Stroller and flying questions

[jasmine206]

We are going to WDW next month with our 3 month old. We bought him a seat and will be flying with him in his care seat and having the airline stow the stroller portion underneath. This makes me really nervous as it is one of those combo car seat strollers, and I really don't want it to be damaged. We stowed umbrella strollers on our first trip with our girls, but didn't really care tha much about them because they are so cheap. Has anyone had any recent experiences doing this? We are flying a Delta express regional jet and then a bigger one to MCO. Should I call Delta for their policy? Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[BevS97]

I have flown with my stroller lots of times, you take the stroller right up to the gate of the aircraft and they take it down to the hold and stow it, then they will bring it back up for you to use in the connecting airport, and again back up to the door of the plane when you arrive.

It should be fine, but if there's a problem I would speak to the airline about compensation, I have had one damaged stroller in approx 20 flights and I was compensated immediately for the full price of the stroller, but that may depend on the airline?

Bev

 

[jasmine206]

Thanks Bev! That puts my mind at ease. I'll probably call Delta to see what their policy is for damages. Thanks again!

 

[cheeringmom]

it was damaged by a DTD bus. They stored it underneath in the storage bin and apparently threw a whole bunch of other strollers etc on top. Whe we got it off the bus, the wheel was all bent up. We tried to fix it by bending it back into place and only held for 1/2 a day. Then the wheel fell off. We just stuck it by the trash at MK. Rented a stroller for the remainder.

 

[NotUrsula]

There are two simple things you can do to help prevent damage to it:

1) before going to the airport, remove the hood and any toy bars, extra gadgets, etc. Put those things in one of your checked bags.

2. On the ramp, after you have folded it, secure it shut with a luggage strap. Most damage to gate-checked strollers happens because they open during handling, and the bag handlers just cram them shut again rather than take the time to figure out how to properly refold them.

Also something to consider: If you are going to wrap a bungy around it, you might bring a piece of plastic to wrap around under the bungy to protect the upholstery from staining. Aircraft holds are often quite dirty. I fly often enough that I made a rip-stop sleeve to go around ours. It has velcro on the ends to secure it tightly around the upholstered parts of the stroller.