Toddler & Pram on flights

rick_chasey
rick_chasey Posts: 72,738
in The cake stop
Hi guys,

Quick one - first trip abroad on a flight with a toddler.

She’s 3 so she’s just too heavy for all the lightweight prams.

What’s the optimial solution taking it on a plane?

I’m retiscent to take our actual pram as I have this idea airlines regularly break prams, but the cost of a travel pram with a decent weight limit (eg yoyo) is going second hand for £350 which is hardly cheap.

Anyone done it recently? Any solutions?
_
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Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,588
    Recently dumped a large pushchair we had for our daughter when she was 5 (for days when chemo left her exhausted). Would have tried cleaning it up and let you have it, it had been literally gathering dust in a shed for 12 years and we'd never found anyone interested in having it!
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,642
    Why does it need to be lightweight? Don't you just wheel it up to the gate, collapse it and they put it in the hold for free? Not my specialism, but people seem to swear by those Maclaren ones.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,803
    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,642
    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,803
    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
    That's as maybe, but I'm still curious.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,738
    pblakeney said:

    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
    That's as maybe, but I'm still curious.
    I like to walk further than a 3 year old can 👍🏻
    _
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,803
    rick_chasey said:

    pblakeney said:

    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
    That's as maybe, but I'm still curious.
    I like to walk further than a 3 year old can 👍🏻
    Fair enough. I found they can happily manage more than most would think but situations vary. Back to point 1 then. Buy and resell as you won't have it long.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 27,697
    edited April 2022
    TheBigBean said:

    Why does it need to be lightweight? Don't you just wheel it up to the gate, collapse it and they put it in the hold for free? Not my specialism, but people seem to swear by those Maclaren ones.

    This. I think we had a Silver Cross buggy (pushchair) rather than a pram, that we took with ours when she was 2. We had a cover to put it in when folded and it came out of the hold at the other end absolutely fine. From memory you can pick up second hand for fairly sensible money and resell after as they are pretty durable. This was all a decade ago, though.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Mothercare do a very small fold up. Otherwise get a cheap pushchair rather than a proper huge pram.

    https://www.madeformums.com/reviews/mothercare-xss-stroller-review/

    Basically a poor man's yo-yo but works well enough and fits in an overhead locker.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Also cant you put her on your shoulders?
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,416
    Never had a problem with prams on planes. A sturdy pram is less likely to break than a lightweight pram surely, unless slung directly from the plane to the tarmac.

    I’d with the sturdy option, don’t have to fork out for another pram and if either option breaks your pram less anyway.

    Doesn’t travel insurance cover damaged prams?
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,416
    shirley_basso said:

    Also cant you put her on your shoulders?

    My son spent much of his 3’s on my shoulders, much to his mother’s annoyance.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,642
    pblakeney said:

    rick_chasey said:

    pblakeney said:

    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
    That's as maybe, but I'm still curious.
    I like to walk further than a 3 year old can 👍🏻
    Fair enough. I found they can happily manage more than most would think but situations vary. Back to point 1 then. Buy and resell as you won't have it long.
    Isn't the real issue here that some of your family are being out walked by a three year old?
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,738
    shirley_basso said:

    Also cant you put her on your shoulders?

    She's not a fan.

    Are we agreed it is too risky taking the main pram and it is sensible to get a holiday pram?
    _
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,416
    No. We all have to agree. Otherwise the holiday is cancelled.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • Stevo_666
    Stevo_666 Posts: 58,549
    Shoulder pram gets my vote. A 3 year old is not a toddler.
    "I spent most of my money on birds, booze and fast cars: the rest of it I just squandered." [George Best]
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,803
    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    rick_chasey said:

    pblakeney said:

    TheBigBean said:

    pblakeney said:

    Not my specialty either but surely worst case scenario is buying second hand then selling on return?
    Also, is it necessary? I just checked and our grand children never used any pram or buggy past their 3rd birthdays. I'm assuming it's not a hiking holiday. 😉

    That would be relevant if Rick was taking your grandchildren, but I suspect he is not.
    That's as maybe, but I'm still curious.
    I like to walk further than a 3 year old can 👍🏻
    Fair enough. I found they can happily manage more than most would think but situations vary. Back to point 1 then. Buy and resell as you won't have it long.
    Isn't the real issue here that some of your family are being out walked by a three year old?
    🤔🤔🤔 I never said that. You know when enough is enough and they end up on your shoulders but can easily manage more than a mile non-stop apart from play.

    Anyway, there is no more futile a debate as parenting.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,416
    rick_chasey said:

    shirley_basso said:

    Also cant you put her on your shoulders?

    She's not a fan.

    She has a better view from the pram.
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • monkimark
    monkimark Posts: 1,546
    I took a pram with both of mine, probably 3 or 4 holidays with no ill effects to the pram (i realise that is not a particularly valuable statistic).
    I think we went right to the gate with the buggy once or twice when they were very little and put it on the oversized baggage conveyer at check in once they were a bit older and able to walk around the airport.
    We just took whichever one they were using at the time, never occurred to me to get a holiday pram but then we never bothered with expensive prams anyway.
  • MattFalle
    MattFalle Posts: 11,644
    edited April 2022
    We used one of these for years for both bambini when travelling.

    all you need, lightweight, bombproof, last forever, pack down to nothing.

    https://www.madeformums.com/reviews/maclaren-triumph-review/
    .
    The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
  • MattFalle
    MattFalle Posts: 11,644
    and no, airlines don't go around breaking prams. not really too sure why you think this.

    .
    The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 72,738
    MattFalle said:

    and no, airlines don't go around breaking prams. not really too sure why you think this.

    I remember as a kid my little sister's pram got broken each time it went on a plane (back in the '90s).
    _
  • joeyhalloran
    joeyhalloran Posts: 1,077
    Doesn't it seem odd to buy a new pram in case the existing one breaks? Why not take the old one and buy a new pram if it does actually break?
  • pangolin
    pangolin Posts: 6,316
    joeyhalloran said:

    Doesn't it seem odd to buy a new pram in case the existing one breaks? Why not take the old one and buy a new pram if it does actually break?

    Same reason you take a beater to the pub rather than your Sunday best bike.

    I'm assuming Rick's "main" pram is ludicrously expensive.
    - Genesis Croix de Fer
    - Dolan Tuono
  • carbonclem
    carbonclem Posts: 1,605
    Taking a pushchair for a 3 year old is perfectly fine. Carrying a sleepy toddler in the heat is a nightmare.
    We bought a small stroller for holidays etc and after the first flight we then reverted to taking the 'main' pushchair as the size of it, as luggage, didn't matter at all and it was handier for carting all the day stuff we needed in the luggage sections. Took it on a number of trips and it never got damaged at all. :)
    2020/2021/2022 Metric Century Challenge Winner
  • MattFalle
    MattFalle Posts: 11,644
    rick_chasey said:

    MattFalle said:

    and no, airlines don't go around breaking prams. not really too sure why you think this.

    I remember as a kid my little sister's pram got broken each time it went on a plane (back in the '90s).
    neither we nor anyone we know had had this happen bizarrely.
    .
    The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
  • surrey_commuter
    surrey_commuter Posts: 18,866
    MattFalle said:

    rick_chasey said:

    MattFalle said:

    and no, airlines don't go around breaking prams. not really too sure why you think this.

    I remember as a kid my little sister's pram got broken each time it went on a plane (back in the '90s).
    neither we nor anyone we know had had this happen bizarrely.
    Rick’s parents were probably scamming the insurance company
  • MattFalle
    MattFalle Posts: 11,644
    was it one of these?




    .
    The camera down the willy isn't anything like as bad as it sounds.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,588
    Problem with the shoulder carrying option for Rick is it will mean his daughter scuffing her shoes on the floor.
  • shirley_basso
    shirley_basso Posts: 6,195
    Put stunt pegs on his knees

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