Airplane seat Radian65 install

[Nahanni]

Has anyone installed their toddler car seat (we are using a Radian65 for a 3 year old) in an airplane? I'm looking for comments on ease/difficulty to install and whether we should just check the car seat and use the standard lap belt.

 

Thanks

[PattyW]

I've installed a Britax Marathon and Evenflo Triumph in numerous airplanes; it's not too hard. It helps if you have small hands/wrists because sometimes the belt buckle ends up in the belt path of the seat.

 

If you tilt the seat back when you install and then release it forward after buckling it in, you often get a more secure fit.

 

If you child sleeps well in his/her carseat, I would definitely bring it onto the plane. My 5 year old (now in a booster - which can't be used on planes) is 1,000% less comfortable when trying to sleep on a plane than her little brother (still in his Marathon).

[OnTheBrink]

Good for you for bringing the seat on the plane! And we LOVE our Radians! I have three across the back of my car, in fact. My daughter is 7.5 and is still in one. AWESOME seat!

[NoelsCat]

I have used both a Britax Decathalon and a Blvd on the plane. It helps if you have one parent (usually me, unfortunately) board early so that you can recline the seat to get a good fit. Also, keep in mind that you have to install at the window seat (because the seat blocks ease of exit) -- even though we always wish we could put it in the middle of my husband and I. The hardest part about the install is that the buckle often ends up in the middle of the seatbelt path on the seat -- but other than that -- it's pretty easy.

 

I don't have a radian (would LOVE one) -- so it may be different -- but with the britax we lose the ability to use the tray table, too. Unfortunately, it also makes the seat in front of us the PERFECT distance for little legs and feet to touch... so our latest flight (5 hours) took a little more work that previous ones...

[Eclipsepearl]

I fly a lot with our kids and we bring our Radian 65 when we fly between Europe and California. She is 4 1/2 and we just used it two months ago.

 

It's a super easy seat to travel with. On the metal luggage cart, it goes down the aisle. Use a bungee cord along the belt path or get creative with the LATCH hooks. Experiment with it either folded or open.

 

It's also easy to install. You simply loop the seatbelt through the belt path. Open it up on the sides, with the velcro, to slip your hands in. As a pp said, crank the seat back, install it and bring the seat back forward to get it good and tight. I also slightly loosen the straps for the cruise portion of the flight, to make her more comfortable (the risk is more tubulence, not forward impact like on take-off and landing). This seat does not interfere with the tray table.

 

There's a diagram in your owner's manual.

 

Here she is, almost 4 last winter leaving Frankfurt.

 

As you can see, it is NOT required that the seat go by a window (or I would have been hanging out the window when I took this shot). As a former Flight Attendant, we were told that the FAA rule is that it is not to block an aisle. If this is a two-aisle aircraft, there is no problem putting the car seat in the center. They are never to go in aisle seats.

 

If the buckle is too bulky, flip it upside down.

 

Always avoid checking car seats. You risk the seat being damaged and/or lost by the airline. On the return trip of the flight above, three of our four bags did not arrive in Frankfurt but the Radian was with us and my daughter was safe on the 2 hour drive home. The bags arrived two days later. Boy was I glad I had used it on board!

 

More flying tips below in my siggy.

 

Good luck!