Traveling with a Stroller

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 12:45 pm

I have found that it sometimes takes a very, very long time for the strollers to come out after the plane lands. This time can make a huge difference and can mean missing a connection or several connections. BTDT. I'm traveling soon w/ a one yr. old and am wondering what to do.

Do you think an umbrella stroller will help? Will they put it on the actual plane? It will be a little bit pricey b/c I would likely have to buy one in Israel. Unless I find one that someone isn't using.

Do you think I should just baby-wear and skip the stroller all together? I could try to borrow a stroller or buy a cheap umbrella stroller (I do not currently own one.), when I get to my destination. FTR, I don't have so much experience baby wearing. My baby is not used to it at all.

Or should I just take my regular stroller and daven for the best?

pesek zman

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 12:55 pm

Oops. Just saw that you wrote he's 1. That's old (in that he's already quite mobile) to start wearing him (plus since there hasn't been a progression in his weight (with you wearing him consistently since she was young) may not be comfortable for you (especially potentially long airport distances) I do not think you Should forgo the stroller. How long so you have between connections?

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 1:40 pm

pesek zman wrote:

He's going to be (way!!) too big for a bassinet! It's only good till 6 months and even that's a squeeze

Have you seen the ones on the planes? I think they're big. Not like a regular one. They're for up to 27 lbs. If they're the right size, they're probably good for sleeping.

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 3:17 pm

[quote="pesek zman"]Yes of course! My baby (3 months) at the time flew in a bassinet from NY to greece. She didn't love it and hardly slept in it and I ended up wearing her. But I'm pretty sure (delta at least) rules were that they were only good for 6 months. Possible different airlines are different[/quote

I googled for pictures and I think you're right. It does look small. My baby is tall, so even less likely to be comfortable. They do give these little chairs that they stick on, but not sure how helpful that will be with a one year old. All they want to do is crawl or walk around.

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 3:20 pm

kb wrote:

I would take a stroller
Better yet, I'd take a travel system (car seat connected to stroller frame) so that if there's an extra seat on the plane they'll give it to your baby's car seat... so you don't have to hold him the whole flight.

I currently have a stroller and a carseat. They're not a travel system. An adapter was an addition $60.00 IIRC and considering I hardly use my carseat, I didn't invest in one. I would have to stick the carseat in the strollers basket. I have done this, but it is rather clunky. The newest development is that it seems like I'm going to be renting a car which means I need my own carseat. Now, I better check that my baby fits in the carseat. It has a high weight limit, but my baby is tall.

amother

Mustard

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 3:32 pm

We flew internationally with a 13 MO lately. They won't let you bring a stroller or car seat into the plane- Youd have to check it in before you enter the air plain. And then - yes, wait for it after . It did take us very long to get it;(
What I suggest is that you either buy a stroller (cheap) when you arrive OR check the stroller in as a suitcase - this way you'll get it with the rest of your suitcases ( assuming you have ones).

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 3:39 pm

amother wrote:

I'm going to have luggage at my destination. I just have 2 stopovers. You're saying check it all the way to the destination? Will they charge me like it's a bag? (Come to think of it, I might have an extra suitcase on the way there. That might be a good idea. It's just going to be hard in the airport. Although, lately my baby has not been liking the stroller very much and I end up carrying her. Not sure if the airport will be different. It might really not be such a big deal to leave the stroller behind. But, then we have to figure out what to do carseat wise.

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 3:45 pm

alittlebirdie wrote:

Not all airlines give the stroller by a stopover. I had a bad experience in an Italian airport traveling alone with 6 kids they didn't give me my stroller till we got to america. I had to carry a baby while holding little kid hnds through the huge airport to get to my connecting flight

Oy! I've never had that. They usually gate check it. I just have had to wait a long time for the stroller to come back and missed my connection which made me miss my next connection which made me stranded overnight. (Now, I am really glad I'm anon b/c people know my story.) Luckily, I knew people in that city and b"H was rescued.

No, I'd need to use the carrier. Carrying my baby for more than five minutes wipes me out.

amother

Mustard

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 4:05 pm

amother wrote:

Yup that's what I meant . Check it in as a suitcase or even inside a suitcase.

Do you ive in Israel? I might have an old unbrella stroller I don't need - use it for the airport and throw out when u check in.
Or take a carrier for the airport ...

Smile1234

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 4:17 pm

Amother oak - I'm sure there are countless people with the same story! Smile

OP - how long is your stopover and in what airport?
That would make a difference to the answer

I've had times that I my stroller was waiting for me when I got off the plane, and other times I had to wait. Bh never missed a connection because of it. I've had short stopovers in London and Switzerland.

amother

Oak

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 4:31 pm

Smile1234 wrote:

Amother oak - I'm sure there are countless people with the same story! Smile

About your first point, I hope there aren't countless amounts of people with this type of story. (We were also stuck in London for a number of hours and even though we got vouchers, there was almost nothing that had a Kosher certification. On the next leg of the flight, we didn't have any meals ordered for us.) We met a lovely Lubavitch couple who gave us a lot of their "extra" food (some of it was veges they couldn't take either way and couldn't eat, so they said). Mi kiamcha yisroel! Although, this time, I plan on packing tons of food in case something happens and just to keep my baby fed and occupied.

I think my shortest stopover is 1 hr. and 10 mins. and it's in London. The next stop there's more time and I think travel agent said it's the same terminal.

Amother who mentioned the stroller, thank you for your generous offer. The problem is that we're both anonymous. Either way, I really think the idea of checking in the stroller as a piece of luggage is fabulous. Unless we get delayed, the layover is short. I think I can handle using a baby carrier. The baby can probably crawl around on the floor by the gate. Do you think that's a problem? Will people look at me strangely? Hygienically, do they clean the floors often. (I"m not a clean freak, but very public places make me nervous.)

Smile1234

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 4:39 pm

I flew through London a few months ago, and my sil did a few months before that, and both of us were told in Israel that unless your stroller folds like a pen/umbrella (ie not like a city mini or any such stroller which is wide when folded) they tag it straight to your destination BECAUSE.....(get ready for this) they need to bring the strollers up from the plane in an elevator and the door of the elevator is very narrow, so those wide folded strollers dont fit through, and most end up getting lost.

They lost my SIL's stroller on the way from Canada to London to Israel (likely in London)...

So based on that experience we told them to tag the stroller to NY instead of LHR for fear of losing it. My ds is 2 though, very different than a 13 month old. He was for the most part happy to walk through the airport bh.

What was really interesting was that on our return trip from JFK to TLV they didn't even mention the idea of not getting our stroller on the stopover, and lo and behold we got it! It fit thru the elevator door just fine! So go figure... (and it was our 2nd time flying through London, the first time we got it both ways)... in Toronto they did not mention it to SIL either but her's didn't come through...

So even if you end up planning to retrieve your stroller in London, you may not get it back ever! (They did pay for my SIL to buy a brand new one....eventually.)

miami85

Tue, Jun 30 2015, 7:03 pm

My personal recommendation might be to travel with as cheap a stroller as possible or get insurance--through credit card or 3rd party. I traveled domestically in the U.S. and the airline broke my expensive modular stroller--not just bent, but piece broke off-- and wouldn't take ANY responsibility for it (though it was pretty obvious it was due to their carelessness) claiming that strollers are "fragile items"--luckily through my credit card I got a brand new stroller. 1 yr old would be fine in an umbrella stroller--and they are a good investment b/c you can get a lot of use out of it now that your baby is older--good for a quick walk instead of a big bulky stroller. I loved the days when my kids just needed an umbrella stroller. They may be able to stick it into the coat closet on the plane.