Child/Infant Life-Jackets

[maxalt]

Just wanted to ask around if your companies carry specially designed Child and/or Infant life-jackets.
I was on another website where a member of the public expressed concern that my company doesn't carry specially designed junior equipment. He claims other companies do so, and he specifically referred to KLM. Indeed he said that when boarding a KLM flight they hand you a junior life jacket for your kid.

Is this correct? Sounds dodgy to me.

[cabinboy]

At QFLINK we carry a certain amount of Infant lifejackets on EVERY aircraft, I had no idea that other airline carriers may get away with this ! However, in our training we are shown how to fit an adult lifejacket to an infant should we need too. ( i.e - inflate 1 chamber only etc )

[flapsforty]

maxalt, KLM like many others, indeed carry special infant life jackets.
They have the top part of an ordinary life jacket while the bottom part is weighted to keep the child the right way up when in the water. The bottom part also totally encloses the body, a bit like a bucket or a sleeping bag, which is supposed to minimise the hypothermic effect of being in the water.
For small children who are no longer infants, there are as cabinboy states, various ways of fitting them into an adult life jacket. On a personal note, they all seem rather dodgy to me, and not the kind of origami I'd like to try and accomplish in a real emergency.

On KLM the special life vests are handed out before push-back to all parents travelling with infants together with the infant seat belt and an instruction card.

maxalt, hope this clears up any dodginess. ;)
For my education, would you tell us what you do for the rug-rats in your mob?

[maxalt]

Thanks Flaps and cabinboy.
The procedure here in the Emerald Isle is to use an adult life-jacket in the partial inflated mode you refer to.

When I asked my (CCM) partner about the practice in her company she said they had a mix of the two methods depending on fleet. She also expressed surprise at the notion of handing out such equipment like KLM supposedly do. She felt the average pax on her routes would get 'the wrong idea' and become a bit upset. :eek:

[GalleyWench]

Maxalt, At UA on our overwater planes we carry infant lifecests. There fit like a dress and are to be distributed before takeoff and collected on taxi in. Our "domestic" aircraft to dot have any provisions for children, enev adults are only to use their seat cushion as a " flotation device". If your routes are only overwater for a short time perhaps lifejackets are not req'd or necessary?

[flyblue]

Same as KLM in AF, but we hand it only in case of emergency.

[flapsforty]

Maxalt, there is no "supposedly"about it mate; I hand them out every single day! :)
We carry pax from all over the world and I have yet to see a pax react with worry.

It has quite the opposite effect.
Telling pax that since the under the seat life-vest is not the safest option for an infant and that that is the reason why we give them this special infant vest for the flight, usually impresses them very favourably. Shows them that we care a lot about their most precious piece of handluggage, same as they do.
It's all in the presentation tell your Missus. ;)

Biggest prob we have is actually boat-minded SLF knicking the infant vests!:rolleyes: