Up in the air about car seats

By Bruce Mohl, Globe Staff, 03/24/02

		Sensible traveler  Destinations  Where they went  Travel gear  Student travel

Richard Halloran of Newton is someone I would call a sensible traveler. He and his wife and children are preparing for a trip to Italy. Worried about the stress of such a long trip, Halloran wanted to keep the stops to a minimum. Concerned about his children's safety and comfort - they are 2 and 3 months - he wanted them buckled in their own car seats during the flight.

Halloran quickly discovered that Alitalia had the most direct flights, but he was surprised to learn that the Italian airline does not allow child safety seats on its planes. (It does provide special bassinet carriers for infants.)

Alitalia's reasoning for not allowing car seats is a bit murky. Halloran says the airline's customer service agents weren't able to explain it to him, although he was told the issue was under study. One agent told me, incorrectly, that Alitalia's seat belts don't work with child safety seats. Another agent said car seats are banned because they make emergency evacuations of planes more difficult.

Marta-Mari Lotti, spokeswoman for Alitalia in New York, said the real reason car seats are not allowed is that the Italian version of the Federal Aviation Administration, the Ente Nazionale Aviazione Civile, or ENAC, has not approved them.

"They have not passed the safety inspection," Lotti said.

Lotti said she did not know why ENAC considers car seats unsafe, but she said the policy has created headaches for her airline. Last year, she said, a number of American parents showed up for flights to Italy with car seats in tow and became angry when they learned they couldn't bring them.

In addition to providing greater security during aircraft turbulence, car seats on planes are favored by parents because the seats are comforting to their children, helping them relax and sleep.

Robert Haut, senior design engineer at Graco Children's Products, which makes child safety seats, said he had never heard of an airline barring their use. "It's a shame that they do that," he said.

Information about government policies concerning car seats on airlines is hard to come by. The Web site www.flyingwithkids.com says some European airlines do not allow car seats, while others permit only seats certified by their governments. The Web site said parents should check an individual airline's policy before making a reservation.

Currently, the FAA strongly recommends but doesn't require the use of child safety seats on board airplanes in the event of turbulence or an accident. The FAA says safety seats should be used until a child weighs more than 40 pounds (rear-facing seats for children under 20 pounds, forward-facing for 20 to 40 pounds). Booster seats are banned during takeoffs and landings.

Some groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have called on the FAA to make the use of child safety seats mandatory. The groups are particularly concerned about parents who hold children under age 2 on their laps. So-called lap children fly free, so a child seat mandate would probably require parents to purchase another ticket. The FAA is studying the issue. Whatever happens at the FAA, the agency's regulatory reach extends only to US-based airlines. Carriers from other countries are regulated by their own governments and, as Alitalia illustrates, not all of them approve of child safety seats.

Through e-mails and letters, Halloran has tried to persuade Alitalia and the Italian government to change their safety seat policies. With his travel date fast approaching, he said he will probably give up and still fly with Alitalia.

"We don't feel good about it," Halloran said. "The policy makes me so mad. It's a safety issue."

Fly free?

Banknorth of Portland, Maine, is running advertisements promising that "your companion's fare is free" if you deposit at least $500 to open a new checking, savings, money market, or certificate of deposit account.

The offer sounds attractive, but it pays to get more information than contained in the ad. To get the free air ticket, you must first buy an economy fare from one of the six major airlines through a travel agency called Airline Promotions Inc.

The fare must cost at least $349 if travel takes place between Sept. 15 and Jan. 15, or $379 between Jan. 16 and Sept. 14. The destination must be in one of the 48 contiguous US states. Blackout dates apply, and seats are limited. Travel must be completed by 2004 and the passengers are responsible for all taxes and fees on the free ticket.

It's hard to tell how much you would save with the Banknorth offer, or if you would save at all. An identical offer from another company using Airline Promotions Inc. notes in fine print: "Lower fares may be available in certain markets."

Bruce Mohl can be reached by

e-mail at mohl@globe.com.