Swiss Tony

One more thought - incase you're not aware of it, FlyBe are peculiarly generous with regard to car seats & pushchairs if that's who you're flying up from the island with.

http://www.flybe.com/baggage/exceptional-baggage.htm

DWB1873

Thanks - we're on Aurigny. Rarely use Flybe as been stranded/let down too many times. Use them to Southampton, however not to LGW. Will be moot come March 14 anyway when they drop the GCI - LGW route.

My current thinking is Bugaboo and bassinet in a bugaboo travel bag, checked in. Car seat checked in as well. Baby in sling/carried.

I have to buy a couple of travel bags, but that's cheaper than buying a reasonable folding stroller + a travel cot.

Swiss Tony

Really?

I'd say buy a Quinny Zapp (£110, Kiddicare website) and a samsonite pop-up travel cot (£20).

The resale value of the Zapp will be high whereas the bags will have no resale value at all. What's more the Zapp is a very good travel buggy for the next 2-3 years too.

The Zapp also goes in a bag that I repeatedly just slung over my shoulder and walked onto the plane with.

If you take the whole regular shebang that you use at home with you, I'll war you that it's going to make the logistics a nightmare. We took Swiss Jr Mk1 to the US when he was a couple of months old - used a Maclaren reclining umbrella fold buggy and bought a US compliant car seat once we got to our first port of call (Toronto - we took the bus from the airport to hotel).

Anyway, it's your call - you're the one lugging it all around.

shorthauldad

The Zapp is a great bit of kit ... but I don't think ours is going to have much resale value ("fair wear and tear" in secondhand car jargon ... i.e. knackered!)

We do seem to a fair bit of off-roading with it, though - perhaps that's why.

DWB1873

Quinny zapp - two challenges :
1) "suitable for 6 months+ " - child will be 5 months at travel time. Probably not an issue.
2) seems only available from Kiddicare, which don't ship (directly) here. This is more problematic.

Any other suggestions, perhaps from Maclaren or similar?

GlasgowBlue

We've now travelled LH twice with our young boy. GLA > LHR > MIA > STT and return when he was 1 year old and EDI > LHR > SFO and return when he was 19 months old.

We took both a car seat and a lightweight Mamas & Papas buggy/stroller both times. The car seat we just checked in and picked up at our final destination. We didn't wrap up or put in a bag. Just made sure the straps were tucked away and couldn't catch on anything. On every journey it arrived undamaged at the other end (albeit a couple of days late to SFO). I'd imagine trying to lump a car seat through an airport along with every thing else you'll need for your young child would be very very difficult and frustrating.

We always asked at the check in desk if we could hang onto the stroller and have it put in the hold upon boarding. This meant we could collect it at the top of the air bridge after disembarking. Keeping the stroller with you and being able to pick it up after you get off the aircraft makes getting through the airport a lot easier.

Biggest piece of advice is minimise the amount of luggage you take as much as possible, both for the hold and carry on. If there's just the two of you plus an infant it's a nightmare trying to hang onto the wee one and juggling all your cases and bags, stroller and car seat at check in and then getting through security with even just a bag each, change bag for your kid and the stroller is a pain in the back side. We learned the hard way from our first trip. For SFO it was one piece of carry on between 2 of us, bag with supplies/toys for the boy and the stroller. Made getting through the airport and boarding far easier.

Hoch

If you want to take the expensive pram then do. Even though we have a Quinny Zapp, and it is really good, our son prefers his Stokke, which is at the same price level. Whether to the US or Europe, BA has treated it well, though we did buy the Stokke travel bag for it (a huge piece of kit).

He took his first trip to the US at three months and I just carried him in the Baby Bjorn. Not ideal but we took a blanket so he could stretch out.

Before buying a travel bag for the car seat, which came from Kiddiecare and was well worth it (though I see they don't ship to you ) we had it wrapped at LHR.

We always take the view to try to keep some 'normal' things around him because when travelling everything is different.

Good luck!

H

fredandgingermad

I bought a Maclaren Quest for travel when my daughter was 6 months old, it survived till she was 4 (including a bent axel somewhere between HKG and LHR) on numerous trips

silonic

And this is exactly what we do. Our daughter is now almost 8mths old but we've been flying with her from 10 weeks old and she's now into double figures of flights.

We have a bugaboo and bought the travel bag.
http://www.capitalkidz.com/bugaboo-transport-bag.html

Really recommend this as you can also store so much more in it - we fit nappies, formula for the holiday, even her baby Bjorn bouncy chair.

We've always checked that through and also the maxi cosi pebble. We never bothered buying a case for this - we just ensure we do the straps up, hide away the retractable cover and push the arm lock into the up position, so it is flat. Never had any damage or problems with this.

We have a baby Bjorn carrier.which we strap to ourselves and that's how we travel through the airport. We've been delayed once but aways carry blankets with us and just let her lie out on it when she gets too heavy..or we get too hot..

http://www.toysrus.com.au/baby-bjorn...er/w1/i1289009

We have talked about buying a cheaper buggy when she gets a bit older for taking to the plane, when carrying her will be hard and she will refuse to walk. Right now we like having the buggy she is used to whilst on holiday but as it's so big, we don't mind checking it in as we have the ease of carrying her through the airport in the carrier - leaving us both with free hands to push two trolleys if necessary when we get to the other end.

Cap'n Benj

Are you able to check your buggy/ seat at the gate to pick up on the carousel as opposed to waiting for it at the plane on arrival?

shorthauldad

So, the MaxiCosi fit into the A319 and A320 overhead bins - with a shove - as long as a) the handle was folded, and b) it was upside down.

The Purser on our first flight wasn't going to even let me take it on to try but her junior crew member said "I'm pretty sure it will fit" so we tried and it did ^

circusboy

Have a look at the sit and stroll - a combination car seat and buggy. We got one for our son and he loved it, we've got another now for our daughter. I'd take it to the gate, if there's a empty seat next to you they may let you use it, otherwise we've always had it stored on board. They may look a little odd, but are really comfortable - we had tears when our son had to stop using his.

They are pretty expensive if you don't travel much but you should be able to pick one up on eBay.

09R

We are travelling to PER (via SIN) with our 4-6 week old (still not born!) and thanks to this board its in a combo of J and F.

Just wondering if BA are more lenient in taking stroller/carseat on board when travelling in a premium cabin?

For the record, my wife chose the Chameleon 3 (most impractical buggy I've ever seen but hey!) and maxi cosi car seat.

We are also not so sure what to do/what to take on board. Any recommendations from anyone?

Thanks!

DWB1873

Have to agree with you there - awkward to fold, heavy, doesn't fit well in the car (though amazingly does just fit in a Smart car boot - but nowhere to out seat/bassinet. Works for now with the car seat but time will tell). Good build quality but its a pram at the end of the day. 2-5x the price of the competition.

And yet, the brand is powerful and the ladies love them. As with you, the path of least resistance was "yes, let's get that one".

To be fair, the wife can't tell the difference between my golf clubs and thinks they're all the same, so I suppose it's fair enough.

Still mulling this over however now thinking about going the Zapp/Zapp extra route + sling. Reason being that we have to take something and to take the Bugaboo will mean buying the travel bag - £100 give or take. I can get (without the VAT) a Zapp extra for ~£165 - so for an extra £65 I get a full travel stroller which I won't feel too bad about should it get broken.

The Xtra is slightly larger folded than the zapp, however still much smaller than the Bug, and smaller wheels etc mean it's easier to take apart and carry.

Swiss Tony

I've just looked and it's massive - it's nearly a metre long when folded so there's no way you're going to get that past a gate agent.

(I'm seeing 96cms for the Xtra vs 69cms for the Zapp).

If you want something that reclines, look at the Petit Star (75cms when folded). If you want something that takes the car seat, go for the Zapp.

41 years old, two degrees and an adviser on pushchairs - something has gone terribly wrong in my life.