American Airlines & no gate-checking stroller over 20 lbs

[♥ms.pacman♥]

let me just say that this new rule STINKS. if you have 2 under 2, and you do not have the strength of a bodybuilder, how the FRACK are you supposed to travel and navigate large airports without a double stroller?? OMG!

today we were coming back from our vacation in CA, and i wanted to scream when, after a 2 hour drive and loading up our stroller with the kids and gear, they told us we could not go thru security with our BJCMD bc it weighed over 20 lbs. :shake: we had gotten BJCMD (our first double ) just a few days prior, after realizing that just having BJCM single with 2 under 2 was not going to cut it while traveling..believe me when i say it's just a thousand times easier to have them both contained when at an airport or at places like malls, walking along the beach etc (things you tend to do on vacation). But at the airport without a stroller, I ended up wearing DD today in my Pikkolo and DH ended up having to carry DS. i suppose we could have brought another carrier and DH could have worn DS too but honestly.. one person each carrying ~ 20 lbs of baby PLUS carrying all the necessary gear for 2 LOs (diaper bag, carseat, backpack with snacks, water) for over an hour through an airport is just not pretty no matter how it's done. Plus, this time they made me take my DD out of the pikkolo while going thru security anyway, which was a royal PITA. Argh.

i don't know what we'll do for next time (we are planning to make another trip in December). I suppose we could bring BJCMD and a single (Volo) but that's a pain to have to bring 2 strollers. So lame! I wonder what rule they will come out with next...:angry-smiley-005:

[crl]

I do think it makes travel super hard. So sorry! Did you try asking for assistance? I wonder what they would say.

Catherine

[BabyBearsMom]

Ugh! Such a stupid rule. Could you take two singles and each of you push one on your next trip? IIWM, I would probably wear the baby and push DH in a lightweight single and let DH struggle with the carseats and carry ons. Or I would put DD in an infant car seat and use a snap n' go and put DS in a Go Go Kidz with his car seat and then you and DH each push one and have the bags be two good sized back packs. You would have to check your double stroller. Just some ideas to help you get through the December trip.

[mariza]

I know this would be a total PITA, but at least you would have the stroller. I was thinking what if you got to the gate a little early and popped the wheels off? That should bring it down to 20lbs. You'd have to bring a tote bag to carry the wheels onboard with you but since it's essentially baby gear it should not count against your allowance. You could get one of those nylon tote bags that folds up super small, keep it in the stroller so you have it ready. Again, not 100% sure it will bring it to 20lbs but worth a shot.

[arivecchi]

Totally annoying.

Maybe next time you can do baby carrier plus stroller.

Once DS is bigger, you can attach a toddler board to your single.

[twowhat?]

I knew about this rule (and argh - so sorry that you had to find out the hard way!) and it just adds onto my list of reasons why we're just not willing to fly with our twins. Yet.

Definitely try taking off the wheels to see if that gets it under 20 pounds (weigh it at home first!) You can also take off the canopies pretty easily (and maybe pack them into your checked luggage ahead of time). And the belly bar (if you have it) Between the wheels and the canopies it's gotta come in at 20 pounds or under...

Would they not help you get a cart or anything at all??? What an awful end to a vacation:(

[♥ms.pacman♥]

thanks everyone.

taking the wheels off..didn't think of that! will consider that next time!! and taking the canopies off beforehand and putting them in checked luggage..that is genius! will have to do that next time.

taking just a single on trips is out...i sold my BJCM single after getting BJCMD, and only other singles we have is Vista (too big to travel with) and Volo (DD is too young to use). plus, i really want to have BJCMD available when we travel. we used it SO much the week of our vacation. it's just so much easier than having to wear my DD all.the.time. i really wear her a lot but wearing her for more than 2 hours every day can really wear me down.

would totally get a GoGo Kids Travelmate (that way we have an easy way of transporting DS and his carseat through an airport, he is contained, etc), but it looks like they are not compatible with Cosco Sceneras (which is what we have as our travel carseats). BOO!!

anyway, thanx for all the ideas

[ShanaMama]

Is this a new rule? I've flown with my BJCD. ITA that it makes life so much easier to have both kids contained, & mine weren't even as young as yours are. Plus you can dump so much stuff onto that stroller, it's like another pair of hands.

[ShanaMama]

thanks everyone.

taking the wheels off..didn't think of that! will consider that next time!! and taking the canopies off beforehand and putting them in checked luggage..that is genius! will have to do that next time.

OK, I'm feeling a little dense here. How would you get to the gate if the wheels are off? Are you saying take the wheels off, show them it's less than 20 lbs & then put them back on? I can't imagine those unsmiling TSA agents will go for that at the security line. Maybe I'm missing something.

[crl]

Yeah, I'd be afraid to risk it with the wheels. But if taking the canopy, belly bar or any other accessories off would get the stroller under the weight, I'd definitely go for that.

Catherine

[♥ms.pacman♥]

OK, I'm feeling a little dense here. How would you get to the gate if the wheels are off? Are you saying take the wheels off, show them it's less than 20 lbs & then put them back on? I can't imagine those unsmiling TSA agents will go for that at the security line. Maybe I'm missing something.

yeah, at first i was confused too. i think what ppl are saying is to go through security with the stroller, then when you get the gate and before they weigh it, take the wheels off so when it's gate-checked it will be less than 20 lbs.

the annoying thing about that though is that you will have to have a decent-sized carry-on bag available to hold the wheels or whatever other accessories you decide to take off to make the weight limit.

also, the other downside is that they may not even allow you do that. in our case, the tsa guy stopped us right away....he wouldn't even let us get in line for security with the BJCMD. so this method may not be reliable, bc i'm sure many agents would not allow you to through with the stroller simply with the promise of taking the wheels off or whatever to make it lighter.

anyway, at this point, i'm leaning towards just checking in BJCMD and buying a cheap luggage cart at Walmart and strapping a carseat to it, and wheeling DS around in that. that solves the problem of gate-checking a stroller

[ShanaMama]

yeah, at first i was confused too. i think what ppl are saying is to go through security with the stroller, then when you get the gate and before they weigh it, take the wheels off so when it's gate-checked it will be less than 20 lbs.

the annoying thing about that though is that you will have to have a decent-sized carry-on bag available to hold the wheels or whatever other accessories you decide to take off to make the weight limit.

also, the other downside is that they may not even allow you do that. in our case, the tsa guy stopped us right away....he wouldn't even let us get in line for security with the BJCMD. so this method may not be reliable, bc i'm sure many agents would not allow you to through with the stroller simply with the promise of taking the wheels off or whatever to make it lighter.

anyway, at this point, i'm leaning towards just checking in BJCMD and buying a cheap luggage cart at Walmart and strapping a carseat to it, and wheeling DS around in that. that solves the problem of gate-checking a stroller

Ahh, now I understand. I wasn't sure if TSA gave you the problem at security or it was the gate agents. I can't imagine getting my kids from security to the gate without our stroller & all our million bags.

You can also buy a cheapy $25 stroller at Walmart just for that part of the trip.

[rin]

I wonder if you could get some sort of documentation from the gate agent saying that the stroller will be under 20 lbs once the wheels are removed? If so, then you could show that to the TSA agent . . . I'd try calling AA before the trip, explaining the situation, and asking whether it would be possible to get some sort of paperwork from the airline confirming that the stroller will be accepted.

[Multimama]

I don't think TSA cares how much your stroller weighs, right? This is an American Airlines policy. Other airlines even at the same airport will allow larger strollers so TSA would have no reason to care about the weight of your stroller.

I think that showing them at check-in that you can reduce the weight of the stroller to 20 lbs for gate check should work as long as you have the extra carry-on capacity for the wheels. After all, the policy is supposed to save airline employee backs from strain etc. But you'd have to hope to get a helpful ticketing agent when you do the weigh in.