Placing a seat in a plastic bag may be a good idea, because most airlines state they are not liable for damage in the fine print on their websites. You can also pack it in a canvas duffel bag, but you run the risk of being charged a $50 checked bag fee at that point.Īmazon sells several reusable car seat gate check bags for $15 to $25 that will not trigger any checked bag fees.Īs for strollers, the simplest thing may be to purchase a new $40 stroller when you arrive at your destination (you can't do that with a car seat, because rental car agencies won't allow you to rent a car with no child seat, if you have a baby with you). The website Trips with suggests you place the car seat in a large clear plastic bag, to protect it from dirt and oil down below. Now imagine tossing a pristine car seat - that your newborn rides in - down there with everyone's bags. If you have ever checked baggage, you know that suitcases are often scraped and scuffed in the baggage hold down below. It's really a question that affects every parent with a young child who flies. How do you bring along a car seat or a stroller, without the risk of it being damaged? They even had to put the seat in a large trash bag, to avoid getting the oil on their clothing or rental car. He said the airport loaned them a seat until they could purchase a new one. 'When we stepped off the plane in Orlando, by the time we got our car seat back it was banged up, scraped up, damaged, covered in oil and completely unusable.'

'There was just oil that was all over it,' Caudill said. It was scraped up, and the nice fabric covering the $125 Graco travel system seat was covered in a sticky, black oily substance, he said. 'We were told that if it was gate checked that it would be fine,' he said.īut when they stepped off the flight, they were stunned. 'The plastic is cracked and broken, you can see just how much its been scraped up and damaged,' Andrew Caudill said.Īgents told them if they checked the seats at the gate while boarding, there would be no baggage fee. Families who travel with young children often bring a stroller or car seat along to the airport, then check it before boarding.īut one family's experience may make you rethink handing that seat or stroller off to a gate agent.Īndrew and Taylor Caudill took their 5-month-old on his first flight on Frontier Airlines to Orlando.

Car seat check bag