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Allow babywearing carriers on planes

202 points · 277 comments · surprisetalk

  1. areoform · · focus · HN ↗
    There is a deeper issue, in a crash, a poorly secured rigid baby carrier seat becomes a potentially lethal projectile. Worst comes to worst, today, the projectile is an infant. An infant is substantially softer and less massive than a rigid seat containing an infant.

    For soft babywearing carriers, the outlook is also grim. The kinematics of the baby, adult, carrier and airplane seat lead to crush injuries that are worse than the poorly restrained arm hold version.

    Could there be a solution here that straps around a seat to give babies a safe seat?

    Yes, but it wouldn't necessarily be easy to use or consumer friendly. The ideal solution would have the baby with their back facing front, and the attached carrier facing inwards towards the seat. It would have to be carefully specced and tested so no unverified, third-party seats... Logically extrapolated, in this scenario, the airline becomes responsible for the baby's wellbeing. And I don't think that's a good place for the airlines to be?

    1. tadfisher · · focus · HN ↗
      There is an easy and FAA-approved child restraint system called CARES. My wife and I purchased one and used it with great success. The flight attendants had never seen one, so it comes with a card for you to show them.

      <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amsafe.com&#x2F;kidsflysafe-com&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.amsafe.com&#x2F;kidsflysafe-com&#x2F;

      1. keoneflick · · focus · HN ↗
        Haven&#x27;t you got pushback that it blocks the tray table of the seat behind you? I&#x27;ve only heard very mixed things about CARES.
        1. tadfisher · · focus · HN ↗
          It did work with the tray tables at the time (underneath, while open or shut). This was about 4 years ago when we last used it. Passenger behind us was more curious than upset.
          1. throwaway173738 · · focus · HN ↗
            It’s only an issue for some fitters that still use recessed tray tables.
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