Rick.Gumpertz@CMU-CS-A@sri-unix.UUCP (08/05/83)
From: Richard H. Gumpertz <Rick.Gumpertz@CMU-CS-A> If anyone is interested in using an automobile child-restraint system on a commercial airplane, he might want to get a copy of the appropriate FAA TSO (Technical Standard Order), number TSO-C100 dated 5/28/82, and an accompanying fact sheet, dated April 13, 1983. To summarize, there are two main rules: 1) The seat must be FAA (not just NHTSA) approved. This includes some extra tests such as the airplane turning upside-down or the airplane's seat-back folding over. Also, the seat cannot require a top tether. Currently, the Cosco-Peterson 78 Safe-T-Seat and the Century models 4100 (a.k.a. 100), 4200 (a.k.a. 200), 4300 (a.k.a. 300), and 4500 (infants only) are the only seats I know to have passed the tests. Some airlines might require a sticker on the seat indicating that it passed. 2) Car seats do NOT qualify as normal carry-on (underseat) baggage. To be used, one has to pay the applicable child's fare, typically 3/4 of the adult fare. For children past their 2nd birthday, this is not a problem but it does mean that infants up to two years lose the free-travel provision. (This brings up the question whether paying the extra fare is worth it -- how many airplane crashes severe enough to make lap-holding dangerous would be survivable anyway? This is in distinct contrast to automobile accidents where a very large number of collisions would be survivable for a properly restrained infant. I don't know the statistics for planes.)