I have a 2 year old and planning on going on a 6 hour plane trip. We purchased a seat for out toddler and prefer to use a carseat since otherwise she won't sit still. We have a britax marathon. Is it too big and bulky for plane seats? Should we purchase a cosco Senera for the trip? Also we don't mind lugging the marathon through the airport, just want to make sure it fits on the plane. And we don't want to use a cares harness. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks.
i've used a marathon on a plane before, i used a gogokidz travelmate to get it thru the airport, left the travelmate attached during flight(just popped the wheels off). it is a tight fit when you're threading the seatbelt, but it does fit.
I don't know if the Marathon is approved for airline flight. You should be able to find out on their website or in your Britax instructions. In any case, look into getting a Gogo Kidz Travelmate. It makes getting any car seat through the airport so much easier!
We take our Britax on the plane all the time. I was worried about the size too, but the widest part of the seat is actually over the armrests. You will just have to lift it up in the aisle to get it to your row. I have a gogo travel mate and I love it. We won't be traveling anytime soon, so I wouldn't mind lending it to you (if interested, send me a message). Just beware...my son kicks in the carseat (he is not quite 2 yet), so when we travel my husband sits in front of him so my son kicks my husband instead of another passenger. Hopefully when he gets older he will listen to "Please don't kick".
I also have tried the CARES restraint. My son was young, but he hated it. I know you said you don't want to use one, but if you do I know someone who you can borrow it from. We borrowed one off of mamapedia.
In June we flew to Maryland and took our Marathon on the plane for our 3 year old. It fit just fine however SW made us put it in the window seat. It was a bit challenging for my husband to get it secured correctly but he did and it was easier on the trip home since he'd done it once. It will take up a little bit of the room of the seat next to it and you won't be able to have the arm down but to us it didn't matter. We were just happy she had a comfortable and safe place to sit (and sleep) on the plane.
Your britax will fit just fine we also traveled w/our marathon. The airline also asked us to put ours in a window seat for safety reasons....in the case of an emergency evacuation & not having to climb around the carseat.
As long as the britax states on the side it is FAA approved you shoud be fine. Also I don't think the senera is faa approved. The flight attendant will check the seat for the faa approved sticker and if it is not on the carseat they won't let you use the car seat and you will have to gate check it which defeats the purpose.
I also agree with the other poster's about investing in a GogoKidz Travelmate. I have one and it's worth the investment. You wont have to carry the heavy car seat through the airport and your child can be strapped in and safe while navigating through the airport.
Look online If you'd like to buy one to get the best price. I picked mine upon sale last year for $65 at Babies R Us. Or check craigslist for a used one.
We had a Britax Marathon and used it on planes. Yes it is a little big but fits on most planes. You may want to call the airlines though if you are on a small or prop plane.
As for lugging through the airport...don't do it. Get a go go babyz attachment and turn your car seat into a rolling cart for your child. We had 2 when our kids were still young enough to be in car seats. The website is...http://www.gogobabyz.com/products-c26-gogo_Kidz_Travelmat...
It is a little pricey but if you travel a lot like we did you will get your money's worth. We put the wheel attachment on the car seat at the airport when we remove the seat from the car and leave it on even when the car seat is on the plane (the handle collapses).
It looks like you've got your question answered about the car seat fitting on the plane. I just want to add that when we used to travel with our son's car seat, we bought metal luggage wheels so we could easily wheel around his car seat through the airport - they might be a little less expensive than the other options. We bought them at the luggage store at the outlets on Power Rd. and Baseline in Mesa.
Happy Travels!
We took ours to Ireland. GOOD FOR YOU FOR BUYING HER A SEAT. SMART MOVE! Seriously, she will be so well behaved and you will all have a pleasant trip. It is so worth the money.
