quagmire0 Posted September 21, 2007 #1 Share Posted September 21, 2007 Just wondering if people have any tips on getting through the airport with a baby. We'll be cruising w/a 5 month old in a week and I'm particularly interested in what people know about handling babies and carseats when it comes to airport security. What can we do to speed up the process? I'm figuring we'll use curbside check-in when we get to the airport, that way we only have the snap-n-go and DD in her carseat to worry about. I know O'Hare has curbside check-in, what about Miami? Any tips would be appreciated! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyBoopX Posted September 21, 2007 #2 Share Posted September 21, 2007 We saw a few parents wear their car seats like backpacks. I would have never thaught of that myself. It was a lifesaver to us because we were traveling to Germany so we went though 3 airports and had to bring lots of stuff on the plane for our DS who was 15 months. As far as speed though security I am not sure what you could do. I do know for us it was a crap shoot. Some of them could fit our car seat right through the machine and others could not. Good Luck. Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGBCruiser Posted September 21, 2007 #3 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I traveled this summer with my daughter and my 8 month old grandson. We couldn't do curbside check-in NOR could we check in online and get our boarding passes as we usually do. Because of his age, we had to go to the ticket counter and present his birth certificate (actually he's already got a passport and they will accept that). We checked his car seat (SW Airlines provides a big plastic bag), his pack-and-play, and then were able to gate-check his stroller. You also have to sign a waiver as the airlines do not guarantee these items to arrive undamaged. Be prepared as you have to run the stroller through the x-ray machine also! You even have to take the baby's shoes off when you carry him through the metal detector. All in all, I can tell you it was a royal pain! Some of the airport personnel were nice and assisted in getting the stroller through, some were not. I don't think my daughter could have done this by herself as it was a LOT to carry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quagmire0 Posted September 21, 2007 Author #4 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I traveled this summer with my daughter and my 8 month old grandson. We couldn't do curbside check-in NOR could we check in online and get our boarding passes as we usually do. Because of his age, we had to go to the ticket counter and present his birth certificate (actually he's already got a passport and they will accept that). We checked his car seat (SW Airlines provides a big plastic bag), his pack-and-play, and then were able to gate-check his stroller. You also have to sign a waiver as the airlines do not guarantee these items to arrive undamaged. Be prepared as you have to run the stroller through the x-ray machine also! You even have to take the baby's shoes off when you carry him through the metal detector. All in all, I can tell you it was a royal pain! Some of the airport personnel were nice and assisted in getting the stroller through, some were not. I don't think my daughter could have done this by herself as it was a LOT to carry. The problem I noticed when booking through American's website is that no matter how many times I chose 'infant' as my selection, it kept popping up as an 'adult', so I don't know if they have a similar ticketing process. I'll at least be prepared for that. We're bringing the carseat on board and leaving the pack-n-play at home, so that won't be an issue. Hopefully we will get some decent personnel to work with. The stroller will be interesting to send through the machine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marlissa Posted September 21, 2007 #5 Share Posted September 21, 2007 The problem I noticed when booking through American's website is that no matter how many times I chose 'infant' as my selection, it kept popping up as an 'adult', so I don't know if they have a similar ticketing process. I'll at least be prepared for that. We're bringing the carseat on board and leaving the pack-n-play at home, so that won't be an issue. Hopefully we will get some decent personnel to work with. The stroller will be interesting to send through the machine... At DIA, I've noticed they don't send the stroller thru the machine. They will take the stroller to an area and "wand" it instead. Seem to remember an adult carried the baby thru the walk thru machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGBCruiser Posted September 21, 2007 #6 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I couldn't believe that they didn't just "wand" the stroller. That would be much easier for the traveler. It's one of those larger strollers and was hard to get on the conveyor belt and through the machine. It barely fit! I know the issues with the shoes, but I guess I was still kind of surprised that you had to remove the baby's sandals too. Also, if you're carrying bottles with you, some airports won't let you take the bottles filled with nursery water. At Denver, they made my daughter dump them all out and purchase bottled water before she boarded the plane. That's the only place she's had to do that, most of them let you carry nursery water through security. Since your husband is going with you it probably will make it much easier. I felt like a baggage handler by the time the trip was over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woostercruise Posted September 21, 2007 #7 Share Posted September 21, 2007 We flew out of Indy a few years ago with two needing carseats on the plane and a stroller. Indy had a seperate line for people with carseats and strollers that had a larger x-ray machine. With a regular carseat we found it worked well to take a very small rolling suitcase and clip the chest clip of the seat around the pull bar to get through the airport. I would just have your child in socks then you don't have to worry about taking shoes off. I've heard they even make them take those soft Robeez off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettyBoopX Posted September 21, 2007 #8 Share Posted September 21, 2007 I traveled this summer with my daughter and my 8 month old grandson. We couldn't do curbside check-in NOR could we check in online and get our boarding passes as we usually do. Because of his age, we had to go to the ticket counter and present his birth certificate (actually he's already got a passport and they will accept that). Interesting I guess it depends on the airline becuase we were able to check in online for all 3 of us which included my DS and they had you put in your passport numbers. They did have us go though the 1st class lane to check our passports though b/c we were going out of the country. Mind you we were not in first class on any of our flights nor do we travel enough to get any elite status to go though that lane but that is where the online checking sent us and we did not have a problem. Which was great b/c the line to check in at the airport where we would have had to stand was like 1 1/2hours long. That's Orlando for you haha. They did make us fold our stroller and put it though the Xray machine. I would agree with the sock comment though. We tried using just some of those slip on crocs but even they were a pain when you are trying to pick up everything else and get out of the way. Also, if you have any toys with batteries you might want to have them at the top of your diaper bag in case they make you take them out. We made the mistake of taking little plastic blocks that light up and stuff and we had to take them out and re run them though the xray. It was funny trying to get a hold of my DS and dig through the bag to find the dumb toy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisaland15 Posted September 21, 2007 #9 Share Posted September 21, 2007 We LOVE this for the airport and for cruising. http://www.rideoncarryon.com/buy.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGBCruiser Posted September 21, 2007 #10 Share Posted September 21, 2007 It does depend on the airline. They have flown several airlines with the baby and Southwest was the only carrier that made them show his birth certificate (or passport in his case). That is a cute little "rideoncarryon" and looks like a good idea, but I never take a carryon anymore because it's such a pain to take your make-up and other toiletries. As bad as I hate to check my make-up bag, because it would be so expensive to replace, I do because you can't carry on all of it. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisaland15 Posted September 22, 2007 #11 Share Posted September 22, 2007 It does depend on the airline. They have flown several airlines with the baby and Southwest was the only carrier that made them show his birth certificate (or passport in his case). That is a cute little "rideoncarryon" and looks like a good idea, but I never take a carryon anymore because it's such a pain to take your make-up and other toiletries. As bad as I hate to check my make-up bag, because it would be so expensive to replace, I do because you can't carry on all of it. :( I don't use the carry-on for my toiletries (I check them), I use it as a "diaper bag" so to speak. A change of clothes, pillow, blanket, DVD, books, toys, etc. And before my daughter was potty-trained, my supply of diapers for the trip also went in there along with the wipes. So, all I have for my daughter and I is my purse and the carry-on with that "rideoncarryon" chair. When traveling without my hubby or 12 yr. old son, it's been a lifesaver. My 4 yr. old has close to 20 roundtrip flights under her wings and this has been wonderful for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGBCruiser Posted September 22, 2007 #12 Share Posted September 22, 2007 That's a good idea...I think it might be easier to carry everything in that instead of that bulky diaper bag that has to fit underneath the seat. That weighed a ton by the time it was fully packed with diapers, wipes, bottles, and baby food! I sent my DD the link to the "rideoncarryon." Thanks for the tip! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas80 Posted September 22, 2007 #13 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Two words... FRONT CARRIER It keeps baby safe and your hands free! We also like the backpack style diaper bag by Colombia - again, hands free and no straps to keep readjusting over your shoulder. Check the car seat and the stroller first thing and just use the front carrier! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clansac Posted September 22, 2007 #14 Share Posted September 22, 2007 New to cruisecritic but have a 4 year old who has been on more than 20 flights... we've always had to remove him from a carrier when we go through security no matter what. First flight was at 3 mo and he was in a completely soft sling, with no metal. TSA still made us take him out for "visual inspection". It's good to have extra hands but very frusterating to try to get all the stuff in the x-ray and still have to take the baby out too. I also had at least 3 flights, maybe more where the flight attendant made me remove him from the carrier for takeoff and landing. Just a heads up- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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