Flying with a stroller

PBear93 · September 2012

I am going to be flying in early October with LO and I think I am going to be bringing our stroller with us. I will be borrowing a car seat from a friend when we get there (she is picking us up from the airport--and yes, I trust that is was never in an accident and it isn't expired. Do I need a bag to put the stroller in? I am planning on bringing the stroller from our travel system because I would hate for our City Mini to get damaged.

I would just not bring the stroller, but I think between a duffel bag, laptop bag, and diaper bag, I won't have enough hands for LO, even if I wear her.

wawa84 · September 2012

I flew with DS last month and brought our stroller. On the way to our destination I gate checked the stroller, and on the way home I just checked it with our bags. I did not put it in a bag on either part of our trip. If you want to put your stroller in a bag to lessen the chance of it getting dirty, that is up to you, but it isn't required and I wouldn't really worry about it.

janecanadian · September 2012

It will likely be gate checked and generally the risk of damage wouldn't be as significant as it would if the stroller had gone through the baggage sorter, but they still really toss those strollers around! I have a city mini and if I were flying with it I would pop it in a bag just before I let them take it away.

1026pumpkin · September 2012

If you're gate-checking and aren't super-concerned about your stroller, I'd skip the bag since it's one more thing to have to worry about as you're getting on the plane, and sometimes the gate-check people don't realize it's a stroller and unpack it with the gate check items if it's in a bag.

That said, I would definitly put it in something if you're going to check it at the counter- those items get tossed around and abused. If you're concerned about damage, I'd also consider the bag. The first time we travelled with LO, his car seat got a nasty scratch in the plastic from gate check, and my friend's Graco travel system stroller had the wheels messed up from gate check. Ever since the car seat episode, we've been bagging our car seat, and it almost always comes out with the gate-checked stuff.

Last but not least- if your main reason for bring it is to have extra hands, consider using a rolley-bag, and use luggage straps to attach the diaper bag, and slide your computer bag over the handles, and wear LO. Then you won't need to wrestle with the strolleer when boarding/deboarding.

aubreyalise · September 2012

we brought our city mini and threw it in a black trash bag when we gate checked it. gate checked items still get pretty beat up, so i was glad to have the bag. it wasn't the most attractive sight, but much cheater than an actual stroller bag, and really easy to get on/off.

GirlWithTheMostCake · September 2012

i'd say take the city mini and get the travel bag. it's worth it.

chulita425 · September 2012

I've flown with our Britax B-Ready a bunch of times and always have a bag. The first time I flew I didn't have a bag because it was a last minute flight and it got a scratch on the side. HUGE bummer since it was one of the first times I had used it. I also use a bag for the car seat. I'm always glad I have the bags because they always come back SO dirty and a few times they've even been wet, I definitely don't want a wet car seat!

ETA: I always gate check them.

gimmietimmies · September 2012

GirlWithTheMostCake:
i'd say take the city mini and get the travel bag. it's worth it.

I totally agree.

MouseInLux · September 2012

If we bring our stroller on a trip (only to very hot climates) we check it with our bags just as it is and we've never had anything happen to it and we've flown internationally with it a few times. We find wearing DD through the airport much easier than pushing stroller around, especially for security.

wannabigfam · September 2012

They will be rough w/ your stroller and it is likely that it will get dirty if it's not in a bag. Personally, I don't like risking the airline damaging our nice strollers. I bought a gently used Chicco umbrella stroller (nicer than those TINY & SHORT umbrella strollers, but still small to fold up and only like $60.00 used) to use when I fly. The size is perfect, it came with a bag which I put it in when I gate check it, and I won't mind if it gets torn up b/c it wasn't all that expensive.

When I fly I wear my little guy, but it is nice to have the stroller to dump our stuff in and push it around the airport :-) However the last time I flew, I did skip the stroller to have one less thing to worry about (but we take our Britax convertible car seat so we're dragging that around the airport too)

drpayne · September 2012

wannabigfam:
They will be rough w/ your stroller and it is likely that it will get dirty if it's not in a bag. Personally, I don't like risking the airline damaging our nice strollers. I bought a gently used Chicco umbrella stroller (nicer than those TINY & SHORT umbrella strollers, but still small to fold up and only like $60.00 used) to use when I fly. The size is perfect, it came with a bag which I put it in when I gate check it, and I won't mind if it gets torn up b/c it wasn't all that expensive.
When I fly I wear my little guy, but it is nice to have the stroller to dump our stuff in and push it around the airport :-) However the last time I flew, I did skip the stroller to have one less thing to worry about (but we take our Britax convertible car seat so we're dragging that around the airport too)

This exactly. I think I got our umbrella stroller for $20 on consignment - we were SO glad we had it. You REALLY need to check with your specific airline. I flew AA several months ago and they will only gate-check strollers that weigh less than 20 lbs. They were being really strict about it. There is no way I'd trust an airline with a $200+, checked or gate-checked.

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