've seen recently has an Amsafe seatbelt with this warning on the back, which indicates that they can be safely disabled with extenders:



HOWEVER, IIRC, DL's 777 fleet was one of the first to get the airbag seat belts, so they may have some older ones labeled like this, indicating no child seats:


If indeed your plane has these older seatbelts, as DL's website seems to indicate, you'll need to move to Y to use your child seats.

since your children are under two though, you *could* instead opt for infant in arms and carry them the whole trip in your seat...

I would call the US 800 # though (use Skype; is free). As others have said, they usually block a few seats for situations like this, and the sooner they can reaccommodate you the better. (I'm sure someone would be happy for an OP UP for your original seats too ;-))

Centurion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reed_switch

flyerCO

I believe the 777 can't be deactivated is the reason. Unlike all other seat belts the D1 777 uses normal car seat push to open type belts. Also since it's the oldest version of D1 seat in use they may not have come up with a solution to disable when they first installed them.

MSPeconomist

I just "inspected" the seat belt on a DL A330-200 (with rows 7, 8, and 9 as the minicabin) and the label on it says that you should always use a seat belt extender with a car seat to de-activate the airbag (not a direct quote).

appleguru

My bet is *some* of the A330, 777, etc planes have/had the older seatbelt that couldn't be deactivated, but that as planes have been refurbished over the years, those have been replaced with the newer style ones. So, if you 'get lucky' and end up on a plane with the new seatbelts, you should be fine. But you don't really have any way of knowing until you're on the plane.

With that said, I have NEVER seen one of the older style airbag seatbelts on a delta flight. I *have* been on several 767, 747, and A330 flights in D1 (not on the 777 though, that I'm aware of). They all have the newer style airbag belts, which CAN be disabled with an extender and are fine for child seats. If DL has in fact updated the entire fleet (as I suspect they have at this point), they really should update the website.

Not sure if the OP has already flown, but personally, I would "risk it", and if by some stroke of terrible bad luck you end up on a plane with the old belts that can't be disabled (just check the label on the back), DL will be happy to switch seats with some Y PAX for you I'm sure ;-)

Erasmus

This. My understanding is the issue is carseats can only be used in forward-facing seats, and with the airbag disabled. The 777/747/330 have angled seats, so carseats are a no-go regardless of the seatbelt airbag.

You can disable the airbag with the appropriate extender, but be warned that NOT ALL AIRCRAFT will have them on board, and NOT ALL STATIONS will have them easily available, so even if it should be possible, it might not be supported on your particular flight. Nothing to be done in such a situation but complain after the fact--been there, done that

Regarding the 321/737/717, I believe the airbags are in the bulkhead seats.

Finally, I will note that the Travel with Children forum has all of this information, and is likely the better place for these posts/threads in the future, Mods.

jdrtravel

I can only imagine that this was an intentional choice to keep children out of J.

flyerCO

Nope safety. A brain moving forward to back in the skull is lots more likely to not have damage then side to side. It why in car impacts side hits are so much more deadly. There's no room for it to move side to side. A baby is of course even more susceptible to brain damage.

jdrtravel

Sorry, I don't follow, help me understand what you are saying.

flyerCO

The reason a car seat isn't allowed in angled seats at all is because in an accident a side to side movement of the brain is much more devastating then front to back. There's a bit extra space front to back for it to move. Side to side there's really none and the brain ends of hitting the skull. Same issue but different reason with babies necks. Basically even if the seat belt airbag can be turned off, is still not safe for a car seat. It's should always be aligned in the direction of travel and with the baby facing backwards.

jdrtravel

Got it. But DL also bans child seats on the 767's right? And these are not angled. Perhaps this is to allow for equipment swaps?

flyerCO

The 767 is allowed as long as you use the seat belt extender to deactivate the airbag.

jdrtravel

Not according to Delta's website:


When using a child safety seat, don’t select seats in the following areas:

Aisle seats
Emergency exit rows
Any seat one row forward or one row back from an emergency exit row
Bulkhead seats when the safety seat is a combination car seat and stroller
Flat bed seats in the Delta One™ area of the following aircraft: Airbus A330-200 or A330-300; Boeing 777, 767 or 747 aircraft*

*Child Safety Seats are not permitted in this area since the airbag seat belt cannot be deactivated.

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_.../children.html