Fixing a rf car seat in aircraft
 

Hi, Any ideas on how to fix a rf infant car seat in airplane, its a 3 point car seat.

What kind of car seat do you have? I don't think 3 point harness seats are still legal in the US. They are used in the UK and Europe. Most 3 point harnessed seats in the US has expire.

Most seats install the same on aircraft as they would in a vehicle. The manual should have instructions for aircraft installation.

thx for your reply.. the car seat is graco junior, i purchased a few months ago in dubai..honestly not sure if its 3 point or 2 point. its fixed in the car with the shoulder car strap going behind the car seat and the lap strap going over the front of the car seat... i wonder now withe the aircraft seat belt being just a strap how do i fix the car seat in it...

I have to go to work so I don't have time to research the seat at this moment. It sounds like you do not have a base for the seat? For easier installation and ease of use, you can look into buying a base that stays in the car and then you just click the seat right onto it. That eliminates the need for strapping the seat in with the seat belt every time you move baby.

I'll have to look for a manual, but it looks like you need a lap/shoulder belt to install the seat, therefore you probably won't be able to use it on a plane. I could be wrong. If I have time later today I'll do some digging and see what I can come up with.

You don't need bases for the aircraft installation. In fact, they usually say not to do that. You install it using the 2 point seat belt.

Here in Europe, a lot of the seats are designed for a 3 point seat belt (shoulder strap) so they are not approved for use on aircraft.

Your manual will have this information, if not printed on a sticker somewhere on the seat.

Checked the manual there is no mention whether its approved for airplanes nor a sticker. Doesnt give any info on fixing it to a 2 point strap.It does show a sticker for ece r44/04. This is approved by the airlines. Also i hv confirmed the car seat dimensions with the airlines so it fits in the airplane seat, the only aspect is now the actually fixing of the infant carseat.

called klm again and now they give me new info.car seat must be front facing is it possible to still use the graco junior which is an infant child seat its rear facing only without base..is it possible to strap the airline belt across the front of the infant car seat..

You absolutely cannot install a rear facing only seat in a forward facing position.
If the manual does not state that this seat is approved for use on aircraft, and if KLM prohibits rear facing on their planes, then one would assume that you cannot use this seat on KLM.

Definitely don't run the strap across the front of the seat. How old is the child? What is their weight ?

thank you for your replies.. that rules out the infant seat then, the child is 1 year old about 9 kgs -20 lbs. i have been looking ard for a ff carseat of 16.5inch or 42cms, the closest i have got is a cosco ventura commuter which is still 44cms at the widest point...any ideas about it...i also have a nania carseat which is ff at widht of 44cms not sure if its a brand available in the americas..at 44cms not sure it will fit...called KLM and they dont allow CARES and seat must be 42cms...being booked at bulkhead seats wont be able to lif the armrests too...almost at wits end now...

How tall is your child?

If your kid is not above average for height/weight, then the combi cocoro would be a great seat for air travel.

Another option is the Cosco Scenera.

Both are light-weight and easy to install using the lap belt. Both should fit rear- or forward-facing. Both are available in the US. Of the two, I would think the cocoro would be easier to find outside of the US.

The Scenera has a higher weight/height limit, but the Cocoro is an overall nicer seat.

You might also try asking about this on the http://car-seat.org forums. There are lots of experts there.

Can you go into a store that sells them and look at where they are wider - some car seats widest points are at the head, so you may still get one that will fit at the hip (where the armrests are)

OP, what country are you in? Do you live in Dubai or did you just buy the Graco Junior there? At 1 year old and 20lbs, I would definately recommend she still rear face in a car. 1 year and 20lbs is the absolute bare minimum for forward facing. I would recommend getting a convertible seat that can rear face and forward face. That way you can install the seat forward facing on the plane and rear facing in the car, since KLM does not allow rear facing.

Also, how tall is the child?

I know car-seat.org can be a little bit intimidating since it is over populated with techs, so I found these two threads for you. They are fairly old, but still relevant. They discuss several ECE R44 approved seats (European) and I *think* that you can use an ECE R44 seat in Dubai. I'm willing to be corrected on that.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.p...ighlight=dubai
Page two of the above thread shows installation of a Britax Two Way installed in a small vehicle.

http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=64693
This thread has some useful info as well.

http://community.babycenter.com/grou...seat_questions
This is a much more user friendly forum. Lots of good info, but US centric. There are a few techs on there with fairly good knowledge about European seats.

I have no knowledge about individual European seats so I cannot give you examples of specific seats, although I might just be partial to the Britax Multi-tech!

Good luck and happy shopping!

Thank you swise for your reply... both the car seats you have mentioned are not available here in dubai..cosco has only the ventura/commuter here...seeing the dimensions of the coroco i am sure it would fit the airplane seats..sadly its not sold here in dubai..

Emma...good point that to check where exactly is the widest point and if the hip area is actually over 16.5 inchs i will check on that...thank you

cb bear.. i live in dubai and have a rear facing convertible car seat...the nania is the one i use in the car presently...this seat can be used as ff too after 1 yr and baby weighs over 20lbs... thank you for the links..will check if anything turns up...else will try my luck with the nania and cares in the flight..