COMING AND GOING
Ditch the Car Seat

Sunday, September 17, 2006

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UPRIGHT AND LOCKED
Ditch the Car Seat

You can keep the kids, but you no longer have to drag their car seats through the airport and wrestle the bulky restraints onto the plane: The Federal Aviation Administration last week announced its approval of a new one-pound safety device to restrain children in an airplane seat.

The restraints, called CARES, are approved for children weighing 22 to 44 pounds -- approximately ages 1 to 4 -- and cost $75 (plus $3.95 for shipping). Made by AmSafe Aviation, the largest manufacturer of airplane seat belts, the device has straps that fit over a child's shoulders and then attach to the regular seatbelt. It is not approved for use in cars .

The devices will not be available until the end of the month, but orders are being taken through AmSafe, 800-229-6249, www.kidsflysafe.com .

While kids under age 2 fly free on domestic flights as long as you hold them in your lap, you must buy them a ticket to guarantee that you'll be able to plop them safely into a car seat or a CARES harness.

ROOM KEYS
Skinny Guests Only

"Overweight and oversized guests must declare their condition on booking," states the online reservations form for Casa Howard Guesthouses ( http://www.casahoward.com/ ), which has properties in Rome and Florence.

Guests who fail to do so "will be debited the full amount of staying and transferred to another hotel at their own expense."

CoGo understands why an airline might require an extra ticket for a passenger whose bulk can't be contained in one seat. But why does a hotel care about a patron's girth, and how big is too big?

Casa Howard had to issue the edict, spokeswoman Jenifer Forneris told CoGo in an e-mail, because "vastly oversized" guests have booked rooms with small beds, even though the reservation form makes the bed size clear. If the hotel knows in advance, it can try to arrange a room with a big bed.

There is "no specific weight request, but a guest that is overweight and for sure knows this should not book a bed 150 cm [59.1 inches] wide as double use because he will be mostly uncomfortable, " Forneris wrote.

CoGo still isn't sure how big is too big, but it's probably wise to apply European, not American, standards when booking rooms in Europe.

TRAVEL TICKER

An up-to-the-minute report on how many parking spots are available at Reagan National Airport is now online at http://www.mwaa.com/reagan . You can also call 703-417-PARK . . . Wales is calling all Joneses to gather on Nov. 3 in Cardiff to attempt a new Guinness World Record for the largest same-family-name gathering. Details: http://www.homecomingwales.com/ . . . The reenactment of the Kentucky Battle of Perryville , set for Oct. 7-8, also includes historic cultural events such as music and dance from the 1860s. Details: http://www.parks.ky.gov/ . . . The thermal springs in Bath, England's, only natural hot springs became available to the paying public last month after a 28-year hiatus. Details: http://www.thermaebathspa.com/ .

BARGAIN OF THE WEEK
Copenhagen Caper

Fly from Washington Dulles to Copenhagen for $398 round trip (plus about $81 taxes). The sale on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) is good for departures Nov. 1-30 or Jan. 11-March 22. Deadline to purchase is today. Maximum stay is one month, but some return dates near holidays are sold out and all travel must be completed by March 22. Fare on other airlines starts at about $700. Purchase at www.scandinavian.net.

Reporting: Cindy Loose.

Help feed CoGo. Send travel news, road reports and juicy tattles to: cogo@washpost.com. By fax: 202-912-3609. By mail: CoGo, Washington Post Travel Section, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20071.