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Traveling with Toddler on SAS - Car Seat/Stroller Questions
Wife, daughter (18 months) and I are traveling BOS-CPH, then CPH-ARN, and then ARN-BOS (through CPH) next month. Had some questions on baggage allowances/stroller/car seats. All 3 passengers are booked on 1 PNR, with 3 individual tickets (daughter has her own seat, booked as a "Child in Seat" Fare) - all booked in Economy (T).
Per discussion with a CSR, baggage fees are $60 booked in advance, $120 at the airport. However - not sure about the following: We have a collapsible stroller we plan on bringing. Can this be gate checked for free? Based on this link, it seems yes, but not sure if it can be gate checked or would have to be checked prior to going through security in each airport. https://www.flysas.com/us-en/help-an...extra-baggage/ Are there gate checking restrictions at BOS, CPH, and/or ARN? We will be bringing a convertible car seat with us (ideally, rear facing when used in the seat, but can be forward facing if required)? The car seat is an "Evenflo Tribute LX" - dimensions are 17" W x 25" H (43 cm x 65 cm). Looks like this exceeds the dimensions allowed by SAS from what I see online, but the dimensions that are specified online would not satisfy any US car seat that I know of that is acceptable for 1+ year toddlers (not infants). Is this policy enforced? I have not had any issues using the car seat on any domestic carrier in the past - but understand that a foreign one may be different. If they are not allowed, what are my options for restraining a toddler on the flight? She is obviously too little to use just the seatbelt. |
SAS at ARN and (somewhat less so) at CPH try to make most strollers get checked in landside with the oversize luggage. Even the Maclaren type collapsible strollers that could fit in an overhead bin if taking up the whole bin while doing so. IIRC with SAS, the included allowance for child strollers and car seats is different based on age of child and/or maybe whether or not the child is a lap child or not. I do know that SAS now handles the stroller and car seat related allowance differently than US carriers (even when looking at US carriers for comparable city pairs to SK service). US carriers are more generous with child related baggage allowance than SK. The CARES harness works for toddlers in economy class on SAS international, regional and domestic flights, but for a one-two year old, a car seat is generally more comfortable. |
We’ve travelled long haul with infants and toddlers several times. We’ve never used a car seat and we’ve avoided bassinet seats for several years as they are horribly uncomfortable for others due to the wall and the fixed armrests. Having a seat for a 18 months old toddler sounds like a luxury and you might want to consider not bringing any car seat and just be using the seatbelt? For takeoff and landing all European carriers will have an infant belt that is clipped onto the adult seat belt. Obviously the child would then go on lap for that but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use that for the remainder of the flight as well when the child is in own seat sleeping or whatever. Stroller policy is very airport dependent and somewhat unreliable. Our experience is never trust what check in staff tells you as they often don’t know. We’ve been promised delivery at aircraft lots of times without getting it. In understand you are getting off in CPH and not just in transit. In that event you should be prepared to wait for the stroller for up to an hour at the belt. CPH is horrible when it comes to that. |
Originally Posted by SASegments
(Post 31007754)
We’ve travelled long haul with infants and toddlers several times. We’ve never used a car seat and we’ve avoided bassinet seats for several years as they are horribly uncomfortable for others due to the wall and the fixed armrests. Having a seat for a 18 months old toddler sounds like a luxury and you might want to consider not bringing any car seat and just be using the seatbelt? For takeoff and landing all European carriers will have an infant belt that is clipped onto the adult seat belt. Obviously the child would then go on lap for that but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use that for the remainder of the flight as well when the child is in own seat sleeping or whatever. Stroller policy is very airport dependent and somewhat unreliable. Our experience is never trust what check in staff tells you as they often don’t know. We’ve been promised delivery at aircraft lots of times without getting it. In understand you are getting off in CPH and not just in transit. In that event you should be prepared to wait for the stroller for up to an hour at the belt. CPH is horrible when it comes to that. CPH does have some of its own airside strollers and lots of baggage carts that can handle the transport of a 1-3 year old child. ARN, however, is much worse than CPH in this regard. Stroller delivery on the oversize baggage plank at CPH has been quite bad at times, but it has gotten better than it used to be -- or at least they seem to be getting delivered within 10-20 minutes of the rest of the baggage on the baggage belt or even sooner. But CPH is slow for delivery of checked baggage onto the baggage belt even when it doesn't involve strollers/carseats/oversize luggage. |
Originally Posted by SASegments
(Post 31007754)
We’ve travelled long haul with infants and toddlers several times. We’ve never used a car seat and we’ve avoided bassinet seats for several years as they are horribly uncomfortable for others due to the wall and the fixed armrests. Having a seat for a 18 months old toddler sounds like a luxury and you might want to consider not bringing any car seat and just be using the seatbelt? For takeoff and landing all European carriers will have an infant belt that is clipped onto the adult seat belt. Obviously the child would then go on lap for that but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to use that for the remainder of the flight as well when the child is in own seat sleeping or whatever. Stroller policy is very airport dependent and somewhat unreliable. Our experience is never trust what check in staff tells you as they often don’t know. We’ve been promised delivery at aircraft lots of times without getting it. In understand you are getting off in CPH and not just in transit. In that event you should be prepared to wait for the stroller for up to an hour at the belt. CPH is horrible when it comes to that. We've thought about not bringing the car seat, but given that this will be an overnight flight, the goal is to get her to sleep as much as possible on the flight, which I think would be easier if she is in her car seat. Takeoff time corresponds well to her normal bed time, so the thought was to get her to sleep the whole time, which would be hard to do with her sitting upright in an economy seat. Yes - we're getting off at CPH for 2 days. We'll have checked bags anyway, but we were obviously hoping to get the stroller plane-side to make getting through customs and the airport easier. Sounds like that might not be possible? |
Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 31007617)
SAS at ARN and (somewhat less so) at CPH try to make most strollers get checked in landside with the oversize luggage. Even the Maclaren type collapsible strollers that could fit in an overhead bin if taking up the whole bin while doing so. IIRC with SAS, the included allowance for child strollers and car seats is different based on age of child and/or maybe whether or not the child is a lap child or not. I do know that SAS now handles the stroller and car seat related allowance differently than US carriers (even when looking at US carriers for comparable city pairs to SK service). US carriers are more generous with child related baggage allowance than SK. The CARES harness works for toddlers in economy class on SAS international, regional and domestic flights, but for a one-two year old, a car seat is generally more comfortable. |
Originally Posted by gofarhaveacigar
(Post 31022986)
Do they not allow for plane-side checking of strollers? According to that link, checking a stroller is free since our daughter is under 2 (even though she will have her own seat), but it makes no mention of plane side or land side.
SK@CPH is probably the worst, or close to the worst, legacy major airline-hub experience when it comes to wanting your own stroller delivered at the gate on arrival. CPH has some airport strollers available after security screening but more often they have cabin baggage carts that can easily fit a 1-year old like the grocery shopping carts that have a seat area for small children. ARN, if it has airport strollers, has far fewer of them than CPH; and ARN has way fewer cabin baggage carts than CPH. If this sort of reads like a “pick your poison”, it sort of is that. |
Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 31023051)
SK@CPH is probably the worst, or close to the worst, legacy major airline-hub experience when it comes to wanting your own stroller delivered at the gate on arrival.
CPH used to have airside strollers for famillies with kids. I never liked them, but we used them a few times. At least on departure, they make things easier. On arrival, it may not be easy to find one. |
Originally Posted by SK2751
(Post 31044964)
Never tried CDG? Admittedly, me, strollers, and CDG was year away now, but there was NO WAY you can get a stroller to/from the gate.
CPH used to have airside strollers for famillies with kids. I never liked them, but we used them a few times. At least on departure, they make things easier. On arrival, it may not be easy to find one. CPH still has airport-provided airside strollers, but more often than not, they aren’t available where and when my travel party members needed them. Fortunately, a variety of carriers do allow for gate-delivery of strollers at CPH, even as SK at CPH seems to be the most opposed to gate-delivery of strollers. |
Long time ago we were able to gate check a basic umbrella stroller (literally the cheap umbrella kind, very simple) at CPH - we bought those solely for flying because we couldn't gate check the more comfortable version (tried and was denied). At ARN we were told that all strollers are not allowed through security when we were there - even with the one that we got through from CPH.
We often had to ask the gate staff the whereabout of our stroller when we arrived CPH. |
Originally Posted by nacho
(Post 31050457)
Long time ago we were able to gate check a basic umbrella stroller (literally the cheap umbrella kind, very simple) at CPH - we bought those solely for flying because we couldn't gate check the more comfortable version (tried and was denied). At ARN we were told that all strollers are not allowed through security when we were there - even with the one that we got through from CPH.
We often had to ask the gate staff the whereabout of our stroller when we arrived CPH. Baggage claim for most checked-in strollers at CPH is where the oversized luggage is: a stationary platform with a gate that goes up and down. But on very rare occasions I’ve seen some strollers delivered on the moving baggage belt at CPH, but that’s very unusual for checked in strollers being claimed at CPH. I frequently saw strollers go through security for gate-checking at ARN, so I’m wondering when you had that ARN experience. |
Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 31051064)
Gate checking the stroller with SAS at CPH is generally not as much of a problem as being able to get gate delivery of strollers at CPH when flying SAS. It’s the gate-delivery with SAS at CPH where there is a more general block. Baggage claim for most checked-in strollers at CPH is where the oversized luggage is: a stationary platform with a gate that goes up and down. But on very rare occasions I’ve seen some strollers delivered on the moving baggage belt at CPH, but that’s very unusual for checked in strollers being claimed at CPH. I frequently saw strollers go through security for gate-checking at ARN, so I’m wondering when you had that ARN experience. We bought 2 cheapo 20EUR umbrella strollers from Germany and it worked for gate checking at CPH and they are sturdy and nothing happened to them (we crushed the buckle for the seat belt). We really tortured them by rolling them up on dirt path to reach a hill top castle, lifting up and down with kids in the stroller going up and down stairs......Strongly recommended if you have small kids and you travel a lot with them. At ARN and CPH the staff told us that to use their strollers - we tried to look for them and they were nowhere to be seen. My mom always says, "if you don't need it you won't find it, when you don't need it they are everywhere". I think it's pretty true because now that the kids are older we see them everywhere. |
Bumping this. Does anyone have recent experiences with gate delivery and/or gate checking of a stroller (and in particular a double stroller) at CPH?
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Originally Posted by chessman
(Post 34758196)
Bumping this. Does anyone have recent experiences with gate delivery and/or gate checking of a stroller (and in particular a double stroller) at CPH?
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
(Post 34763921)
Does the stroller collapse enough to fit through cabin baggage scanners at say the major US and European airports? With regard to such strollers, SAS@CPH allows my travel party members to gate-check such strollers at CPH. With regard to gate-delivery, SAS@CPH doesn’t do gate-delivery for strollers; and so on arrival at CPH it’s either hand/body carry or making use of the airport’s strollers or whatever else you may find if the child can’t/won’t walk.
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