Best Travel Strollers for Airline Travel (2024)

A good travel stroller is an essential item when traveling with a baby or toddler. I have taken over ten flights with my baby before he has turned one year old, and have learned a lot in the process about what to look for when choosing the best travel stroller for air travel.

Before my first flight with my baby, I did a ton of research on the best travel strollers for airline travel. Like many things related to baby items, the research process was overwhelming and a little bit frustrating. I was hoping there would be one clear answer for “the perfect travel stroller”, and there wasn’t.

I later realized that this is because there are a lot of factors to consider when choosing a travel stroller, such as:

Price: How much are you willing to spend? If you travel frequently then you might want to invest a little more money into something that will be durable for multiple trips, but if you travel less frequently then you might want to go with a cheaper option.

Car seat: Do you want a stroller where the car seat can attach to the top of the regular stroller seat? If so, this will limit your options pretty significantly, but this is a nice feature to have especially for trips taken during your baby’s first year. If you choose a stroller that does not have this feature, then you can use a strap to attach your car seat to the back of your stroller or to your luggage instead.

Size: Do you want a stroller that folds up small enough to carry onto the airplane with your hand baggage? This is a nice feature, but not 100% necessary since most airlines allow you to gate check your stroller for free. However, when you gate check your stroller, there is a higher risk that it could get damaged.

Weight: Is having a lightweight stroller important to you? For me, this was an important factor because I had a trip scheduled to the Greek islands where I knew there would be a lot of stairs and I would have to remove my child from the stroller and carry both him and the stroller up and down stairs. I wanted a stroller as lightweight as possible to make this easier.

Your child’s age and size: If you are traveling with a newborn or young infant, you might want a stroller that reclines or converts to a bassinet. Alternatively, if you plan on using the stroller for several years, you want to be sure to choose a stroller that can accommodate older toddlers and young children.

With the above factors in mind, keep reading to learn about my top picks for the best travel strollers for air travel.

Table of Contents

The Best Travel Strollers for Air Travel

Best Overall

Cybex Libelle 2

Pro’s
- Folds small enough to carry on board most airplanes
- You can attach compatible Cybex car seats on top of the regular stroller seat
Con’s
- The stroller seat only does a partial recline

Best Upscale Option

Nuna TRVL Stroller

Pro’s
- One handed fold
- You can attach compatible car seats on top of the regular stroller seat
- Stylish
- Very sturdy considering how lightweight it is
Con’s
- Expensive
- Does not fit in the overhead bin of all airplanes

Best for Travel and Daily Use With An Infant

Doona

Pros:
- Super convenient for getting in and out of taxis, cars, and airplanes
- Does not take up any extra space in cars/taxis since the stroller wheels fold under the car seat when being used as a car seat
- Small enough to be pushed down most airplane aisles
Cons
- No storage underneath the stroller
- Can’t be used once child passes 35 pounds and 32 inches
- It is just a car seat (rather than a regular stroller seat) which is not ideal if you plan on spending a lot of time strolling around with your baby (most car seat manufacturers do not recommend keeping your baby in a car seat for more than two hours per day)
- Expensive