Babyseat blocked recline

Old Mar 20, 2018, 1:41 am
  #61  
 
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This thread is all about seat recline, i.e. row spacing.
What about seat width? Do they even make infant car seats that are as narrow as United's new HD seats?
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 2:43 am
  #62  
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Originally Posted by SAN_Finn
So while there is certainly a clear benefit in turbulence I actually don't think there is much help in an actual crash situation because the expedited exit of an air frame is so crucial in survival of crash landing.
I have been in bad turbulence many times. Never in a crash, fortunately.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 4:32 am
  #63  
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Originally Posted by ctownflyer
Needs to be in a window seat or the middle seat of the middle section.

People should be happy when there's a baby in a carseat instead of a lap child. Better odds the baby will sleep, less chance of the baby becoming a projectile. Something that parents should be commended for paying for a seat for an infant in a carseat.
Well said

Originally Posted by SAN_Finn
I wonder if there has been studies on the added risk of injury to the person on the front when the not so perfectly installed baby seat crashes in to the back of their seat. I doubt these seats are certified where they physically push the seat on front them forward. Also these seats certainly will slow down the parents ability to remove their baby in an emergency evacuation. So while there is certainly a clear benefit in turbulence I actually don't think there is much help in an actual crash situation because the expedited exit of an air frame is so crucial in survival of crash landing. Still I did end up using a seat for out baby, mostly because she sleeps better in it.
San_Fran,
In a crash, different situation, many dead. BUT the FAA, FA unions and all want the seats not because of the rare crash, but for turbulence and take off and landings.. (you can't keep your purse on takeoff and landing on your lap)

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 20, 2018 at 10:46 am Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 5:49 am
  #64  
 
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Originally Posted by Kate Kilmer
Hello:

First, please know that I'm not complaining about a baby's safety - I am always for a baby's safety above everything else.
My question is this - I sat on a United flight and my seat was in front of a baby who was seated in a car seat. The seat was positioned so the baby faced the back of the plane.
Positioning the seat in this manner is often more safe for the baby - and so should absolutely be positioned this way.
Because of this positioning, my seat was unable to recline - not even a little bit.
I wrote to United after my flight and they said "they were only responsible for my travel, and that a reclining seat is not guaranteed."
As a gesture, they did return a portion of my frequent flyer miles.
However, my question is this - doesn't the cost of my ticket include the full use of my seat, and a reclining one at that?
I'm just curious as to what my "rights' are as a paying passenger.
Thank you.
Just some random thoughts:

Infant seats are rear facing to support immature muscle development and considers that the airbag might pop out and do harm.

Reclining seats for me dont provide enough of an advantage to go through the rigamarole of using them. And separately when the person ahead of me takes the precious few inches of personal space I'm slightly indignant, but then I get over it because again, so little space differential.

Glad you did too.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 6:35 am
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This was an amusing read. By the end of the thread I was confused who the baby was.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 6:57 am
  #66  
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Originally Posted by mduell
Nope. UA has several rows that don't recline ever on each aircraft type.

UA doesn't prohibit inconsiderate parents from being passengers.
I find the reclining to be more inconsiderate, from the tall person who gets pinched when someone must have that few inches of recline that can't offer them as much comfort as it does discomfort to the person's in whose lap you are now practically laying. Or to the person trying to use their tray table to watch a move or use a computer who can't open that device so that some minimal additional comfort is provided to the reclining passenger. Personally, I wish they would lock all economy seats upright with no recline. You cost your neighbors far more than you gain by laying your seat back the minute the wheels leave the runway.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 8:40 am
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Originally Posted by SAN_Finn
I doubt these seats are certified where they physically push the seat on front them forward. Also these seats certainly will slow down the parents ability to remove their baby in an emergency evacuation. So while there is certainly a clear benefit in turbulence I actually don't think there is much help in an actual crash situation because the expedited exit of an air frame is so crucial in survival of crash landing. Still I did end up using a seat for out baby, mostly because she sleeps better in it.
I've never seen a carseat push forward on the seat in front of it on UA, but that's probably a concern on NK.
Why will a carseat slow down an evacuation any more than any other seatbelt for a kid? At any rate, I'm sure the FAA has considered that possibility.

Originally Posted by narvik
This thread is all about seat recline, i.e. row spacing.
What about seat width? Do they even make infant car seats that are as narrow as United's new HD seats?
Never seen a carseat spill into the next seat.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Mar 20, 2018 at 10:47 am Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 9:15 am
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by narvik
This thread is all about seat recline, i.e. row spacing.
What about seat width? Do they even make infant car seats that are as narrow as United's new HD seats?
When our son was an infant, I measured his car seat and it was around 21" wide. No way it would fit in the UA seats from a width perspective (especially not on regional jets). I'm sure there are some car seats that fit, but that would require parents to research not only FAA compliant seats, but also pay attention to the width of said car seat. I doubt that many people who fly once or twice a year will actually do this research, or look to pay for an additional seat which would fit better.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 9:49 am
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Obviously, babies and very small children need to be protected. We dont' need 'baby missiles' flying about the cabin in an emergency.

I wonder if it would be that hard for the airlines to develop a safe child seat that is custom designed for airline seats? I would think it would be less bulky than the ones parents bring on board. Maybe I'm wrong about that. They could be offered to the passengers at no cost or a smart cost. Just bring something to wipe the seat down and a baby blanket the child is familiar with.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 9:58 am
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Originally Posted by MrTemporal
Obviously, babies and very small children need to be protected. We dont' need 'baby missiles' flying about the cabin in an emergency.

I wonder if it would be that hard for the airlines to develop a safe child seat that is custom designed for airline seats? I would think it would be less bulky than the ones parents bring on board. Maybe I'm wrong about that. They could be offered to the passengers at no cost or a smart cost. Just bring something to wipe the seat down and a baby blanket the child is familiar with.
There is a CARES harness.
Personally though we need a carseat where we are coming from and where we are going, so may as well bring it on the plane as well.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 11:19 am
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If I board a TPAC or even a long TCON and my seat reclines (a function I’ve elected to use by seat selection), and you attempt to stop me from reclining with a “knee defender” or your knees, or a child seat, we’re gonna have a conversation with the FA about it and one of us is gonna be moving or adjusting that “blocker” post haste.

What on earth gives a passenger with a child the right to inteude on my space? If the child seat doesn’t fit in the space allocated, without taking some of mine that I’ve paid for, there’s a size problem with the car seat.

All this talk talk about safety makes sense but safety has to fit into the envelopenpaid for and not take additional space or it ought to be banned. If your child seat takes up less room facing forward, then that is one solution. If not, move to the bulkhead, or find another seat that fits.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 11:24 am
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Originally Posted by tryathlete
If I board a TPAC or even a long TCON and my seat reclines (a function I’ve elected to use by seat selection), and you attempt to stop me from reclining with a “knee defender” or your knees, or a child seat, we’re gonna have a conversation with the FA about it and one of us is gonna be moving or adjusting that “blocker” post haste.

What on earth gives a passenger with a child the right to inteude on my space? If the child seat doesn’t fit in the space allocated, without taking some of mine that I’ve paid for, there’s a size problem with the car seat.

All this talk talk about safety makes sense but safety has to fit into the envelopenpaid for and not take additional space or it ought to be banned. If your child seat takes up less room facing forward, then that is one solution. If not, move to the bulkhead, or find another seat that fits.
Don't choose a window or middle of five and it won't be your problem.
You will not succeed in anything but getting yourself offloaded if you engage in a persistent argument that your reclining is more important than that baby's safety and the additional comfort the rest of the cabin gains by the baby being calmer due to the configuration of the seat.
Nor should you.
You read this thread. You know how to avoid losing your recline. Just don't pick the wrong seat.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 11:31 am
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Originally Posted by rickg523
Don't choose a window or middle of five and it won't be your problem.
You will not succeed in anything but getting yourself offloaded if you engage in a persistent argument that your reclining is more important than that baby's safety and the additional comfort the rest of the cabin gains by the baby being calmer due to the configuration of the seat.
Nor should you.
You read this thread. You know how to avoid losing your recline. Just don't pick the wrong seat.
Well said and exactly right.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 1:33 pm
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Originally Posted by tryathlete
<strong>If I board a TPAC or even a long TCON and my seat reclines (a function I’ve elected to use by seat selection), and you attempt to stop me from reclining with a “knee defender” or your knees, or a child seat, we’re gonna have a conversation with the FA about it and one of us is gonna be moving or adjusting that “blocker” post haste.<br /><br />What on earth gives a passenger with a child the right to inteude on my space? If the child seat doesn’t fit in the space allocated, without taking some of mine that I’ve paid for, there’s a size problem with the car seat.<br /><br />All this talk talk about safety makes sense but safety has to fit into the envelopenpaid for and not take additional space or it ought to be banned. If your child seat takes up less room facing forward, then that is one solution. If not, move to the bulkhead, or find another seat that fits. </strong><div style="text-align:left;"></div>
<br />I totally agree. I am quite surprised at how many people on this thread are defending the car seat. I have three kids who were all on dozens of flights with me over the years and I would never have dreamed of preventing someone else from using their seat. If I was in the seat in front and was prevented from reclining, I would be furious.
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Old Mar 20, 2018, 1:43 pm
  #75  
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Originally Posted by alexperi
<br />I totally agree. I am quite surprised at how many people on this thread are defending the car seat. I have three kids who were all on dozens of flights with me over the years and I would never have dreamed of preventing someone else from using their seat. If I was in the seat in front and was prevented from reclining, I would be furious.
Alex, I hope you were not aware of the risks of flying with a lap child then.
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