Logistics of flying with a stroller and a car seat

[Betty Rohrer]

I asked about the logistics. And now I know that I can gate-check both, and that if they are still spreading out passengers (no middle seat) I may be able to just bring a seat on the plane.

I am aware of the risks associated with checking and gate-checking a car seat. I am also aware that flying with a lap infant, or an infant in general, flying isn’t going to be a dreamy experience where everything is sunshine and daisies. I’m assuming you’re trying to be helpful but it’s coming off as preachy with your seemingly unpleasant personal experience driving the narrative.

renting a car seat is $70. Additional plane tickets will be $300. Buying a car seat and then trashing it (which is incredibly wasteful) at the lowest end is going to be $70. round it up and we are looking at an additional $400, which is not an insignificant amount of money.

you are asking for logistics of what you are asking. i went into the trip I am talking about with most if the same ideas as you. we were on a red eye getting in after midnight. we found a cracked carseat and no place open to buy one when we arrived. car was ready for us but no way at that point to rent a carseat. so yes it colors my ideas but I have been there and done it. my main advice to you is plan for the worst that can happen and be ready with a plan. we took that late flight hoping the baby would sleep most of way bet you can guess what happened. that is the logistics of what happened that trip not preaching to you

 

[musika]

I asked about the logistics. And now I know that I can gate-check both, and that if they are still spreading out passengers (no middle seat) I may be able to just bring a seat on the plane.

I am aware of the risks associated with checking and gate-checking a car seat. I am also aware that flying with a lap infant, or an infant in general, flying isn’t going to be a dreamy experience where everything is sunshine and daisies. I’m assuming you’re trying to be helpful but it’s coming off as preachy with your seemingly unpleasant personal experience driving the narrative.

renting a car seat is $70. Additional plane tickets will be $300. Buying a car seat and then trashing it (which is incredibly wasteful) at the lowest end is going to be $70. round it up and we are looking at an additional $400, which is not an insignificant amount of money.

Just a comment on the seat being open. Be aware that if you do end up taking a seat on the plane it will be mandatory to have baby in it during takeoff and landing. I have flown loads with both my kids as wee ones and I personally preferred having my babe in arms as they were more calm than in the seat.

 

[Rory607]

I suggested buying a cheap car seat, but I didn’t mean to trash it when you were done. When we did this, I bought an inexpensive convertible car seat with a fairly high weight limit. We used it on several trips and also used it in my mom’s car as an extra seat. We got our $50 out of it.

 

[Muskrat191]

If you gate check your car seat, have a plan in case it comes off the plane damaged and unusable.

 

[mu51c10rd]

For what it is worth, we are renting a stroller from Scooterbug who will drop it off at the resort and pick it up for us. For the amount of a WDW vacation, it was worth the extra money to not deal with a stroller on the plane. Also, for any AAA members who do a car rental, Hertz offers AAA members a carseat for free.

 

[laughinplace199]

If you can use WDW transportation, do you really need to rent a car? Seems like not renting a card would be the easiest plan.

When my kids were small, we always bought them an airline seat and brought the car seat on the plane. As another posted suggested, we purchased an inexpensive basic car seat and that became our extra seat for travel, grandma's car, etc.

While the odds are good that your gate checked items will be ok, be prepared for anything. We once gate checked a stroller (in a travel bag) and it was damaged. Usable, but damaged. That's why I was always afraid to gate check a car seat.

 

[lynzi2004]

We’ve thankfully never had any issues gate-checking a stroller or car seat. I realize we have been lucky, but I guess we would have just figured out a plan B if the need arose. As long as there are at least 2 adults there, a plan B shouldn’t be too hard. TBH though, the best part of a Disney vacation for me is the lack of car seats! After dealing daily with 3 kids in them in the summer heat, telling the kids to get on the bus and sit down is like heaven! Lol I guess my thoughts would be if you decide you need a car or don’t want to wait for a bus, the occasional Uber with a car seat or a Minnie Van if operational would be much cheaper than any of the 1. Extra plane seat, 2. Rental car, 3. Throw-away car seat. Whichever you decide, I hope you have a great trip!

 

[Shellyred8]

If your stroller's wheels are the inflatable kind, and you gate-check it, be aware that the airlines might deflate the tires a little bit for the flight. We couldn't figure out why the tires were so low while we were walking around the parks. We finally stopped at the wheel chair rental place to use their air compressor, and the CM commented that sometimes airlines will do this. Who knew????

 

[dranoto]

Because the baggage area of the plane is not pressurized so the tires will pop if they aren't deflated.

 

[DonaldEsquire]

We've purchased a Cosco Scenera Next car seat for air travel. It meets all safety standards, it's very light weight for hauling through the airport, easy to install in rental cars, and it cost us less than $40 on sale (and it's Minnie Mouse). Our regular car seat is too heavy for lugging around, and was expensive, so we don't want to entrust it to airlines. If this one gets broken by the airline we could just buy a new one (and the airline will put up less of a fight on a $40 claim than a $300 claim). Before our kid turned two we checked it with the luggage so we don't have to get it through security. Now she sits in it on the plane, as it is FAA approved for cabin use.

 

[barb969]

Did you know that SWA offers infant fares for kids under 2? If you search their website for infant fares and poke around a bit you can find info. Or call and ask. 1-800-iflyswa. I have no idea how much you could save. Personally I would not put my baby at risk flying as a lap baby.