My wife alerted me to the news that American Airlines has officially changed their rules for checking baby strollers at the gate. According to the story on the Los Angeles Times, and the official American Airlines policy, strollers need to be under 20 pounds to be checked at the gate. Otherwise, they will need to be bag checked.
This is really unfortunate because one of the major advantages, as I have discussed in my article First Airplane Ride with an Infant, is being able to take a large collapsible stroller all the way to the gate to carry the abundance of baby/kid items necessary to travel.
While it is unfortunate for the revised policy on American Airlines, it is good that strollers are exempt from baggage fees.
This policy is so crazy! I just discovered it yesterday when we were checking in our luggage at the Minneapolis airport. It doesn’t save AA any time or money and seriously inconveniences its passengers. Umbrella strollers don’t cut it when you’ve got more than one child and enough carry-ons to keep everyone entertained on the flight, and you can only put so much in a backpack. You need the area under the stroller for the bags. This is just stupid, stupid, stupid, and I’m outraged! Plus, if you check a stroller at the ticket agent, it’s at a far greater risk of being damaged. When you’re going for a long vacation, that’s not a risk you can take! You need your stroller in the airport, and you need it intact when you arrive. And what if they lose it, or it doesn’t make your connection? Also, without a stroller, we wouldn’t make our connections. I’m so frustrated with this policy.
You can contact Tim Smith at AA here:
817-967-1577
mediarelations@ aa.com
Sarah