They're not allowed on board, and not needed. I don't think it should've been a fight, but rules are rules.

What led up to the incident hasn't been shown or revealed, but I'm assuming she tried to bring on a stroller and the crew wanted to check it or stow it and the mother refused to give it up. I don't think the situation was handled well by the crew, but I also don't think that the passenger should have had an upgrade to first class.

One of my pet peeves about airline travel is passengers being allowed to bring carry on bags aboard that are way over the size limits. They hog the oversize bins with their big bags and people who follow the rules often can't find a space for their legal size bags. In my mind, strollers fit into this classification as do golf bags, large musical instruments, skis, etc.

This is partly the fault of the airlines for not enforcing their own rules. Since the rules aren't enforced, passengers push it to the limit and then when a crew does try to enforce the size limits, passengers object.

I read the airline (American) allows any one stroller under 20#s to be brought onto the plane by the parent. I don't know what size hers may have been, but it was an exhausted mother traveling with two babies and all needed to care for them, diapers, wipes and all the rest. Her arms of course can only carry so much - and Moms do what they must do, sometimes traveling alone with babies. The real problem seemed to be that the flight attendant wrenched it away, hitting her with it and came close enough to striking the baby in his impatience she became frightened - another passenger stepped in to protect her. What a fiasco, for which the airline is taking full responsibility.

I have seen light weight fold up strollers on public transportation, they are compact when folded. I think the woman carried a light weight fold up stroller and stowed it in the overhead. The flight attendant saw the stroller in the overhead bin and removed it.

Even double strollers are that compact? And rob333 noted that no strollers are allowed on board. Also, the Today Show announced this morning that she was NOT hit or even bumped by the stroller when it was removed from the overhead bin by a crew member. Who knows what the truth is at this point.

Strollers are gate checked. I'm sure traveling by air with two babies is a trial, but one simply must have a plan for how they intend to do this. Perhaps a back carrier for one? Or a front sling? It's not the flight attendants job to help with babies or children.

Why is everyone assuming it was a double stroller? The reports I have seen said she was carrying one child and had the other in a car seat. Surely if she had a double stroller then both children would have been in it prior to being on the plane.

I've read at least 4 different descriptions of the incident and watched it on a couple different TV stations and I never heard any baby conveyance item other than a double stroller mentioned. I'd like to hear another version! Collenoz, do you remember which station or news report you saw that mentioned a car seat being involved? And are you allowed to take a car seat on an airplane? Thanks!

In the linked article, a fair way down, it says:

"Olivia Morgan, who was standing in the
door to the cabin with her eight-year-old daughter when the incident
occurred, said the woman had been looking for a space to put the
collapsible stroller.

'The
flight attendant wrestled the stroller away from the woman, who was
sobbing, holding one baby with the second baby in a car seat on the
ground next to her,' Morgan said."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4436300/Twitter-trolls-American-Airlines.html#ixzz4fIzMzZLp

Lots of people take car seats on planes for infants as they can be belted into the plane seat more safely and comfortably.

None of the articles I've read said "double" stroller, just "stroller", "collapsible stroller" or "metal stroller".

Thanks! I always assumed strapping a car seat into a plane seat would be much safer than holding a baby during a flight! Glad to hear that's a common practice. Having never flown with a baby I have another question. If you're using a car seat in a plane seat you have to purchase a ticket for that seat, correct? I'd much rather sit beside a baby on a plane, than a seat hog! LOL!

Yes, you need to purchase a seat for the child.

You can get the double strollers where one seat is in front of the other. If you can get a single seat down the aisle, then you could get a double down there also. The woman should have been properly instructed at boarding. Usually the airline people talk to those who need extra help. I've never traveled with a baby much less two. It sounds like maybe the mom was technically wrong, but the air hostess escalated it.

We had an incident where an a flight attendant was pretty rude to us a few years back. She decided that my then 8 year old couldn't bring on one of his two carry ons. He was small for his age, his feet didn't touch the ground, and it would have fit under the seat. She checked the bag and sent it to Dallas instead of Dulles. We got it back 48 hours after we landed. My child got some new clothes in the meantime. One of the other flight attendants must have felt bad for us. He was extra nice to us and kept bringing extra snacks.