slewts

Hi, we are due to fly out on 22nd August to start our new life in Abu Dhabi. I have a two year old so want to take our pushchair with us. We are flying with Etihad and wondered if the pushchair would come off our son's 23kg luggage allowance or not?

Plus can we take the pushchair right up to the gate or do we have to check it in with the other luggage?

One last thing, we would like to take a car seat on the flight with us too (Group 1 seat for 9 months up, so quite big). Would this also come out of his allowance? Is there a chance it will get trashed by baggage handlers?

Thanks for reading!
Sarah

Millsyisland

The pushchair's no problem as you can take that in addition to any luggage allowance, plus you will be able to take it all the way to the gate where they will take it from you.

As your son is 2, he will have his own seat - were you planning to take the car-seat into the cabin and have him sit in it for the flight or put it in the hold? When we first came over my son my 6 months old and we took the seat into the cabin and strapped it to his seat but i think it would be more difficult for a 2 year old.

If you're going to put it in the hold I guess it would form part of your overall baggage allowance, but they may be a little flexible at check-in.

Good luck!

Oyibopeppeh

Just remember that Etihad only give a miserable baggage allowance of 23kg (unless you get to travel up front) and are very strict with it. They'll charge you for every last kilo if you're over.

Next break we've decided to vote with our feet, travel the extra hour to DXB and use Emirates who allow 30kg each.

Tockalosh

We have never had any baggage issues with Etihad in either business or economy and have always been over the allowance in economy. Last flight was Dec 2010 and we went bacgk two other times last year. This was Manchester -Bh via AD
Qatar and BA have been the only carriers we have had weight issues with.

Can confirm other posters comments that the pushchair will go right up to the gate but be prepared for possible damage to it.

We have one of those NZ Phil and Ted jobs for normal transport and a shitty Mclarren for hoofing onto aircraft as it suffers badly. A tip is to have a bag that the pram will fit into. This saves bits getting bent and ripped off. An old tent bag will do the trick nicely for a buggy. The P+T has its own bag by them but I cant bring myself to risk getting it damaged given the cost of the bladdy thing.
I have seen some very sad mums when their prams come out in bits in the baggage collection area

No idea about car seats on the plane as our 2 year old goes horizontal as soon as the plane takes off and is quite happy

slewts

Thanks for all your replies. When I called etihad they said that pushchairs would have to come off our luggage allowance, but when i searched online this didn't always seem to be the case. I just don't want to get stung with going over the allowance. I've got a pretty expensive bugaboo but have bought the transport bag which is really padded, so hoping it will survive!

I wasn't intending on taking the car seat into the cabin, just wanted it in the hold so we could use it in taxis etc the first few days.

Thanks
Sarah

Ps. We have just heard from Crown relocation that our belongings will be delayed in arriving in Abu Dhabi due to Ramadan / eid. Is this common? They don't want our stuff to arrive till after Eid as apparently it will cost a lot to store in AD or will not be safe. Grrr.

Meow

Crown Relocation are talking nonsense. Ramadan delays things, but not everything comes to a grinding halt. I am guessing that the people in the UK have told you this? Put it down to them not understanding the situation out here. There is no reason why your shipment couldn't be delivered, but expect a delay as people work shorter hours.

I would be very surprised if Etihad charged you extra for a child seat. The main ME airlines tend not to be as fussy as the UK ones and making a profit out of a child's safety would be mean. If you want a definitive answer I have contacts at Etihad's head office (senior media & PR folk) and would be happy to have a word with them. I am sure they will confirm that there isn't an issue.

slewts

Thanks for the advice, it would be great if you could clarify one way or another about pushchairs / car seats and how they affect our allowance as I want to take as much stuff as possible, seeing as our belongings will be so late arriving!

Sarah

Millsyisland

I've flown with a buggy on a number of different airlines over the past 5 years and none of them have ever included the buggy as part of the weight or number allowance.

If you plan to put the car seat in the hold, I would suspect this will be included as part of the allowance though.

norsk

If you send the car seat with your suitcases then yes I expect it will be part of your allowance, but I know from experience that when flying out of Heathrow for example they send car seats as special goods (which are not part of your standard allowance - or at least I have never been asked for anything extra). This has been with both Gulf Air and BA.

There is no way the buggy will be part of the allowance, and if you check out the terms (tiny writing) of your ticket most times it explicitly mentions buggys...