Car Seats- check or gate check?

[cpicco]

We'll be taking our car seats with us since Jet Blue allows each child to check it for free and it's $12 each per day to rent with our car rental. (We're not using them on the plane, I doubt DS3 would fit anyway as it's wide.) Anyhow, what are your experiences of gate checking vs. checking with the luggage as to the condition you get it back in? I am planning on getting a carry bag for each of them. hoping to put the stroller in with one of them too.

Thoughts??

 

[mom2aredhead]

My experience has been on Continental, not Jet Blue, but I have always gate checked the car seat and stroller and have never had a problem. Neither one counted as a checked item that required payment.
I've always used a large clear garbage bag to protect the carseat, and crossed my fingers about the stroller being OK, but like I said, no problems.
It's kind of a pain to lug them through the airport and put through the metal detectors though...

 

[v.t.]

We have done it both ways and never had any problems. If you have them in bags they should be fine going through luggage. It is hard to carry the car seats through the airport with kids. But I would gate check the stroller. (We often used ours to carry the luggage instead of the kids.) We also get there early to request bulkhead seatings. That way the kids have so much more room. We would even put a blanket down so they could play.

 

[cpicco]

Man, I hope they fit through the metal detectors! Didn't think of that.

I plan on lugging them on the stroller, as neither child really needs it for the airport. It's more for when they get tired at Disney.

My experience has been on Continental, not Jet Blue, but I have always gate checked the car seat and stroller and have never had a problem. Neither one counted as a checked item that required payment.
I've always used a large clear garbage bag to protect the carseat, and crossed my fingers about the stroller being OK, but like I said, no problems.
It's kind of a pain to lug them through the airport and put through the metal detectors though...

 

[phins_jazy]

I say gate check em too. That way they hopefully won't get jostled around as much as if they were put in with the regular luggage.

 

[cpicco]

That's what I was hoping!

I say gate check em too. That way they hopefully won't get jostled around as much as if they were put in with the regular luggage.

 

[scrapquilter]

I've done both. The main advantage of checking the seat is that you don't have to lug it thru the airport. The advantage of gate check is that it is probably somewhat less prone to getting damaged. Six of one, half dozen of the other....

 

[arol25]

I just came back from Disney and luggage checked the carseat. I could not carry that around the airport. They provided a plastic covering and it was fine both times.

 

[fussymonkey]

What airline did you fly? I'm wondering if its standard that ther airline would provide a cover or if that's extraordinary.

 

[MarriedToAPrince]

ALWAYS gate check your car seat to avoid damaging it when they throw around the luggage.

 

[arol25]

I flew Continental.

 

[NotUrsula]

Ever see Toy Story 2? That bag room scene is not all that far from reality.

If you would replace your carseat after a fender-bender, then you really should not send it through the checked baggage system in a major airport. Not only will it get dropped several times, but it might easily end up stacked beneath several tons of other baggage.

 

[brergnat]

Check it with the luggage.

They check carseats SEPARATELY from all the suitcases. They get taken over to the "oversize" area, and sometimes have to be separately inspected by TSA as well. We just flew, and we checked a carseat on both legs of the flight. Southwest provided a clear plastic bag that TIED tight to protect the carseat, and then it was carried over to the oversize area. I doubt that it was "thrown around". It's in a CLEAR bag...they know it's a carseat.

And actually, we sat in the back of the plane and were able to watch them load the luggage from the trucks. We never even saw our carseat (which sort of made me panic), although we DID see our suitcases on the belt into the plane, so I think they load them into another area of the plane altogether.