A car is something almost everyone experiences these days. A car is something almost anyone has, and many people have more than one car. But that does not mean that all people have the chance to experience other kinds of transportation. We are talking about planes. Of course, you need no special preparation or training for that, all you have to do is to board the plane and follow the instructions of the flight attendant. But what about your child? It is only natural if you buy a car seat for them to ride. Can you take it with you when boarding so you could use it on board? You have probably heard you need an FAA-approved car seat for that. That really is so, but let us not forget about some things.
First of all, most car seats with a 5-point harness are, in fact, approved for air travel. Not every car seat is, but most are. Some, are, naturally, better than others. The Diono Radian RXT is one of such car seat in particular, mostly due to the fact it has been designed for smaller cars and thus is a good match for a plane seat.
Second, it is a good thing if your car seat has been approved by the FAA. But some foreign flight companies and countries might have their own rules, although they may not prohibit your child from using an FAA-approved car seat inside the US. If you are going to travel abroad, it would be better to find as much about the destination country as possible. It is quite possible that claims about an “FAA-approved seat” mean little there. Or, you can make sure to use an American airline. They cannot deny you using an approved car seat regardless of where you are flying.
All in all, we would advise using child restraint systems designed for air travel. Since they are meant for airplanes, there should be no legal complications in other countries if you are using such a system rather than a car seat.
We work with car seats but sometimes other things are just better.