Phoenix firm's device aims to protect children on planes

Source: The Arizona Republic
Author: Andrew Johnson

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A light bulb went off in Louise Stoll's mind several years ago as she watched her daughter, then seventh months pregnant, walk off an airplane lugging a toddler in one arm and a child car seat and diaper bag in the other.

"I had one of these aha moments, and I thought there just had to be a better way of traveling safe with kids," said Stoll, a Burlington, Vt., resident and a former assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Transportation.

That moment led Stoll into teaming with Phoenix-based AmSafe Aviation, one of the largest makers of aviation restraint devices in the world.

Together Stoll and AmSafe Aviation created CARES, or the Child Aviation Restraint System.

CARES is the first device of its kind approved for use on all commercial airlines.

The device received approval for consumer use from the Federal Aviation Administration on Sept. 6 and is intended for children who are 1 and older and weigh between 22 and 44 pounds.

Stoll and AmSafe Aviation have sold more than 1,500 of the devices in the past month through a Web site, www.kidsflysafe.com.

The first orders are set to ship to consumers this week.

The harnesslike tool connects to an airplane seat belt and fits around the back of an airplane seat. Straps go over toddlers' shoulders to hold them in their seat in case of heavy turbulence or a crash.

One goal of the device is to give parents who would normally hold their children in their laps an easier option for strapping in their kids, said Bill Hagan, president of AmSafe Aviation, the exclusive manufacturer of CARES.

AmSafe Aviation is a part of AmSafe Inc., which has divisions that make seat belts, flight-attendant restraints, cargo nets and other devices for the commercial and general aviation markets.

Stoll, who holds the patent for the product, said she knew she would need a partner to get the restraint device to market, which is why she approached AmSafe Aviation. AmSafe Aviation manufactures the devices under a licensing agreement with Stoll, who receives a royalty on each product sold.

Restraints not mandated

The FAA and other groups, including the National Transportation Safety Board and the American Academy of Pediatrics, urge parents to use in-flight restraint devices for children who weigh less than about 40 pounds.

However, the FAA ruled last year that it would not mandate the use of restraint devices for children. The agency's reasoning: Since adults are allowed to have children under age 2 fly without tickets, such a ruling could contribute to more traffic deaths because some parents would choose to drive (a less safe mode of travel) instead of fly if required to pay for another seat.

"We felt very strongly that we could not force a rule on consumers that could hinder the safety of some parents who could not afford the extra ticket," FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette said.

"However, we feel it does give parents another option when they travel with young children. Our concern is that parents be educated and make informed decisions when they fly."

For more than a decade, the National Transportation Safety Board, an independent federal agency that investigates major transit crashes, has pushed for the FAA to require children under age 2 be in restraint devices when flying.

Direct sales

Stoll and AmSafe Aviation initially intended to sell CARES directly to airlines after some companies expressed interest in the device.

The FAA first approved the device for use on Airbus 320 planes in October 2005, Stoll said. However, parents were not allowed to bring them on board. Rather, the airlines had to provide them if they were to be used on flights.

Requiring airlines to provide devices for children could be a "logistics nightmare" because of pre-planning involved, said Phil Gee, spokesman for Tempe-based US Airways.

Airlines would need to know specifically how many parents would want to use one of the devices before the flight to ensure they have enough, he said.

When airlines did not jump to offer the devices, AmSafe Aviation did more testing on the device and eventually got FAA approval to sell directly to consumers.

Hagan said he anticipates holiday travel to cause sales to rise.

Stoll said she realizes some parents might see the $74.95 price tag as a deterrent.

"I think that there will be some families who don't fly very frequently who will worry about the price," she said. "For that reason I hope that down the road there is a way for the airlines to provide this device to a lot of children who are flying in that age (and weight) group."