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

[Anonymous]

I flew American Airlines from SFO-RIC with a layover in Dallas. I have 3 little kids and a Bumbleride Indie single stroller. It's one of the lightest strollers on the market. The agent said my stroller was too big and heavy and she needed to weigh it. There was nothing in the stroller and the stroller weighed a little bit over 20 pounds. ( the website says it weighs 20 pounds, but of course I've never weighed it). I said well maybe your scale is wrong! She said she had to take the stroller because the cut-off is 20 pounds. I said are you going to carry my baby and bags through the airport? I asked if there was a courtesy stroller or a stroller I could rent to manage everything? She said no. It was absolute hell trying to carry my baby, bags and corral my other two children. I can't believe they are allowed to do this! i saw much bigger strollers with infant car-seats attached in the airport.

[Anonymous]

The Indie Bumbleride is an enormous stroller.

[Anonymous]

it is a very lightweight 20 pound stroller

[Anonymous]

Sorry that happened to you, OP. You do need a smaller stroller for traveling. Try something like the Uppababy G-Lite (11 lbs).

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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

[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.

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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
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...

Because it's not a private jet. There's limited space for a large stroller on a commercial airliner filled with hundreds of people. My guess is that those other large strollers you saw in the airport also had to be gate checked.

If it's "hard to travel with kids," perhaps don't travel with them until they are older?

[Anonymous]

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.

[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.

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.

[Anonymous]

I saw a double bob in the gate area at the new orleans airport, so apparently it's OK sometimes... they should have just gate checked it for you. No idea why that agent was so awful, OP.

[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.

NP. It's in the subject line/heading.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
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...

Because it's not a private jet. There's limited space for a large stroller on a commercial airliner filled with hundreds of people. My guess is that those other large strollers you saw in the airport also had to be gate checked.

If it's "hard to travel with kids," perhaps don't travel with them until they are older?

again, i have no idea what you are talking about! I am more than happy to gate check my stroller like the others! I saw many in the airport. I wasn't allowed to gate check my stroller that was much smaller. I had to check it immediately. (like when you check your bags)

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

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.