forced to check (as opposed to gate-check) my stroller at airport

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, you thought your stroller was under the weight limit but you were wrong, and you had to abide by the rules?

I mean, that sucks, but I don't see how you were "wronged." There was a rule, and you had broken the rule in the past but were not allowed to break it this time.

Live and learn. Next time you'll either bring a lighter stroller, or get lucky and be able to break the rules again.

PP here. Is this the same bullying, rude poster who keeps talking about OP's "entitlement" and just generally being totally rude to OP? Or are there a number of you? I don't understand why these people are being SO AWFUL to you, OP.

I'm the PP who travelled with a BIG BOB stroller and it was never weighed. I just checked it at the gate. I never knew there was a weight limit on strollers. In any case, the agent could have been kind and understanding but clearly had to show you who was boss and use her tiny slice of power in the world to make your trip extremely difficult. I'm sorry. I would (again) contact the airline and explain your situation. At the very least, they should apologize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, you thought your stroller was under the weight limit but you were wrong, and you had to abide by the rules?

I mean, that sucks, but I don't see how you were "wronged." There was a rule, and you had broken the rule in the past but were not allowed to break it this time.

Live and learn. Next time you'll either bring a lighter stroller, or get lucky and be able to break the rules again.

I had no idea about this weight limit on American. Other airlines do not have it I think? However I did Google the specs on my stroller while there and it says it weighs 20 pounds but it weighed a little more and she wouldn't let me through.

I think it is good for others to know that Anerican Airlines has a 20 pound weight limit. Most strollers (except umbrella strollers) are over 20 pounds.

[Anonymous]

OP, all of these posters going against you are wrong. I just flew (Thursday) on American airlines (Dulles) and flew with the exact same stroller and was able to gate check. Both ways. I think the agent was poorly trained. They didn't even look twice at my stroller at check-in. I fly with this same stroller on various airlines 2-3 times a month and have never had an issue. I have even gate checked it on Frontier Airlines which is notoriously strict. You were not breaking the rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, all of these posters going against you are wrong. I just flew (Thursday) on American airlines (Dulles) and flew with the exact same stroller and was able to gate check. Both ways. I think the agent was poorly trained. They didn't even look twice at my stroller at check-in. I fly with this same stroller on various airlines 2-3 times a month and have never had an issue. I have even gate checked it on Frontier Airlines which is notoriously strict. You were not breaking the rules.

"Each ticketed customer is allowed 1 stroller. Only small, collapsible and light strollers (up to 20lbs/9kgs) can be checked at the gate. Any stroller that weighs over 20lbs/9 kgs, is too large or is non?collapsible must be checked at the ticket counter."
https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/specialAssistance/childrenTraveling.jsp?anchorLocation=DirectURL&title=children

Actually, she was breaking the rules. It's nice that they let her through previously, but now she knows that she can't count on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have flown cross-country three times with my baby (who's not yet one) and used a BOB collapsable travel stroller each time. Never ever dealt with any nonsense. I think you were wronged, OP. Contact the airline.

.
BOB collapsable travel stroller, a big pain in the ass, saw a guy dissembling it at the gate, felt bad for the husband

[Anonymous]

The agent was just doing her job -- it's an American Airlines rule. Don't fly AA if you like traveling with a not-umbrella stroller!

You can look up all the rules here:
http://havebabywilltravel.com/2012/03/05/gate-checking-your-stroller-when-flying-with-baby/

and AA's seems the most stringent. Good to know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It sounds like a nightmare; the stroller is a travel essential for us, as DD has always hated to be worn in a carrier. That said, the other strollers that you've seen probably weigh less than you think. When DD was an infant, we used our Britax b-agile with carseat attached; but without the carseat the stroller was much less than 20 lbs. Now that she's a toddler, we still travel with the b-agile and gate-check.

just so you are aware: the britax b-agile with a carseat attached is more than 20 pounds. You would have been screwed in my shoes. (see how that changes things?)


and i saw strollers that were much bigger and heavier than mine.... many with carseats attached. ( i did not bring my carseat)

Of course it is more than 20 lbs with the carseat attached. But I would have simply removed the carseat and treated them as two separate items if confronted about the weight. We gate check a car seat and stroller separately now that DD is a toddler. And we also separately bagged the stroller and carseat when she was an infant. It sounds like your problem (if the scales were right--which they may not have been) is that your stroller was more than 20 lbs without the car seat attached. That said, I have never heard of a weight limit, so the for strollers, so if that is legitimate the airlines should make it clear at the time of booking.

You also may have just been screwed by a hyper aggressive agent. We were forced to check, instead of gate-check, a car seat on a recent flight and it really annoyed me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why the hell are you bringing such an enormous stroller on an airplane? No one cares about the weight - they care about the spatial displacement. It's much too large for the overhead bin.

You need to bring a simple, collapsible stroller.

What on earth are you talking about?! Im not trying to bring it ON the airplane and put it in the overhead bin. Just gate check it like I've done a million times before. It folds up very compact and I also leave it at the end of the jetway for gate check like everyone else with their strollers

You did not make this clear in your original posting. Please write more clearly and concisely next time.

Uh.... the title of the thread mentions gate checking, dumb dumb.

-Not OP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:unfortunately an umbrella stroller does not work on sidewalks and bumps. It's just not practical unless you are at a shopping mall or some place. I have one and leave it in my car for these purposes.

It's not like I traveled with a BOB stroller or some kind of stroller system (which i saw all around me).

Why does it have to be so hard to travel if you have kids? I'm going to places where i need a stroller for sidewalk bumps and gravel etc...

I have flown with this stroller numerous times and never had a problem until I feel american airlines. Also you can't put an infant in an umbrella stroller

1) Check your ATV-Hummer-stroller.
2) Buy an Ergo-type carrier for the infant.
3) Rent a luggage trolley at the airport.

You stroll through the airport, pushing the cart, with the baby on your back (or front, but that makes it a bit awkward to push). Although do you really need a cart for just your carry ons? The bigger kids get backpacks, which leaves you pulling one carry on.. In any case, it's perfectly do-able. People do it all the time.

1) it's not a big stroller
2) i did have a baby carrier (beco gemini) for the baby, but was going to use my stroller for toddle
3) luggage trollies are not permitted through security! they are for before you check your bag and once you collect your bags.

I am talking about a small-medium stroller. ( you can read the specs here: http://www.bumbleride.com/strollers/indie). A baby, a toddler, an elementary aged child. 2 kid-size backpacks and a diaper bag. If I have a stroller this is very manageable. I have done it many times now. Without a stroller it is difficult. If they offered to help me or provide an airport stroller then it would have been completely fine.

The stroller is 3 ft long and 2 ft wide and weights 20 lbs. It's an all terrain jogging stroller. Were you planning on running through the airport? It's an absurdly large stroller. Not so very long ago, people used normal sized strollers for their kids, and they were fine on city streets, sidewalks, roads, and just about for everything except for (wait for it) jogging in all types of terrain.

I bet you take this into restaurants, right Princess?

[Anonymous]

^^ This poster is a douche-bag.

If anyone goes through security with a carry-on that is over sized, it will be gate checked for you when you reach the airplane. Same diff with an over sized stroller? Next time, just tell the ticket lady you will leave the stroller with a friend and take it to the gate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why the hell are you bringing such an enormous stroller on an airplane? No one cares about the weight - they care about the spatial displacement. It's much too large for the overhead bin.

You need to bring a simple, collapsible stroller.

OP wanted to gate check it and should have been allowed to do so. I traveled a lot with a city mini and took it all the way to the gate for checking there.

[Anonymous]

Airline staff can be awful; they have a lot of leeway and they can enforce rules in a somewhat arbitrary manner at times. I don't think this is the worst abuse, but I understand why the OP was frustrated and inconvenienced. In my experience, it can be worthwhile to ask for a manager (although that may be more time/trouble than you want to expend while managing 3 little kids solo.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The agent was just doing her job -- it's an American Airlines rule. Don't fly AA if you like traveling with a not-umbrella stroller!

You can look up all the rules here:
http://havebabywilltravel.com/2012/03/05/gate-checking-your-stroller-when-flying-with-baby/

and AA's seems the most stringent. Good to know.

Agree. The employee was jut doing her job and the weight limit is clearly posted on the AA site under traveling with children. All the BObs ect you saw were flying other airlines. This rule is why I don't fly them when traveling alone with the kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why the hell are you bringing such an enormous stroller on an airplane? No one cares about the weight - they care about the spatial displacement. It's much too large for the overhead bin.

You need to bring a simple, collapsible stroller.

OP wanted to gate check it and should have been allowed to do so. I traveled a lot with a city mini and took it all the way to the gate for checking there.

But AA's policy is "Only small, collapsible and light strollers (up to 20lbs/9kgs) can be checked at the gate. Any stroller that weighs over 20lbs/9 kgs, is too large or is non?collapsible must be checked at the ticket counter." Do you think they shouldn't enforce their policy?

I travelled a lot with a City Mini, too. Great stroller. And it weighs 17 lbs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Next time, ask them to weigh it on another scale or do it yourself (find an unused desk position.. the numbers show up right there). AIrport scales are notoriously poorly calibrated. One time I was flying with a big suitcase (was moving abroad) and I was 5 pounds overweight... until I put it on the adjacent scale and it was fine. The agent said scales tend to be off, and went with the number in my favor.

My guess is that the OP was less than pleasant to the ticket agent, and therefore the agent wasn't inclined to cut OP any slack.