Strollers
 

I will be taking my daughter on her first trip to Orlando next month, and I have never taken a stroller into a plane.

How is the security process? Or should I just check it with the luggage?

Should I bring in the big 4x4 off-road stroller, or a small umbrella stroller will do?

What are your experiences?

We usually take the umbrella stroller and leave the big one behind. Makes it easier to handle since you're dealing with luggage as well, and it folds quite neatly to go through the x-ray machine.

99% of our flights with strollers, we've never had a problem. Stoller gets tagged for gate delivery and someone from the airline takes it at the door to the plane, and you get it back at the same spot on the other side. The small umbrella stroller has even fit in the overhead bin without a problem.

1% of the time, flying on MH fomr KUL to LHR the check-in agent at the counter refused to allow us to gate-check the stroller sinde they claimed that it was impossible to do such a thing, despite the fact that we'd done it many times before on MH. They were very clearly wrong, so if you ever get an agent that insistis it must go as checked baggage from the start make sure you get a supervisor involved to clear it up.

Since then I always make sure to double check the airline website and print out a copy of their official policies regarding small children.

I have a girlfriend who travels often with her kids and she bought a second hand stroller just for this purpose. It is decent and reliable, but nothing fancy and she calls it her "Air Canada Stroller". The theory is that when they trash it she wont care, because even if you gate check the stroller takes a fair bit of abuse.

We don't travel that often with our kids so we just use our regular stroller and expect some more scuff marks etc..

Take the umbrella stroller - it'll be easier all around. We did the most traveling with an $11 Walmart stroller and found it much easier to fit just about everywhere - in the rental car trunk, in the hotel room, and it even folded small enough to go through x-ray at the airport, which saved a lot time over the occasions when the bigger stroller had to be hand searched and wanded.

And amazingly enough, we saw hundreds of that same Walmart stroller at just about every kid-friendly place we took it. ;)

Really, it's personal preference. If traveling as a family (i.e. with two adults) we used to bring the big stroller. If traveling solo with a kid, umbrella stroller it was. When you get to security, the umbrella type is definitely easier to fold up and send through the X-Ray machine. Then, when you get to the gate make sure to get a gate check tag and also don't forget to put your own baggage tag to identify this as your stroller. When you get to the door of the airplane, fold it up, leave it there, and say a little prayer it appears when you get off the plane. Good luck!

I agree with the votes for the umbrella stroller - it just makes the entire transit process so much easier, from security to gate-checking. Since your destination is MCO, I assume that you're just going to be doing theme park or city things, where you won't need the big stroller anyway.

Cheers and have a good trip!

Who ever needs a big stroller? I use the light weight Combi stroller that folds up like an umbrella. It is sturdy yet now too bulky for going through crowds. Much better than the cheap foldable strollers.

Yikes! My wife is taking our 7mo old on his first plane trip to see his grandma this weekend.

She's planning to take the entire 'travel system'. That is, the big stroller along with the infant carrier, as well as a car base. It's a Graco Quattro Pro Snugride something or other.

She's hoping to gate check both the carrier and stroller but is not sure if Southwest will let her.

I'm concerned about the whole idea:
1. is she going to be hassled at some point?
2. is the stroller going to be damaged (or the infant carrier if she can't gate check it)?

Is this a bad idea? Suggestions?

I would get a seat for the carrier. Well, I mean, I would get a seat for the baby. LOL Just my thing though, if it's a short flight YMMV of course.

I never gate checked a carrier (I assume you mean like a bucket seat thingy?) Personally, I would check it in a protective bag if I wasn't using it to actually transport the baby in a seat on the plane, but only because you don't know what happens to it when it's gate checked, and with my babe, I was a bit of a germaphobe when it came to her things.

Are you accompanying your family on this trip? Two adults will make it easier to deal with all of this, of course.

Doh! I just did a search and realized similar questions have been asked and answered. Oops.

In any event, thanks for the response. It's a short flight (DFW-MSY) and no, unfortunately, I am not going with (tough timing for work) and so I am that much more paranoid that something will go wrong (my wife doesn't seem to be worried much). Since it is a short flight, we did not buy the extra seat. Even if we had, I'm not certain that the infant carrier would have fit in the seat.

And I agree about the protective bag. I'm going to try find a large duffle bag or get the car seat bag from BabiesRUs.

I've flown three times with my 10 month old, twice by myself. I don't have an umbrella stroller yet, but my regular (not huge) stroller was no big deal. Gate checked all three times. Going through security was a little bit of a pain, but people are very understanding.

dgbretz, I took our Snugride on all three trips and gate checked it without difficulty (in addition to the stroller). Only once did I get a protective bag, and that was just the clear plastic one from the airline. I got the bag that time since the weather was rainy and I didn't want the carseat to get wet if it sat on the tarmac for any amount of time before getting put in the cargo hold. The plastic bag worked great! None of my trips were on Southwest, but they are supposed to be very family friendly, so I can't imagine them hassling your wife at all. Just make sure she gets the gate check tags from the gate agent before boarding. I haven't noticed any damage to the stroller or the car seat from gate checking.

Also, just an FYI, you don't have to take the base to use the Snugride. That's actually one of the reasons we got the Snugride. It installs VERY easily without the base, and it's way, way less hassle not to have to haul the base around on your trip. It's no less safe using it without the base, and the install is very quick and easy after doing it once or twice.

I wish our first stroller purchase had not been an eight hundred pound behemoth with all the bells and whistles.

We used a frame with our car seat for a while. Since we had to take the car seat anyway, it was a pretty good choice.

Now we rely upon a Maclaren Volo. Wish we had bought it from the outset.

Gate checking is great.

Ditto on the snugride. We have one and brought just it (not the base,
and we brought a cheap umbrella stroller as well). We did not use it on
the plane, but regular-checked it.

We put the seat in two laundry bags - the first layer is fluffy and would
prevent nicks. The 2nd laundry bag was more water-proof but thinner,
and would prevent water/etc. damage. It came through in perfect shape
and germ-free enough to satisfy me, the neurotic mom.

If your wife is going solo with the baby, I recommend some version of
this plan (check the seat; bring as small a stroller as possible). She can
also use a baby-carrier like Bjorn or a sling for walking around the airport.

--LG

JMHO, but I would NOT check the carseat unless you have no other choice. By doing so, you run the risk of the airline losing your luggage, and suddenly you have to find a rental seat or borrow one from the airline at your destination, which I definitely would not want to do. Who knows what kind of seat you may end up with or what shape it may be in? Not to mention the hassle of the ordeal! Of course, there is still the possibility that your seat could get lost/damaged by gate checking, but I think the likelihood is significantly less. Keep your seat with you as long as you can, and if your flight isn't full, you may even be able to take it on board with you.

Just in case your stroller goes astray....
Tape a business card(s) to the stroller so it can be found if all the tags fall off. This worked for me when the stroller went to MIA and we went to YVR on UA. It reappeared 12 days later in YVR where I got a call from AC about it.

Most airlines can find a loaner stroller for you if the stroller doesn't appear at your destination. UA had to borrow one from AS for us, but they did. Just be polite but insistent.