Airline Travel with Toddler's Stroller and Convertible Carseat

I put the car seat right into the sitting area of the stroller and put my toddler in the car seat. I always traveled with a combi stroller and a cosco scenera car seat ( the best car seat for the airplane....lightweight narrow safe and only $40). The edge of the bottom of this car seat fit snuggle into stroller. It was so easy this way.

But I always had my car seat on the plane....with an active 2 year old why wouldn't you. I have flown so many times over the years with my 4 and learned the hard way to bring a car seat on at that age...always!!!

This isn't quite a direct answer to your question, but we purchased a sit-n-stroll for our daughter when she was a baby. It's a carseat that converts to a stroller. It's costly, so it might not be something you want to invest in, but we travel quite a bit and found it worth it. Just an idea.

Can you not check the carseat at check-in? I know I've seen carseats on the luggage carousel.....

Good luck!

Check the carseat and take the stroller to the gate.
He does't need to be in his carseat on the plane at this point. (Mine aren't at 18mos and they're fine...).

but if you really want to have the seat with you, then check the stroller, and get a Go Go Kids TravelMate. It fixes to the carseat and creates a dolly, basically. You can strap your little guy into his seat, and it acts as a stroller through the airport.

Either way, don't take both things with you.

I have a special bag for the car seat that has wheels... I always checked it with my luggage, but I guess you could check it at the gate....

Check the car seat when you check in. Don't try to lug it all around with you. Take as little as possible with you through security becasue everything has to go on the x-ray. It is a pain trying to put all that stuff up there and hang on to a kiddo. It will be less stressful for you and your little one especially if you fly solo

Why not check the carseat at the ticketing counter, rather than at the gate?

Check the carseat at the ticket counter. It's so very much easier that way, and there is no charge for carseats on most airlines. Besides, it's the same people slinging the carseats into the body of the plane whether you check it at the counter or the gate, so dragging it through the airport isn't going to lessen the bouncing that it endures when it's put on the plane.

So why go through all the hassle to bring the carseat to the plane yourself when the airline will do it for you?

I'm surprised nobody's mentioned this--we just use a luggage strap, and run it through the handle on the carseat and drag it along that way. We typically check baggage (with three kids, there's no way we're doing carryon), but it's still a big hassle, esp in MSP, because you have to run through so much of the airport sometimes. So, as soon as we get checked bags, we fasten the strap through the carseat--we've been able to do it with all seats except the basic, small booster.

We have 4 kids, 3 of which are in carseats. We also travel with a stroller. We bought a carseat bag which is a backpack. Best invention EVER....and ours is one of the few that fits even the biggest car seat! (we also bought the stroller bag from the same company, since they always ruin our strollers under the plane, with cigarette ash burns!)

http://www.amazon.com/Childress-Ultimate-Seat-Travel-Blac...

Why do you check them at the gate? Check the carseat at the counter and it's free.

Usually, checking a carseat is free because you have no choice but to travel with one. If you really want to gate check it, there are bags that you can purchase that have straps like a backpack. Your carseat fits right in there and then you wear it like a backpack. I have also seen a device that can connect your carry on with wheels to your carseat, and then you just roll your carseat around that way. You can find both on amazon.

Is your carry-on suitcase one that rolls? We've taken a bungee cord and used it to strap the car seat onto the rolling suitcase.

Do you absolutely need the stroller? Could you get the backpack leash instead? That might help wear the kiddo down?

We don't bring strollers with us. We like to gate check our carseat, though, so we have a go-go babyz attachment that kind of converts the carseat to a stroller. Voila! You can roll the kiddo, in the carseat, to the gate.