We are flying to San Diego in April & really need to take our carseats for our 2 & 4 year olds. Do any of you know the regulations with American Airlines? I believe you have to pay to check them now, so does anyone have experience actually taking them on the flight? We don't want to pay extra if we don't have to. Same deal for strollers...will they still gate check them with no extra charge? We have only flown a few times on hour long flights to Houston on Southwest & had no extra charges on anything. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! :)
I would call the airline directly for the most up to date info. Seems like they change things every 5 minutes with the airlines these days!
AA will check them at the gate for no extra charge. :) We always take our stroller when we fly - it really makes getting through the airport MUCH easier (except for the security line, of course - you have to collapse your stroller and send it through the xray machine - but just give yourself plenty of time and don't be stressed!)
You do not have to pay to check car seats or strollers, whether you check them at the gate or at the initial baggage claim. I don't think you can take the seat for the four year old on the flight - he would be much too big to actually sit in it on the plane and there wouldn't be anywhere to store it. You'd have to check it one way or another. The two year old could fit into the car seat but would probably be more comfortable without it, in my opinion. I have a two year old and we don't carry his seat on board.
We just went to Disneyworld in February, and flew on American. My son is 4 years old, and we brought a 5-pt harness car seat onto the airplane and strapped it in the window seat. We brought the stroller to the gate, and after they put a pink tag on it, they took it from us, and it was ready for us to pick up right after we exited the plane at our destination. There was no additional charge for either one.
They cannot charge for car seats. Strollers I'm not sure about. Any AA operator will be more than happy to hlep you-I had the same questions when we started flying with our boys.
Hi there,
We have flown several times on AA with our little one. We used to check the car seat (they never charged us for it, stating that it was an exempt item), but one time it got lost. We were really stuck and had to drive home without the car seat, as we arrived late in the evening (we contemplated sending the person who had picked us up to a nearby store to buy one but nothing was open). It was a nerve-racking drive! After that I'll never check it again. Gate-checking is, in my opinion, the way to go. They don't charge us for that either.
Have a great trip!
I am not sure about strollers, but we just took our carseat and had to check it in...and yes it cost $25
Hi L., i have a 3 year old and we haven't use car seat at all, we just sit her and belt her, now, you dont have to pay for the car seat, you have to pay for the extra chair where you gonna put the car seat in this case will be 2, and another choice you have instead bringing 2 car seat it will be check on the online store of the airport they have a special harness or booster seat easier to carry I think.good luck I hope I helped. :)
I fly American with my son all the time. You don't have to pay for the car seat OR the stroller.... Just make sure you get a tag on your stroller at the gate. If you do it when they are busy, sometimes they get annoyed so I try and do it early :). Happy flying!
We went prepaired to have to pay for the carseat and stroller and we didn't have to pay anything for them. We checked the carseat and gate checked the stroller. I cant remember what airline we flew the first time but the most recent was Alaska.
Good luck
You won't have to pay for them, but I would advise you to NEVER check a car seat. It will be thrown into the general baggage area, and it will get damaged, even if you can't see it. Car seats that are checked can suffer the same damage they would in a collision, because everything shifts during take off and landing, they will have large bags fall on them and be sitting under other bags as well.
You can't use a booster on the flight, so if your 4yr old is in a booster seat, pack it in baggage or request it be put into the closet at the front of the flight soas not to chec kit with baggage. Your stroller will get a gate check, dont' worry about that and there is no charge for it.
IF you have two 5pt harness car seats that are airline approved (most are except the Britax Regent), then bring them on the flight and strap them in just like in the car. your kids will be safe, comfy, and youwon't have to worry about your seats being damaged by careless airline workers.
I took my car seat on the plane and had my daughter sit in it. I didn't have to pay any extra. They made sure the car seat was airline approved, so check the stickers on the sides for that. Mine was an Apex. You have to tell them ahead of time so that they can seat you in the correct spot. The car seats have to be by the window and not in one of the "escape exits". American was very accommodating and nice about it.
ps, I just wanted to add that you can take an older kid in the car seat as well. My daughter was 6 years old when we last flew, and she rode in her car seat just fine (with 5-point harness). I don't think most booster seats are airline approved, though. You want a 5 point harness, which is safer anyway.
