All the gear can be a burden when you are traveling with young children, can't it? One of the things that I LUV about flying Southwest Airlines is that bags fly free. But sometimes questions arise when it comes to baby gear—strollers, car seats, pack 'n plays, etc.
As a mom who travels with a toddler a lot, I am thrilled that starting today, Southwest's policy regarding acceptance of car seats and strollers as checked baggage is changing—making things even easier for families to transport their needed items without additional charges. The new policy allows for one stroller plus one CRS (car seat) per child free of charge. This is in addition to the two free bag allowance. Also, if you have additional baby items to check, you can substitute them for a free bag on a one-for-one basis (so if you were flying with a pack 'n play, you could substitute that for one of your bags and both would be free.)
In the words of my two-year-old, Elias—HOORAY!
If you have any questions about this new policy, feel free to leave a comment below and I know someone from Southwest will be happy to help you!
Jessica Turner is Southwest's resident Mommy Blogger. Her guest blog posts and video blogs focus on traveling with her young son, tips she discovers and family-friendly activities to experience around the country. When she isn't traveling, she enjoys spending time with her family, working, blogging and scrapbooking. She and her husband Matthew live in Nashville, Tennessee, with their toddler Elias, who loves to sing and ride on airplanes!
Comments
Do you have to check your car seats and strollers? We usually gate check them so we can use them when we get off the plane. We would hate to end up at our destination with no car seat and be stuck at the airport.
While this news is wonderful for those with really small children, is there any chance the policy on family boarding will increase the child's age from under 5 to under 10? If you would unfortunately get a late B or C boarding pass, trying to find 2 or 3 seats together for you and your young child becomes quite a challenge.
I'm not sure if this is favoritism or discrimination or something else but I'm not wild about granting special status to people who have more luggage for whatever reason. Sorry, my opinion.
Yet another reason why I <3 Southwest! Thanks for being TRULY family-friendly!
Keep in mind Mom's and Dad's, You should eep the Jogging strollers at home. Umbrella strollers are best to travel with.
Awesome news!!!
(great blog layout too btw)
Southwest has always "Rocked" in my opinion. It is the ONLY airline for my family and I. I usually have a stroller and it's checked at curbside and bagged just moments before we walk in the plane's cabin....
Great news! We fly with our 4 children quite often and our de facto airline has become Southwest Airlines. We always receive friendly service and, of course, with Bags Fly Free it's the only way to go these days. The news today makes even more sense for families to fly Southwest!
This is REALLY good news! Thank you so much for sharing. I have traveled many times with my toddler and I know how crazy it can be to try and get the stroller and carseat on board, especially alone. Removing the fees will make this mom's job a lot easier and I'll find myself grumbling less. hehe
Is this for a paying child or also for lap child?
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