Infant Seat Belts - Not good enough says CASA

[markis10]

I think we may well see the demise of the supplemental seat belt and the requirement for a separate seat for infants based on this:

With a lap-held infant restrained by a Supplemental Loop Belt, the adult holding the infant is not provided with an equivalent level of protection to that of a separately seated adult during a severe but potentially survivable accident. The Supplemental Loop Belt is even less effective for the infant as their skeletal structure is unable to cope with any significant load from the 5 cm wide webbing, and the crushing forces applied by the adult torso. While the Supplemental Loop Belt will provide adequate restraint of an infant during turbulence or mild longitudinal emergency loading, such as a rejected take off; to provide an equivalent level of protection for both the adult and infant, it is recommended that any infant be seated in an individual child restraint system in a separate passenger seat.

http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/download/caaps/ops/235_2.pdf

 

[gaz0303]

A few thoughts...

*Noisier flights if mothers can't breastfeed during landing and take-off.
*A lot less young families travelling without the free passenger. I've lost count how many friends, including me, have taken holidays prior to a child turning 2 to save money
*Are there really any stats on safety of the lap belt in crash scenario's in planes or is all extrapolated from cars? Eg if passengers survive, what chance does the infant have?
* How about a 4-point harness that fits around the parent?

 

[JessicaTam]

A few thoughts...

*Noisier flights if mothers can't breastfeed during landing and take-off.
*A lot less young families travelling without the free passenger. I've lost count how many friends, including me, have taken holidays prior to a child turning 2 to save money
*Are there really any stats on safety of the lap belt in crash scenario's in planes or is all extrapolated from cars? Eg if passengers survive, what chance does the infant have?
* How about a 4-point harness that fits around the parent?

Crash test dummies can provide a lot of info.

 

[smatho10]

Last week NZ only gave us an extender style belt for our infant, not the loop style that VA provides... The loop gives more flexibility for moving the infant to feed and sleep etc... Will keep an eye out on this one..

 

[albatross710]

This show was on in the last few days. Had some excellent visuals of what happens inside the cabin in a crash. A brace position is the be position for aperson but even then the forces are quite significant.

Like all safety decisions it will come down to cost. How much are passengers going to pay to provide safe transport for infants?

For instance, there are many more safety features and crash survivability features in a $120,000 Merc yet people can still choose to buy a $12,000 Hyundai. Safety is a matter of cost/benefit.

 

[c814875]

I think the current loop belt is only a placebo, but at least it allows my little one to move around a bit, feed etc.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I think the current loop belt is only a placebo, but at least it allows my little one to move around a bit, feed etc.

sorry to take a harsh practical take on this... but for those without infants, the loop belt serves a very important purpose which is to stop the infant becoming a missile and injuring others in the cabin.

I agree there probably needs to be a safer way to transport infants... but current provisions do serve some purpose.

 

[ftm]

It would seem that the current system has served passengers well up until now. Obviously there goes the 10% infant fare if they have to occupy a seat.

 

[mannej]

It would seem that the current system has served passengers well up until now. Obviously there goes the 10% infant fare if they have to occupy a seat.

I was thinking what would happen to those with infant bookings if CASA mandated the use of an approved seat?

 

[JB expat]

Infants (and fellow passengers) are at risk if not properly restrained. Properly restrained means in a car seat that is certified for use on airplanes (certain car seats are FAA approved and I know first hand Qantas accepts this approval and allows these seats to be installed on a plane - there are other requirements as to where it can be placed in a row of seats etc.). However, I don't think this is ideal - the ideal in my mind is for the airline to provide "infant/AND CHILDREN capsules/seats especially made for the plane. Yes, this means 1 - paying for a seat and 2 - probably paying an extra fee on top of that for the car seat (I'll call it a car seat because I have no other word for it…perhaps a Plane Car Seat). Personally, I would pay as I have paid for a seat for a 1 year old on a long haul trip to the US so that we could install our car seat. Yes, expensive - but so MUCH SAFER…if you start googling you will see that even the FAA says they recommend infants/children be restrained in car seats on planes but they refuse to make it a requirement because what it would cost travellers. But it was a pain in the butt to drag the car seat through the airport, install it properly and then reverse the whole process upon landing…but at least we also had a reliable car seat on the other end for our car rental (don't get me started on the quality (or lack thereof) of car seats you can rent from car rental companies). And I did opt to breastfeed my baby on take-off and landing but at least he was restrained during the flight in case of turbulence. But given that I think the recommendation is for children to be restrained in a car seat (on a plane) until something like 5 plus, the breastfeeding conundrum isn't one that impacts such a large portion of the children who should be in these seats.

Those little lap belts they give you - I can't remember what I read, but the G force of severe turbulence would result in the serious injury to the infant, possibly death due to the position of that little belt on their body.

 

[ftm]

CASA can't regulate foreign carriers, so any change would just disadvantage QF and VA. Just what QF needs right now!

 

[Hvr]

CASA can't regulate foreign carriers, so any change would just disadvantage QF and VA. Just what QF needs right now!

Are you saying they can't they set standards on the planes that fly into Australia?

 

[ftm]

Are you saying they can't they set standards on the planes that fly into Australia?

Airlines are regulated by their country of registration.

 

[markis10]

Airlines are regulated by their country of registration.

While that may be true, their flight ops are regulated by the country whose airspace they are in.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

While that may be true, their flight ops are regulated by the country whose airspace they are in.

indeed. Australia for example was one of the first countries to ban smoking in the air. The rule applied to all carriers, Australian and foreign.

Any direction - for example that all infants needed a separate child-restraint seat - could be applied to all carriers operating into and out of australia.