gate checking both a stroller and a car seat?
 

My wife and I are traveling with our (one year old) who will be on our laps (no separate ticket). We are traveling tomorrow and unfortunately just saw that AA's rules state that either a car seat can be checked at the gate, but not both (which is what we planned to do). We don't really have a bag for either of the two (we could probably fit one or the other in a huge suitcase or something, but then we'd have to carry that around for the whole trip). I'm wondering:

1) Since my wife and I are both traveling, can she gate check the car seat while I gate check the stroller?
2) If not, what will really happen in practice if we do bring both to the gate? Is this really enforced? Will they charge us for one of the items (and if yes, how much - if it matters, I'm a cardholder so we should get 2 free checked bags, and we're only using one)? I'm assuming they won't make us throw the stroller out or something, but are they (logistically) even able to charge for a gate checked bag at the gate?

Thanks!

Kudos on thinking ahead but with two ticketed passengers flying regardless of whether you are on the same PNR, I can’t think of why you would have a hard time and if you’re really concerned, get the agent check-in to give you valet tags at the counter if they have them handy.

If a GA really puts up a fuss, split the PNR but I highly doubt that it will come to that.

Thanks! I guess my thinking was that it’s the infant that actually “gets” to gate check the car seat or stroller, and not the adults, if that makes sense (i.e. one infant = one car seat or stroller, regardless of how many adults and how many PNRs). But who knows...

You are technically correct so to be safe I would plan on a worst-case scenario of having to check one but you can buy car seat covers when checking it so that you don’t have to carry it around the airport:

1. I'd very much recommend getting a cover for the car seat, even "just" gate checking it. The fabric can easily rip on the seat, or 1 drop or a short amount of time in the rain and it'll be an unpleasant way to start your trip.

2. Shouldn't be any problem to check both, from my experience. Actually, a few weeks ago, the night before my daughter and I left on a trip, my wife realized we loaned out the stroller we like to travel with. My wife was flying to meet us ~2 days later. She took the stroller with her (traveling alone) and just went and got a gate tag for it at the departure airport. No questions of "where's the kid", etc. So you and your hubby can just each go get a tag. Worst case scenario, then you have them check one, but shouldn't be an issue.

I have gate checked both travelling as a single parent multiple times. With 2 adults you'll have zero issue

Even when there is just a single adult with child, they often seem to still allow a gate checking of the stroller and of the car seat when the gate agents encounter a person with a stroller and car seat showing up at the boarding area with a child in tow.

Why not just check the car seat (in a protective bag as IAHtraveler recommends) at the counter? I can think of no good reason why you need a car seat between the counter and the gate, unless you are trying to get an upper body strength workout. :)

Two points (my qualification: have raised four children):

1. Get a car seat cover/bag. These get so dirty from travelling that you will want it. Also, you will find that it is handy to stuff coats and nappies/diapers in there from time to time.

2. Check the car seat when you get to the airport. You neither need nor want it through the terminal.

This poster is a genius.

You need free hands to handle the stroller, kidlet, and the spouse. That seat is going in the bowls of the aircraft anyway so lugging it through the airport under the auspices of keeping it clean isn't doing to do much.

+1 on getting a cover (they're sold in plenty of online/offline retail stores)

I've done a fair share of traveling with my now 2 year old and 4.5 year old.
I'd ditch everything but the carseat. I saved the boxes for ours and just check them as luggage.
Carrying a one year old won't cause much strain at all.
Carry the kids; the only tricky part is getting the carseats to the rental car bus!

Upon return, drop family and carseat at curbside check in, then enjoy 10 minutes of peace and quiet by yourself returning car.

Reduced chance of car seat not arriving at destination on the same flight as the passenger? Same sort of thing with stroller.

But given the car seat’s encumbrance, best to have it boxed and checked in as soon as possible, even with the slight chance of having a hassle if the car seat ends up needing an irregular baggage handling report and what follows from not having a car seat when and where it’s needed.

I'd bring the stroller and car seat to the gate. If you have an empty seat next to your wife or you, you are allowed to use the car seat on the plane even though you didn't purchase a seat.

Related question about checking baby-gear when travelling without the baby
 

So: my wife and I, who live in in rural Brazil, are expecting our first baby next year. We're over the moon.

I'll be making a trip (alone) to Miami next month, to visit my mom & buy some baby essentials we otherwise can't get here - and I have some questions about how these "free of charge" items interact with the normal baggage allowance.

From the thread here, I found two clues:

Question is: in addition to my normal baggage allowance (up to 4 bags @ 32kg, as an EXP in F), would I also be able to check a car seat and/or a stroller free of charge? I'm not certain I'll really try to bring all that in one go - but would be nice to have a sense of what the upper limit is for my baggage allowance.

Thanks for any advice/experience that can confirm what I can/should expect.

We had our first in June, and he has now been on 26 flights all without incident (and usually to the great delight of the first-class passengers and crew). We usually gate-check both the car seat and the stroller (though now that he can sit, we moved to a super-collapsible stroller that fits into a backpack-sized bag and thus can go under a seat or in the overhead without anyone knowing it's a stroller). Taking them through security is of course no problem. But at the gate you'll need to ask for pink tags, and sure, there was an anecdote where someone got to gate-check theirs without an infant, but technically the free stroller and car seat are for passengers with infants. And you'll have two problems if your AA agent decides to enforce that rule: first, your 5th bag will cost $200, and second, there's a 5-bag maximum on checked bags to and from Brazil. So you might be stuck holding the goods at the gate. Not a predicament I would want to be in. I would rather keep the baggage to the 4x32kg and ship the car seat and stroller.