Hellobee Boards

I flew Southwest a couple weeks ago and gate checked the infant seat and the stroller. I didn't put either in a bag, and they did not have so much as a scratch on them - the handler was excellent!!

We just got back from Atlanta this past weekend and we traveled with our carseat and the stroller that it snaps into. We gate checked both items without a bag for each and they were both in the same condition when we got them back at the end of our flight.

We gate checked both ( no covers or bags on them) and had no issues.

I'm doing this soon (carseat and snap n go - planning to gate check). How did you get them through security? Do they fit on the belt? Ill be on my own, a bit nervous!

If you purchased a seat, you can take the car seat on board and gate check the stroller. If you didn't, just regular check the car seat. We have flown many times with both and never purchased a separate bag for either. Our stuff has always been fine. Some airlines can provide giant plastic bags and we have used those for the car seat.

Usually US airlines will not charge for checking car seats and strollers.

Once, our car seat came out in the oversized baggage area instead of the regular baggage carrousel. I started panicking when I didn't see it after all the other bags had come out. But it was off in the over sized baggage area sitting next to some golf clubs.

@charlotte: My stroller didn't fit through the scanner unless we took off the wheels, so I always asked for it to be hand scanned. Never had an issue.

I have the same carseat bag as @mrs. Yoyo. You will be able to use it for your convertible carseat too. I would get a bag. If weather is bad at either end, your stroller and carseat will be wet. I also am a germ freak and would not want my infant carseat upside down on the airport conveyor belt where people put their dirty bags and shoes. I recommend gate checking, as it is significantly less likely to get lost. You do not want to wait for the last bag to come off the plane, wait in the lost luggage line, and hope for a decent carseat to be available from the airline. All after your 7-month old is several hours into the travel day.