southwest stroller question

[moaddi]

anyone flew southwest...i know i can check my baby's stroller at the gate before getting on the plane, but does this count as one of my 2 free checked "items". Also, can i check an umbrella stroller that we are taking for my 4 year old at the plane too? anyone have any experience with this? southwest says "for infants" and obviously a 4 year old is not an infant. just wondering how that works. I remember when she was turning 3 we just checked it at the time of boarding, but now she is 4 and....again, just wondering. thanks for any help!

 

[dmbfan]

This is a good question that I would like to know to. My son needs to be in his stroller "special needs stroller" and I know on other airlines, we brought it up to the gate and they took it from there, so it was waiting for us when we got off the plane. I plan on doing that time this time, cause Oranldo airport is to much walking for him.

I will be keeping a peek out for this one as we are flying SW for the first time.

 

[momma2kiddos]

It's the same. Just check it at the gate and it'll be waiting for you when you step off the plane. And no it doesn't count as your 2 free. You check your luggage in when you check in. You check your stroller at the gate.

 

[woodkins]

All correct. I still bring a stroller for my now 7 yr old and gate check it every time. Never had a question about if it was for an infant etc. We don't do family boarding, just board according to the group # we have on our boarding pass. It does not count as a check bag.

 

[mommyofboys]

I agree with all the PP's but the only thing I found out (once we handed them our tickets to board) was that we didn't get the tag for the gate check. I would just recommend once you get to the departing gate is to find someone to give you the tag for your stroller.

I know that I am not describing this right so if anyone else can say it better - please do so!

 

[Perditamarie]

We have gate checked 2 strollers for years w/SW without it counting against our baggage allowance...and they are pretty efficient about quickly loading/unloading them too. When you roll up to the gate, just go up to the check in desk and let them know you will be checking 2 strollers and they will tage them and give you the stub. Happy travels!

 

[moaddi]

that was easy and very helpful. when i called southwest to ask there was a 23 - 36 minute wait over the phone!

 

[arnesr]

Great question, I was wondering the same as I have never flown before and will be using SW for Disney in a few weeks. We plan on taking a single jogging stroller, thinking the bigger wheels will be easier to push around the park. The wheels on our umbrella stroller always seem to have a mind of their own and I end up fighting with it to get it to go in the direction I want. Hopefully the jogging stroller won't be too big to gate check.

 

[*Seanaci*]

Great question, I was wondering the same as I have never flown before and will be using SW for Disney in a few weeks. We plan on taking a single jogging stroller, thinking the bigger wheels will be easier to push around the park. The wheels on our umbrella stroller always seem to have a mind of their own and I end up fighting with it to get it to go in the direction I want. Hopefully the jogging stroller won't be too big to gate check.

Shouldn't have any issues gate checking the jogging stroller...so long as you fold it and lock it before hand. The only issue I foresee is getting through security with it, as it most likely won't fit on the conveyor to be x-rayed.

 

[strmtroopr96]

We have brought our Baby Jogger City Mini on our last 2 trips to WDW. We had no problems gate checking it with both Southwest and US Air or having it fit through the security scanners.

We don't even use the stroller in the airports most of the time so it is already bagged up in a travel bag which makes it seem even more bulkier and still no issues. We get a Gate Check tag right at the desk at the gate prior to boarding. HTH

 

[squirrel]

SouthWest put a tag on my stroller when I went to board. They had it sent to the connecting plane. That totally freaked me out! We had a short connection time, I waited for the stroller before heading into the airport and was told it was taken to the other plane.