If you’re looking for one of the best lightweight buggies suitable for travelling, this one gets the thumbs up from a travel editor (and mum-to-be)
Travelling with a baby comes brings with it lots of things to think about, not least how you’re going to easily transport it to and from your destination, whether that’s by plane, train or car. Luckily I’ve found a lightweight stroller that fits into the overhead compartment of most major airlines, and I think it’s going to be a must-have for holidays.
As OK! Magazine’s travel editor, I’m a frequent traveller, and I don’t plan on that stopping once I have a baby later this year. However, I had been wondering about the best way to travel with it – can you take buggies on aeroplanes, for example? However I’ve found a fold-up buggy that fits into most major airlines’ overhead lockers, and I’m totally sold.
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Despite my baby still to make an appearance in the world, I’ve been trying out the new Joolz Aer2 pushchair, which comes in seven colours. Usually retailing with a starting price of £439, with extras such as bumper bar and cot costing extra, it’s currently reduced to £395 on Natural Baby Shower and £364 in selected shades on Mamas & Papas.
Suitable for newborns through to toddlers, its key features include a one-hand, one-second fold-up mechanism, it’s lightweight to carry on your shoulder at just 6.5kg, and – what I was perhaps most interested in – is aeroplane-compatible; at 53 x 44 x 23.5cm when folded up, it claims to fit in overhead cabins. This means that you won’t need to risk you buggy getting bashed around in the plane’s hold when you fly.
When looking for confirmation for if it meets even the fussiest airlines’ luggage allowances, however, I did find mixed reviews – some users on this forum were allowed to stow in in their Ryanair overhead cabin while others were made to check it into the hold, while this Instagram video shows it fitting easily within easyJet’s luggage measurer. I would check the measurements of your airline’s luggage allowances carefully before travelling though, and it sounds like you may need to be prepared to have it placed in the hold if the flight is busy.
Despite this, however, the thing I loved most about the Joolz Aer2 was just how easy it is to set up and fold down. It comes ready-assembled in the the box – not something that can be said of a lot of prams and strollers – and really does spring open and fold down with one hand at the touch of a button – something that’ll be extremely useful if I’m balancing a baby in my other hand. It’s also very lightweight to carry on your shoulder, yet feels sturdy for its size when in use.
Other bonus points include a fairly large storage basket underneath, and a well-positioned footbrake pedal (again, not something that’s always taken into consideration, especially with smaller buggies).
As a live in an area surrounded by countryside, I probably wouldn’t use this as my everyday pushchair (I like the iCandy Peach 7 or the Silver Cross Cove for this), and as I don’t have the cot attachment, I won’t use it while be little one is super tiny either. But I can see the Joolz Aer2 being so useful not only for travelling abroad but also when getting the train down to London or other cities, something I do quite regularly.
