commoner

Hello all,

The kid (9-months-old in June) and I are flying from England to the US and back. I flirted with the idea of ordering an American car seat and having it shipped over to use, and some nice person pointed out the foreign car seat wouldn't be covered in the event of an accident in England.

I called Britax, and was told the only model car seal recommended for flying is the Britax Freeway. Afterwords I called Delta and asked if the Freeway would be acceptable, and they replied any car seat would be ok with them if it has an FAA sticker on it somewhere.

The woman advised me to call the FAA and ask for advice. At this point I want a reference I can print out, and not some stranger's word, telling Delta I can fly with whatever car seat we carry.

I'd love to know how any of you with babies were able to fly on Delta with foreign car seats. How did you guys manage?

The flight is on the 30th May. I really don't want to wait until the last minute to get this straightened out.

Any help is appreciated!

Laura

Angry White Pyjamas

Most of the big Car Hire firms will rent you an approved car seat along with the car if you ask.

commoner

I'm not renting a car, and I probably won't be driving the entire time.

Lion in Winter

Google is your friend.

So, apparently, is the FAA.

http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/crs/

commoner

I don't see Google as very friendly at the moment. I looked at that source weeks ago, and this stuck:

"Make sure your CRS is government approved and has "This restraint is certified for use in motor vehicles and aircraft" printed on it. Otherwise, you may be asked to check the CRS as baggage."

I have been to many different shops and each car seat I have examined mentions nothing about aircraft travel.

Lion in Winter

Then it looks like your best bet is to have your friend send you an American one with the FAA sticker on it. The FAA is the government. That site has a printable pdf too.

commoner

I don't want to consider that as an option. That's a car seat we'd have to store in our 400 square foot flat and use once a year.

There's got to be a better way. I'm taking the kid to Gatwick in a few minutes and I'm going to ask the Delta information people about the problem. I want them to tell me to my face I'll have to use an American car seat for the baby to fly over.

This sucks!

Lion in Winter

Just keep asking for supervisors until you get someone who knows what they're talking about.

Where is Sussex are you? My family was from there and I visited my grandparents there the whole time.

Angry White Pyjamas

I'm confused. Whats the car seat for? Cant you just buy one when you get here?

BigDavyG

Do you need one for the plane ???
I'm confused too

Celsius

Why do you think you need a car seat during the visit to the US. You say you'll not be driving or renting a car whilst here. If your 9 mth old ends up riding in a car, can't a relative/friend/neighbor in the US let you borrow a car seat for car journeys?

Is it for use during the flight? Don't airlines have booster seats for passengers as young as 9 mths?

Angry White Pyjamas

I'm pretty sure you dont need one for the plane....as far as I'm aware they dont tend to slam the brakes on or have head on collisions all that often. And if they do I cant see a car seat helping all that much to be honest.

gruffbrown

You know I want to don't you? I'm resisting the temptation

AmerLisa

We had a Britax (I'm going to go out on a limb and say Marathon - its been a couple of years and I can't remember the name - but we bought it at Mothercare) anyway, we flew from the UK to US on Virgin, United and US Airways and didn't have any problems. However, that has been a few years ago (think 2002 through 2004) things change and I hate to say go ahead without finding out for sure. I do know that when we bought the Britax we wanted a carseat that fit in both our cars (I'm sure you're aware they don't all) and one that had a small enough base that would fit in an airline seat. Why don't you call Britax and ask them your questions? They are very helpful.

AmerLisa

The alternative is a wiggling child not being properly restrained, especially on take-offs and landings. In the end its just more comfortable for them to be in their carseat as well.