Traveling with Infants

[chris8091]

The more I think about traveling, the more things I think I need.

I have a question about flying with a 1 year old (and stroller and carseat). We have the car seat cover to keep it from getting messed up and make it easier to transport through the airport. How about a stroller cover? Do I need it? If so can you recommend a good one?

We have a Peg Perego Aria (so the umbrella stroller covers will not fit).

Any help or tips are appreciated.

Chris

 

[Villainess]

I took my Peg Perego Pliko last May w/ DD, then 7 mos. I did not bring a carseat. I was able to push it up to the entrance of the plane and when we arrived in Orlando it was waiting for us outside the plane. I didn't have a cover for it and it wasn't dirty, torn or abused in any way. This trip in April, I will be bringing my Valco twin stroller (no car seats - using Magical Express) and won't have a cover for that either.

 

[sbdw]

We've travelled twice with our DD when she was 3 and 6 months. Both times we checked our car seat with a car seat bag (highly recommend) and both times we gate checked the stroller. They gave us a gate check tag before we boarded and when we got to the place just collapsed it and put it by the door. On the first flight it was there when we got out (a member of flight personel was there to check our slips) and on the second flight we did have to wait a couple of minutes but not a while.

 

[Not so Dumbo]

we've never flown with a car seat before. Can I gate check it or bring it on as a carry on?

 

[sbdw]

I don't think you can gate check it. You can check it with the regular baggage or if you paid for a seat put it in the plane.

 

[JAM3]

Most airlines will let you gate check a car seat actually. You can bring the car seat with you, ask at the desk for your gate if there are any empty seats on the plane. If there are, they will let you use the car seat on the plane, otherwise they will gate check it for you. If you want to ensure that you will be able to use the car seat on the plane, you will need to purchase a seat for your infant as well. It is recommend you purchase a seat, as infants are the only thing not required to be belted down during take off and landing!

 

[PrincessPoohsMom]

You can gate check car seats (if you haven't purchased a seat to put them in) and strollers. For the stroller, we've never had a bag/cover for it and it's survived just fine. It's a good idea, however, remove anything that could potentially break off with rough handling. For example, we have a Combi Torino that has a parent cup holder attached just under the handlebar. We always take it off (put it in the checked luggage) and turn the handlebar under as far as it will go before gate checking, just to make everything more sturdy and compact. Also always fold up your stroller when leaving it at the plane's door! Leaving it open means the baggage handlers will collapse it, any way they can.

I do suggest that you bring a rain cover for your stroller. There's nothing worse than coming out of an attraction to find your stroller has been soaked by one of those lovely FL cloudbursts!

 

[Ella's Mom]

The first time I checked my Peg Perego Pliko without a cover, two things broke on it. One of the controls to adjust the footrest cracked and broke. One side of the footrest won't stay up now. A cover to adjust the handle height fell off making it hard to adjust the handles. Another time a clip from the reclining mechanism fell off. One side reclines more than the other. Another time the stroller came back all beat up. I forgot to take off the tray and it has serious scratches and gashes. The stroller must have been thrown around quite a bit. I still check mine without a cover but it is already beat up. I'm looking to purchase a new stroller. I would never check an expensive stroller without a cover again. I'd hate for anyone else's stroller to get abused like ours. You've invested too much in your stroller and who wants to have a broken stroller when you arrive at your destination. My advice - find a cover.

 

[nemomama]

I highly recommend you get a stroller travel bag. I've had multiple instances where my stroller his been damaged from being gate checked without a bag and I'll never gate check a stroller I care about unless it's in a bag anymore.

 

[peemagg]

I looked on Ebay and found these inexpensive bags for strollers. They were big enough that we could actually store 2 of our 3 strollers in one bag. It is meant for both single and double strollers. Our bag got damaged but not our strollers. It worked great. Hint: fold up stroller and put it in the bag before they do the boarding call. Then place the gate check tag on the handle of the bag.

We traveled with 3 car seats also. We used them on the plane. We tried to board early with them, but was not allowed. My suggestion is to have one person go ahead with the car seat and some of the carry-ons and then the person with the baby come a bit later. That way hopefully the car seat will already have been installed and ready for baby. It is a stressful situation if you are blocking everyone because of the car seat (speaking from experience).

 

[chris8091]

Thanks for all the great suggestions and feedback. They will definitely help when we fly.

Chris

 

[TaraZ]

I have a Go Go Kidz travelmate for my DD's carseat. Basically, it is a set of wheels that turns the carseat into a temporary stroller (I just use it in the airport), I always buy her a ticket, so I take the carseat on the plane and install it in her seat. As for the stroller, when we bring it, I gate check it (I have a "travel" stroller-- an Inglesina Swift that I use instead of my big Bugaboo).

 

[Minniemouse07]

We use a Samsonite Micro Mover to roll our car seat through the airport (a large Britax seat!) and have gate checked our Peg Aria for six different flights w/o a bag...no problems.

We haven't checked the car seat, but if I absolutely had to check it, I would opt for gate checking over regular checking. Gate checking has it going on to the plane last and getting off first. You have a much better chance of it actually arriving at your destination at the same time you do, and it has less chance of getting damaged.

That all said, I'm all for using the car seat on the plane. DD flew five of her six flights in one (the last one she was 6.5yo so no car seat) and ds just flew for his first time in one (he turned 2yo during our trip). It really does cut down on the squirming and if you are lucky, your child is like my dd and SLEEPS the entire trip. Not ds though. He was okay, but at 2yo we had to stay on our toes and keep him occupied!

Good Luck!