anyone ever fly w/double stroller?

melpoteet

I am going to ask this here since our LOs are older and we have probably had more time to travel with them...we have a 2 yr old and newborn and bought a baby trend sit and stand double stroller.  Has anyone ever flown with a double stroller before?  I just got off the phone with american airlines and was told they do not allow you to put car seats and big strollers under with baggage when you get to the gate anymore and if the stroller was too big we would have to check it at ticketing and the carseat would have to be checked at ticketing but they would  not count against us as bags.  I was hoping to keep the stroller and carseat till we boarded to keep the kids manageable while we waited to board....

LoCarb

We checked ours in at the ticketing counter for free (not at the gate). I thought the rule was the strollers had to fit through the x-ray scan? Ours dbl is the same size as the single but longer. Do you own a baby carrier to use just in case they will not allow the stroller through to the gates?

Smithereens

Yes, I flew with a full sized double stroller in September and gate checked it, no problem. It was Air Tran.

rosesandpeonies

kcarbonell:

We checked ours in at the ticketing counter for free (not at the gate). I thought the rule was the strollers had to fit through the x-ray scan? Ours dbl is the same size as the single but longer. Do you own a baby carrier to use just in case they will not allow the stroller through to the gates?

Everything has to fit through xray, but airlines have different rules about checking at the gate.

I usually bring two umbrella strollers because someone is always with me.  or when the baby was little I used an umbrella stroller for my older daughter and the nap and go with the carseat.  I buy my girls their own seats so I need their carseats. 

Smithereens

Mine is like this one and it fit through the xray machine fine.

melpoteet

Thanks everyone for your responses.  American Airlines said they no longer allow you to gate check big strollers and car seats.  With LO#1 we flew with our baby trend jogging stroller and car seat and didnt know they had to be xrayed haha.  DH had to fold it down of course and take the wheels off but it fit through and they let us gate check it but I guess that has changed now.  The airline rep said the stroller had to be less than 20 pounds to gate check and carseats could not be gate checked regardless.  Guess we will just see what they say at ticketing.  I do have a baby carrier but it isnt in the best shape.  I was hoping to use the stroller to corral the 2yr old he will be a handful waiting to board oh well guess we will see how this goes!  Maybe if we walk him up and down the terminal he will sleep in flight.

Smithereens

Yeah I would just take it up to the gate and pretend I didn't know about that new policy. But I'm shady like that.

drpayne

melpoteet:

Thanks everyone for your responses.  American Airlines said they no longer allow you to gate check big strollers and car seats.  With LO#1 we flew with our baby trend jogging stroller and car seat and didnt know they had to be xrayed haha.  DH had to fold it down of course and take the wheels off but it fit through and they let us gate check it but I guess that has changed now.  The airline rep said the stroller had to be less than 20 pounds to gate check and carseats could not be gate checked regardless.  Guess we will just see what they say at ticketing.  I do have a baby carrier but it isnt in the best shape.  I was hoping to use the stroller to corral the 2yr old he will be a handful waiting to board oh well guess we will see how this goes!  Maybe if we walk him up and down the terminal he will sleep in flight.

 

I just flew AA and this is definitely the case... and they were strictly enforcing the rules for carry-on sizes, etc.  I bought a cheap umbrella stroller before the trip and was SO glad I had it, along with my Ergo.  The website even discouraged people from checking large strollers at all.  I wouldn't trust those people to take care of anything nice... and you never know what will happen with your itinerary.  We got stuck in that mess at DFW with the tornadoes.  We were so glad to have the stroller with us (as opposed to checking it) and all of our luggage got left out in the rain when they pulled it off of the hail-damaged plane.   If you have a consignment store near you, it's worth checking the umbrella stroller selection.  Best $10 I've spent in a long time.

cchill01

rosesandpeonies:

Everything has to fit through xray

They may say this but, it's not totally true.  Even my single stroller and car seat didn't fit through some of the scanners.  Every airport...and even security lines at the same airport have different sized x-ray belts.  If it doesn't fit, they pull it over on the side, swipe it for explosives and use the metal detector.

Personally, I will not be checking a good stroller ever again.  My Chicco Deluxe Umbrella came off of a USair flight with a bent axle. I would definitely try to gate check it, if you can.  Or consider renting/borrowing a stroller when you arrive at your destination. 

frlcb

cchill01:

rosesandpeonies:

Everything has to fit through xray

They may say this but, it's not totally true.  Even my single stroller and car seat didn't fit through some of the scanners.  Every airport...and even security lines at the same airport have different sized x-ray belts.  If it doesn't fit, they pull it over on the side, swipe it for explosives and use the metal detector.

Personally, I will not be checking a good stroller ever again.  My Chicco Deluxe Umbrella came off of a USair flight with a bent axle. I would definitely try to gate check it, if you can.  Or consider renting/borrowing a stroller when you arrive at your destination. 

Yeah, they can hand check car seats or strollers.