jsgoldbe

And always ask for the seat belt extender from the FA and make sure that one of the buckles is located on the SIDE of the seat, not in back. We have had to get maintenance called to take the seatbelt connection apart after the buckle was physically not able to be opened in back of our Britax Marathon.

The Marathon is pretty much as large as I would want to go on an RJ. If the decathalon is any bigger, you might want to buy a smaller carseat for travel.

Forgetfu

That's great advice about the seat belt extender. I've never had my decathalon on an RJ, but I had it on a 777 last week, and I could not for the life of me get the seatbelt unclasped from underneither when we landed. Maintenance wasn't required, but it took quite a while and *really* hurt.

PVDProf

While I have a Roundabout, the Marathon looks similar and is probably having a similar problem. On the Roundabout, if you fasten the buckle behind the seat, there is not enough room to "lift the flap to release the buckle" once the belt has been pulled tight since there's only about an inch between the top of the buckle and the back of the carseat frame. The trick is to fasten the buckle upside down, so you push the flab down toward the seat cushion to release it. Then you just have to squeeze your hand behind the seat and press/pull down on the flap to release it.

jsgoldbe

Even using this good technique, I believe the Marathon has a plastic shell between the seat belt path and the plane/car seat back that prevents opening.

estchef

Hi
We will be traveling (transatlantic) with our 18 months son on United. 1 flight is a boing 767-300, the other is a B777. we bought a seat for him.
Last year we traveled Air France with a maxi-cosi seat w/o any trouble.

Now he has a Britax Decathlon and we are worry that it will not fit in cattle seat. Does anyone have any experience about it?
I've read the thread about the roundabout/marathon seat but I am not sure that the Decathlon is not even bigger.

He is a small baby not even 19 pounds now so he has to RF in a car. Should we try to RF as well in a plane?
If we realize in the plane that the seat is to big, what are our options?
If we know now that it's to big, which one (size vs comfort?) should we buy?

I know that it is a long questions. Thanks for any answer.

6rugrats

If you are in E- on a 767-300 and a 777, your seat will be too large. Britax Decathlon has a width of 19.5 inches, and your coach seat is only 18 inches wide. If you realize on the plane the seat won't fit, I guess you'd have to gate check it and hold your child. Not a good solution.

Perhaps you should purchase a smaller seat? You can do a search on this board about car seats, or try reading reviews on Amazon.com to see if there is one that would suit you.

Eclipsepearl

It might fit. Even if the car seat is wider, you can flip up the armrests and if the seat "spills" into yours', you wont mind. It's your child!

You also have the right to rear-face on the aircraft. The FAA recently "clarified" this;
http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviat.../info09002.pdf
You may want to print this up and have it with you when you fly.

Ask this question on Carseat.org's forum specific to travel. There are several techs and someone might have experience with this seat;
http://www.car-seat.org/forumdisplay.php?f=36

I will say that some people find it easier to get another seat, or even borrow one. I had an earlier version of the Cosco Scenera and it worked great. You may need to put something (a cut pool noodle or rolled up blanket) under it to get the right recline rear-facing. It fit my daughter till she was 3 1/2 years old. This seat is usually sold for $40-50. There are some good travel seats for more money, that might suit your lifestyle and be worth it like the Coccoro or Radian. Some of it depends on how much travel you'll do, what kind of car you have, etc.

I just want to say "bravo" for "extended rear facing" your child. So many turn their children around too early. Most laws allow babies 1 year and 20lbs but most car seat techs will tell you this is the bare minimum and not the best idea. He's five times safer facing the other way so keep up the good work!

nnn

If, by chance, the car seat ends up fitting only if it faces forward, I would say there should not be a problem with facing it forward. As an initial matter, the risks involved with traveling by plane are much less than the risks involved with traveling by car. Moreover, it seems to me that the car seat on a plane is most likely to help (if at all) with up-and-down motions of turbulence, not a front- or side-impact collision as might occur in a car, so facing forward or backward on the plane almost certainly would achieve the same result. Of course, your child's comfort should be taken into account either way. Safety-wise, however, given that your child is 18 months old, facing forward should be fine. JMHO.

estchef

Thanks for your answers. I will go the website indicated...
the RF vs FF is more that since I want to extend the RF I am wondering how it will go once he seen that he could go another way

gobluetwo

It most DEFINITELY fits on both the UA 767 and 777. We've installed our Britax Decathlon on both. You will have to raise the armrests, however, which will slightly inhibit space in the adjacent seat (or seats, if you're in the middle section). Honestly never did rear-facing on the plane, but it would prevent any kicking of the seat in front.

Eclipsepearl

AND inhibit toy throwing!

Great someone who has used this seat on this aircraft as well!

Kids in Sweden rface until age 4 or 5. They don't have any problems with children wanting to face forward...

Many parents mistakenly turn their children around because of their legs. Kids really don't mind. Older toddlers DO mind being too reclined so many parents think their children are unhappy rearfacing when in fact, simply their seats are cranked too far back. Toddlers don't need the full 45% angle and may be more comfortable sitting more upright. Check your car seat's manual and don't assume he's unhappy facing backwards.

GalleyWench

If there's any chance that you might have to raise the armrests to make the seat fit then you must remember not to book bulkhead rows. The tray table is stowed in the armrests and the armrests themselves do not raise in those rows.
Good luck!

Jon Maiman

I have used a BritTax Companion rear facing on United 777, 767 and 757 in E Plus. It fit fine but the person in the row in front of my daughter's seat couldn't recline and wasn't happy about it.

I have also used a Britax Marathon forward facing on a United 777 and a 767. It fit fine. All of that said, I always found the Marathon hard to anchor and had to muck with seat belt extenders to make it work (on many different airlines). Our solution was to get a second car seat, Graco Nautilus, which is very easy to anchor in the plane and doesn't require a seat belt extender. It is our backup seat for normal driving with her. YMMV...


--Jon

amichka

We are travelling in 3 days clear across the country with 7 mo old as a lap child (couldn't afford another ticket--no flames please). Just found out we need to take a car seat--we have a Britax Roundabout.

Is it better to gatecheck or treat it as baggage? How do we do either with the least amount of hassle, expense, and make sure it gets to our destination? We are flying NWA if that matters. My preference is to gatecheck in case we get an open seat next to use (haha), but we have two stops each way and that could be a pain. Our we could purchase a cheap car seat at our destination. Thoughts? Thanks in advance.

GBeckman

Gatecheck. Yes, it's a hassle, but it's much less likely that your seat will get lost or damaged in transit. And, as mentioned, if there should be an empty seat, you can use it on board.

What I've done in that situation to make things easier is to wear baby and use the stroller to carry the carseat (and diaper bag, laptop bag, whatever else I'm taking). As long as your carrier/sling doesn't have any metal on it, you can wear baby through the metal detector. Makes life much easier, IMO.

If you're not opposed to buying another seat, the Cosco Scenera is fairly cheap, and MUCH lighter than any of the Britax seats, but I wouldn't wait until your destination to get it...how are you going to get to the store from the airport without a carseat?