Gate checking a stroller

[MommyBryn]

Can you gate check a stroller in a bag? I want to do as much as possible to keep our stroller from getting broken on the flight (it won't be "brand" new at the time, it'll be about a year old, but money doesn't grow on trees...). Will putting it in a bag help much? If we put ours in a bag, we'd probably have to remove a set of wheels or something since the model is slightly larger than the standard stroller, so we probably wouldn't get much use out of it in between flights, but if it'll help keep it from a bit of damage, I'd still do it...even if it means lugging it around the airport in that bag. :lol:

 

[lovesdumbo]

I have flown with a Peg Perego Pliko twice in a bag made for it. I had read a couple of reports here about damage to the stroller cover. I never had any damage to the Peg Perego. It did seem to be the LAST stroller off the plane.

I have also flown with a MacLaren double stroller 1 time and a single maclaren stroller at least 4 times and they were never in bags and the single did have a few scuffs but no real damage.

 

[graygables]

I've never gate checked one in a bag before. They unload and unfold the strollers at the destination, so I don't know how they'd handle the bag. I've travelled with strollers for 20 years and have never had a problem w/ damage gate checking.

 

[sharibrat]

We gate checked our carseat in a bag one time. It was supposed to be treated just like the strollers.......waiting for us as we got off the plane. Since it was in a bag, they didn't know what it was and treated it like luggage. It ended up in the baggage claim area.

It took them a while to tell us where it was. When they could not 'find' it with the strollers, we assumed it never made it on the plane and were panicing - we landed in Miami and our destination included a 3 hour drive to Key West........with no car seat! Then they figured out where it was.

Moral of the story.......if you use I bag I would CLEARLY and LARGELY mark on the outside "Gate Check" or "Stroller".

 

[Shelebeen]

If you are going to lug it around the airport in a bag, why not check it. Gate checking it basically only means it will be closer to the outside of the luggage compartment and that they will bring it up when the flight is done as opposed to putting it on the turnstile.

We have gate checked our strollers many times, we have also put them in a bag and checked them as luggage.. never had any problems... I do have to say I like having the stroller when we are on a flight with a change or layover, much easier then hauling a child, a carseat and my bags around. Also, for direct flights, you don't have to carry the tired child to the terminal alone with the car seats, etc... I like it!

 

[cinderella_mom]

I've gate-checked strollers, though not in a bag, and never had a problem. I checked my carseat in a bag. I wrapped a blanket around it so it would have a buffer(suggested by the airline), put it in the bag and also, no problems.

 

[MommyBryn]

If you are going to lug it around the airport in a bag, why not check it. Gate checking it basically only means it will be closer to the outside of the luggage compartment and that they will bring it up when the flight is done as opposed to putting it on the turnstile.

Because I've read on these boards that damage is more likely to happen when checking rather than gate checking. I just want to do my best to get to and from WDW with my stroller still in decent, working condition.

 

[Disneyfriend]

I have flown with a Peg Perego Pliko twice in a bag made for it. I had read a couple of reports here about damage to the stroller cover. I never had any damage to the Peg Perego.

Ditto. We just did 5 separate flight segments this way in May, and our brand-new P3 came out just fine. We would just store the bag in the stroller basket until right before we boarded the plane, then put the stroller in the bag and gate checked it. Worked great!

Disneyfriend

 

[las3888]

We have checked our Combi 3x now with the bag that comes with it. We use a carseat onboard the flight so we use the stroller all throughout the airport. We buckle the bag in the carseat straps so it isn't an extra item to carry. When we get to our gate and think we are done with the stroller, we fold it up and put it in the bag. We get the gate bag tag from the gate agents. A few times we were able to walk it down the ramp before getting on so we wouldn't have to lug it down the ramp getting on the plane.

We have received our stroller along with the other strollers just fine. I have never seen other strollers set up as others have posted. The ones I see when getting off the plane are still folded up (these strollers all work in a million different ways...I have a hard enough time figuring out how to do mine let alone a foreign stroller).

We are travelling in August with a different stroller thus without a bag. I hope it does okay. I think they generally are handled well enough, but there is no guarantee against damage and it does happen.

Good luck!

 

[karenTX]

We're doing the same thing with our Mac. I'm going to use it in the airport then put it into a padded umbrella stroller bag I bought before I gate check it. I am also using a neon fabric paint on the bag to write "Stoller" down all the sides so it doesn't get mixed up with golf clubs or something. I am too scared that it'll get messed up if I don't protect it a little by putting it in the bag.