If you are a travel-loving family or parent, the fact that the ECE standard now offers TWO car seats that are approved for the plane, as well as being extended rear facing in the car, this news should make your heart do that pitter patter heart flutter.

Flight Approval

A couple of days a go the news broke into my inbox (and Facebook) about Nachfolger’s HY5 TT now being approved for aircraft. This wasn’t so much ‘news news’ since I knew all along that this was the main point of the seat – but with all other things, there is a specific approval that needs to go through, and that is the TÜV-approval from TÜVRheinland.

But either way, the wait is finally over and we can now officially state that it’s approved for aircraft. This makes is the 2nd car seat (first being Diono Radian 5) that is extended rear facing and flight approved.

Approved with and without Top Tether now!

HY5 TT ‘travel kit’ is needed.

The current HY5 TT is approved using the ‘travel kit‘, which you will have to order (Available from the 1st of April) as it does not come with the seat and costs € 30.00 . I can not stress enough that the travel kit is in fact mandatory! You can not use the seat on an aircraft without it!

The ‘travelkit+’ includes:

car charger (12V connector): inflate the seat even if you forgot to charge the pump.

Pressure adapter including a manometer if the LED is not visible because of the seat in front. A hose extension for filling or air draining.

HY5 belt shortening clip: The HY5 was the first seat to be tested dynamically with the shortening clip (crash test) accordingTÜV Rheinland specifications

The TÜV sticker for aircraft approval.

Cupholder – drinks always at hand for your successor!

Now as a personal note, I don’t recommend the Cupholder for use in the car. Drinking bottles and the like are a serious projectile risk!

A normal soda bottle, for example, weighs the same as a common house brick in a 30mph crash…not really something you wish to have flying around in the car.

Might as well also cover suitcases as well (which belong in the boot, safely secured) since we are speaking of travel:

At 55 miles per hour, a 20-pound object hits with 1,000 pounds of force — so powerful that a suitcase can literally sheer the arm off you…

No more ‘Top Tether’

Another happy which makes travel much more simple with this seat now is that you no longer need to use it with Top Tether.

Example of ‘top tether’ in car. Read vehicle manual for instructions related to your car.

It used to be that you could only use it in the front passenger seat (AIRBAG OFF!!) without a top tether, but that has now changed…phew!!

Makes it far simpler for us Europeans who’s cars do not come with ‘top tether’ as standard in cars older than 2013 models. (The new iSize regulations made ‘top tether’ mandatory in cars produced from 2013 and up.)



In the development of the HY5, we have thought with the Top Tether we will perform better than without. But that did not come true. It should be made clear again: the HY5 TT may also be used without Top Tether and is therefore universally applicable. The HY5 TT has been tested to ECE standards and is also approved for use without a Top Tether, both in the rear and on the front passenger seat (switch off the airbag). The HY5 TT also has a lap belt approval, otherwise it would not have worked with the plane. -from nachfolger email

Did you spot the ‘lap belt’ approval?! The good just keeps coming!

The R5 does not have lap belt approval for vehicle use, only on the plane, so the fact that the HY5 has lap belt installation for cars, is very positive.



I bet there are several familys who travel with for example bus or shuttle, even with older cars – lets face it, there are many places in the world where the cars are quite banged up!

HY5.1 TT – The Compact One

In other news I learned that they now have a new model. The more compact version of the TT, namely the HY5.1 TT.



HY5.1 TT with a backplate 3 cm higher, an optimized top tether and new covers tested according to Stiftung Warentest. With its compact dimensions, it now fits better in small cars, saving time during inflation! We have also applied for the aircraft registration. – from nachfolger email.

Comparison between HY5 TT and HY5.1 (compact) TT

Points of Interest

A few other things worth noting with this travel car seat:

Weighs only 4,9 kg (stated to be 3x lighter than the average car seat)

Is slim (only 44cm wide) and therefore you shouldn’t have any problems getting 3-across in the 2nd row (back seat).

Can go on the plane as ‘carry on luggage’ if you use the backpack to transport it. To quote their FB post: “The inner compartments provide space for mobile phone, passport and keys. The bottom is coated and waterproof and the fabric of the bag reflects! “

Suitable to use from birth to 18kg. It’s classed as Group 0/1. But you will need the baby insert for children under 6 months old, which is bought seperate .

Recommended retailer

I always recommend buying car seats from specialist extended rear facing retailers. This car seat isn’t widely available from any of the small businesses, therefore, there is (to my knowledge) only one retailer I can recommend here and that would be ‘ Rear Facing Toddlers’ out of Croydon, London. You can buy the seat online from Margaret’s website or make an apointment .

Therese has completed the ‘Advanced Child Car Seat Training Course’ at TRL (Transport Research Lab) and is a CPD accredited car seat expert. She blogs about in-car safety, car seats, tips, reviews, giveaways and advice. She’s a mum on a mission to change the law and raise awareness. She is also a breastfeeding advocate and gentle parenting promoter who loves cloth nappies, baby-wearing, BLW and co-sleeping/bed-sharing. erfmission.com/

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