Keeping Kids Safe in the Air

Whether you are traveling with small children or sending a child solo, the hassles associated with the new realities of flying can turn even the most patient pint-size traveler into a young Frankenstein. As the busy summer season gets underway, parents need to find out the how the rules governing child travel have changed.

Geane Dvorak knows well the travails of traveling with children. Dvorak, 42, of Ventura, has flown extensively with her four kids, ages 7 to 21. “Start them young,” says Dvorak, who began taking her kids with her when they were as young as 6 months. “And give them something to keep them occupied.”

Her best tip: Set aside “travel toys” that come out only when you are going on a trip.

The Federal Aviation Administration, which publishes tips for traveling with children and “keeping the flight day sane” on its Internet site (www.faa.gov/fsdo/mia/children.htm), takes Dvorak’s tips on travel toys a step further: It recommends holding back the toys until you have boarded the plane.

The rules for unaccompanied minors have changed and changed again since Sept. 11, and they vary from airline to airline. Generally, a child must be at least 5 years old to fly unaccompanied. Children younger than 8 are usually restricted to nonstop flights. On some airlines, unaccompanied-minor service is automatically provided only for a child younger than 11. If your child is 12 or older, you must request this service.

You will sometimes pay a fee, which varies by airline, for unaccompanied-minor service. United, for example, charges $60. Southwest does not charge a fee, although minors may travel only on flights that do not require a change of plane or flight number. To know for sure, contact the airline.

A child traveling with Mom and Dad doesn’t necessarily mean the end to worries. The lines at check-in and security are more crowded than ever, so the FAA recommends that you dress your child in bright colors so she or he is easy to spot. The FAA also suggests that you give the child a card with contact information and other pertinent data, such as your flight schedule and medical information, in case you are separated.

Traveling with babies and toddlers raises yet a different set of problems--and controversies. Should babies be required to have their own seat? Should they be in child restraint seats like those required for car travel? Can they be carried safely on a parent’s lap?

About 4.6 million children younger than 2 fly every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatricians, or AAP. Under current FAA regulations, parents may carry a child younger than 2 on their laps when flying in a commercial aircraft, and at no additional cost. Children older than 2 must have their own seat.

But a recent policy statement by the AAP calls for an end to lap travel for children on airplanes.

“Parents don’t realize how dangerous it is to have a child on the lap without a restraint,” said Gail Dunham, president of the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation, or NADA/F, a support and lobbying group formed by survivors of air disasters and their families. “A child can become a projectile.”

In 1999, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey called for mandatory use of child restraint seats on all commercial aircraft, echoing the 1996 recommendation of a presidential commission on air safety.

Yet requiring child restraint seats could actually lead to an increase in accidental infant injuries and deaths, according to a 1995 report to Congress commissioned by the FAA. That study argues that requiring parents to buy a seat for an infant who might otherwise have flown for free will deter parents from flying and will encourage them to drive instead. Because statistics show that air travel is safer than auto travel, the study concludes that more infants will die in car accidents than will be saved by child restraint seats on airplanes.

The study also found serious safety flaws with some of the child restraint seats used on airplanes. All eight forward-facing seats tested allowed some head contact with the seat back in front of the child, and six failed to meet minimum head protection standards. The study noted that this was primarily a function of how child restraint seats are strapped into the airplane seats, not a design flaw in the restraint seats themselves.

Nonetheless, the FAA is pushing ahead with the presidential commission’s recommendation. “We have drafted a rule [for child restraint seats], and it is now in the approval process,” said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.

So what should the parent of an infant do?

Restraining a child by using a parent’s seat belt or a seat belt extender is not only dangerous but illegal. Booster seats like those used in cars are also illegal on airplanes.

The FAA and AAP make these recommendations:

* Until they are at least 1 year old and weigh at least 20 pounds, children should be placed in a rear-facing child safety seat that is properly secured and installed.

* A forward-facing car seat labeled for use on aircraft should be used for children at least 1 year old and 20 to 40 pounds. (The AAP is aware of the problems with forward-facing seats, but thinks these seats afford more protection to children than seat belts alone, no restraint or being held in a lap.) Child safety seats that fit an aircraft seat and that can be satisfactorily restrained to it are labeled as such. According to the FAA, child safety seats should not exceed 16 inches in width for best fit in aircraft seats; this is especially important in small commuter aircraft.

Children who weigh more than 40 pounds can be secured with the standard aircraft seat belt.

If you are buying your children their own seats on your flight, airlines sometimes will offer discounts for the children’s tickets, but you must ask.

A tip for parents who cannot afford the added expense of a reserved seat: Airlines fill empty middle seats last. Book an aisle and window seat, leaving a middle seat free in the hope you can secure your child in that seat if it remains open. To increase your chances of finding an empty seat, fly during off-peak hours and on less crowded flights. You can ask the airline when you make your reservation how crowded the flight is and whether there are other times or routings that may be less full.

If you don’t purchase a seat and the flight fills up, you could end up with the child on your lap for the flight. In this event, two new products are meant to enhance safety.

Baby B’Air is a lap infant restraint system approved by the FAA for the actual flight parts of an airplane trip, although not for takeoff and landing. The pediatricians’ academy says the leading cause of nonfatal injuries to passengers is in-flight turbulence, not crashes. Baby B’Air addresses that concern. This quilted cotton vest fits over a child’s shoulders and is secured with nylon straps at the chest and crotch. The parent’s airplane seat belt is inserted through another strap and buckled, securing the child on the parent’s lap. It comes in infant and toddler sizes and sells for about $30.

The Tyke Tube is another safety product designed for lap-held infants. It has passed testing in FAA-approved labs but is pending final FAA approval for use on airplanes. The capsule-like tube, which can hold newborns up to 20 pounds, is 24 inches long and 10 inches wide. The baby lies flat, held in by a belt; there are openings at the head and feet. The Tyke Tube also acts as a flotation device, designed to keep the infant’s head above water. Cost: about $150.

Federal Aviation Administration, for a free brochure on “Tips for Safe Air Travel With Children,” call (800) 322-7873 or www.faa.gov/apa/turb/crstips/crstip.htm.

National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation, (888) 444-6232, www.planesafe.org.

Baby B’Air, (800) 417-5228, www.babybair.com.

Tyke Tube Industries, (619) 384-3183, www.tyketube.com.

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James Gilden is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.