Since 2006, the Cares restraint system has been a beacon of safety for young travelers. Born from the vision of Dr. Louise Stoll, a former Assistant Secretary at the US Department of Transportation and a concerned grandmother, CARES embodies a deep sense of cares for children’s well-being during air travel. Dr. Stoll’s personal experience sparked the innovation of Kids Fly Safe and the CARES child aviation restraint. Let’s delve into the story, as told by Dr. Stoll herself:
“The inspiration for CARES struck me in the late 1990s. My daughter, Miriam, arrived for a visit in Washington D.C., disembarking from a plane burdened with her toddler, a cumbersome 20 lb car seat, and a diaper bag – all while seven months pregnant. I was taken aback and exclaimed to my husband, ‘There must be a better solution!’ That very night, I sketched out my concept for an airplane child restraint. My priorities were clear: it needed to be lightweight, portable, and effortlessly installed and removed from an airplane seat – unlike the very nature of a car seat! Crucially, it had to provide robust security for children during turbulence and those often bumpy landings.”
“My husband, observing my sketches, suggested I consult a patent attorney. I heeded his advice, and to my surprise, my idea was indeed patentable. The patent process spanned two and a half years. Anticipating its approval, I began to explore the viability of my idea. I researched various business models and sought to understand the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) regulations for in-flight equipment. Navigating FAA regulations proved complex, leading me to seek a partner with expertise in the aviation sector. Eventually, I connected with AmSafe, a Phoenix-based global leader manufacturing the majority of airplane seatbelts, bringing decades of FAA collaboration experience.”
“The General Manager at AmSafe invited me to Phoenix to present my patent application drawings. He was impressed with the concept. Upon receiving my patent in June 2002, I licensed it to AmSafe. They developed the initial CARES prototype. The subsequent four years were dedicated to rigorous developmental testing and navigating regulatory approvals. This comprehensive process included crash tests using instrumented dummies, mandatory public notifications, public feedback collection on this novel child restraint concept, and ultimately, the formulation of new regulatory language to accommodate this unique harness-type child restraint on aircraft. The FAA concluded that CARES offered an ‘Equivalent Level Of Safety’ (ELOS) to car seats for children in air travel.”
In September 2006, a landmark announcement from the FAA certified CARES – marking it as the first and only FAA-approved alternative to car seats for aviation. This certification empowers parents to utilize CARES on all US airlines throughout every phase of flight, including taxiing, takeoff, turbulence, and landing. FAA directives explicitly state that airlines cannot prohibit the use of CARES by parents. The FAA’s announcement resonated widely, garnering national and international media coverage, including a prominent 6-minute segment on the Today show on the very day of the announcement.
Kids Fly Safe has now distributed over 300,000 CARES units. Furthermore, CARES has achieved certification in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, and is utilized on the majority of major airlines across Europe and Asia. Our unwavering goal remains: to ensure every child in flight benefits from a safe and secure seating solution. CARES is more than just a product; it represents a commitment to the safety and cares for our youngest travelers, making air travel safer and more accessible for families worldwide.
