Flying with a stroller/pram

We have flown BA with a baby a few times in the past year and the first two times we were told to bring the Umbrella stroller up to the gate and the flight attendants would decide if there was space to be brought onto the plane.  3 out of 4 legs were were one of a few families and as we got our stroller taken on no problem. We were also the first ones at the gate and ready to board.  On the 4th flight there were like 10 families and they took the first two umbrella strollers and the rest of ours went into the hold.  It came out on the luggage carousel.  

The last flight we took was in late August and we were told at check in that they no longer were taking any prams on board.  And true to their word, they took all prams at the gate and checked them.  It came out at baggage claim.  Ours hasn't been damaged in 5 flights, but it does get really dirty.  Ours is also an umbrella.  I have never seen them take something the size of the iCandy on board.  The only place they have to store them is a coat closet on board, so I think yours would just be too big.  

If you need to have the stroller on the other end, I would look to find a duffle bag to check it in and just use the baby Bjorn for the airport/flight.  If you can borrow a stroller/carseat on the other end from a friend, I wouldn't bother bringing it at all. Good luck...The preparation for flying with an infant is far worse than the actual experience.  It always works out in the end and the BA staff are very helpful.

To Geeta - You shouldn't have to buy a separate seat.  It cost us 10% of the adult fare plus taxes.  Good news, if you use points to upgrade, it shouldn't cost anymore points for baby.  

I have a Mamma's & Papa's Pulse pushchair and we've taken it on 6 flights total over 2 1/2 years and have always taken it up to the door of the aircraft with a gate check tag on it. Then the staff have put it in the hold and when we get off the aircraft the puschair is waiting just outside the door of the plane. This has been with United exclusively. It's been dusty once but that was on a small commuter plane, a not the big jets and has never come out the luggage carosel. Never damaged once.

I'm not sure I'd trust anything beyond a general umbrella stroller on an airplane.Besides that, I can't imagine dealing with something so cumbersome going through security.

FWIW, we've flown a number of times with our Maclaren Quest (gate-checked it every time) and the thing is as strong as an ox.  We've never had issues. I'd probably be a bit more leery of bringing on a larger stroller.

We flew twice when DS was still very little and I found it much easier to leave the stroller behind and just put him in the Baby Bjorn and carry him that way. You can't beat hands-free when you're traveling!

BA will determine at the time of the flight if they will put it on the plane or not. We generally have good luck with them doing so, but a few times we have had them take it and we can't pick it up until baggage claim.

A lap child on an international flight is charged 10% of the adult fare.

We always travel with a wrap or carrier, even with a stroller, and it helps. We are flying BA on Saturday and my 2.5 year old doesn't want to go in a carrier for the first time ever and I am a little bit freaking out about it!

With my Bugaboo, I use it either with a car seat, in which case I took the car seat on the plane (someone took the car seat away to store it during the flight) and when I took the seat of the Bug, I packed it into a duffel type bag and checked it. That worked really well also.

So when you took the Bugaboo/car seat combo, did you take it all right up to the gate? Through security and everything? And did they give it back to you at the airplane door? The Bugaboo Frog is about the same size as mine, I'd say. Also, one of my friends has a push chair about the same size as mine, and they let her gate check the chassis with the car seat with no problems, whatsoever.

It seems the umbrella strollers that are suitable from birth are all close to 100 pounds. Do not want to spend that much on something I will rarely use.

This sucks--it's such a crapshoot. All of you and everyone I speak to has had such varied experiences.

it is a crap shoot!  Just go with the flow.  Don't overburden yourself just in case you lose the pushchair until you get to your final destination.  I have a couple of backpack style carry-on roll-on luggage.  It's good when I need both hands free.  

So when you took the Bugaboo/car seat combo, did you take it all right up to the gate? Through security and everything? And did they give it back to you at the airplane door? The Bugaboo Frog is about the same size as mine, I'd say. Also, one of my friends has a push chair about the same size as mine, and they let her gate check the chassis with the car seat with no problems, whatsoever.

Yup, I took it right up to the plane door! No problems at all! I say I have flown back and forth maybe 8 times and have always taken the chair right up to the plane!

So when you took the Bugaboo/car seat combo, did you take it all right up to the gate? Through security and everything? And did they give it back to you at the airplane door? The Bugaboo Frog is about the same size as mine, I'd say. Also, one of my friends has a push chair about the same size as mine, and they let her gate check the chassis with the car seat with no problems, whatsoever.

It seems the umbrella strollers that are suitable from birth are all close to 100 pounds. Do not want to spend that much on something I will rarely use.

This sucks--it's such a crapshoot. All of you and everyone I speak to has had such varied experiences.

I think you will use the umbrella stroller more than you think. We have a bugaboo and never travel with it at all, we have traveled with an umbrella stroller since our son was 2 months old. It is so much easier travel wise, and sometimes there are times when you just want a smaller stroller. Plus, even at 100 gbp, it is less than your stroller cost so if something happens to it on a plane you won't be as upset.

So, just an update. I ended up taking my iCandy pram with the car seat attached to the airport. If they were going to make me check it at the desk, I was going to leave it with DH and just take the Baby Bjorn. But, they were super nice about it. Had no problems letting me gate-check it. Even going through security, they didn't make me take DD out. When I got up to the gate, they let me bring my car seat onboard and put it in overhead luggage. The stroller was not waiting for me when I landed (which kind of sucked, because I had to haul everything through customs and immigration), and I was worried it was going to get broken on the carousels. But, then I noticed all the strollers from our flight had been brought out and were sitting between the luggage carousels waiting with an attendant.

It was fine, and there was someone else's iCandy waiting there, too. Nothing was broken and it couldn't have been easier.  I'm sure it all depends on the airline, but in this case, BA was great.

Just a heads up on soft carriers.  When my daughter was 4 months I took her to the states on my own.  We didn't want to risk damaging our Bugaboo, so I got a maclaren on ebay that had been used all of 4 times (by someone who just used it to travel).

My plan was to take the maclaren to the gate and then put the baby in the bjorn and fly that way.  Well that wasn't allowed.  They made me take off the bjorn at every security gate so it could be scanned and then when i finally made it onto the flight I sat down with my daughter nicely sleeping in the bjorn, only to be told she could not stay in the bjorn for takeoff.

I can't recommend getting an umbrella stroller (maclarens are safe from birth because they can fold flat - and we've found it's so much easier than the bugaboo), because you can take it to the gate and if it gets damaged you're not out lots of money (we looked to insure the bugaboo and was told it wouldn't be covered).  Also, just know that you may have to take the soft baby carrier on and off several times while getting through the airport (so try to not have too many bags, etc).

Lastly, if you baby is having any sort of formula, you can pre-order it from the boots inside the duty free.  Means you don't have to faff about with them testing milk in bottles at security.

Just a heads up on soft carriers.  When my daughter was 4 months I took her to the states on my own.  We didn't want to risk damaging our Bugaboo, so I got a maclaren on ebay that had been used all of 4 times (by someone who just used it to travel).

My plan was to take the maclaren to the gate and then put the baby in the bjorn and fly that way.  Well that wasn't allowed.  They made me take off the bjorn at every security gate so it could be scanned and then when i finally made it onto the flight I sat down with my daughter nicely sleeping in the bjorn, only to be told she could not stay in the bjorn for takeoff.

Just from another experience, I carried my daughter through the airports in a Mai Tai and was able to go through the Xrays machines with her in it, I didn't take her out of the carrier until I got on my seat on the plane. I got stopped by a ton of people asking me about the carrier.

Same - I wore my son in my mei tai and didn't get asked to take it off at all.  In Chicago, they said they had a new policy and a female attendant sort of patted me down, but that was it.  This was October 30.  

Also, I don't think they are making parents test milk/formula at security any longer.  I brought loads of breastmilk through and no one said a thing.

Same - I wore my son in my mei tai and didn't get asked to take it off at all.  In Chicago, they said they had a new policy and a female attendant sort of patted me down, but that was it.  This was October 30.  

Also, I don't think they are making parents test milk/formula at security any longer.  I brought loads of breastmilk through and no one said a thing.

Granted this is from a year ago, we only had to test formula leaving the UK.  The US was more lenient.  It probably just depends on luck of the draw and what airport you're flying from.   

Yes, sorry - Heathrow, for instance, claims they will ask you to taste 50% of containers.  The TSA in the US doesn't ask you to taste or test anything.

Its funny actually, I noticed this summer at JFK they don't even ask about liquids anymore..