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Updated August 2026: checked dimension by dimension against American’s and Southwest’s own published carry-on boxes, none of these five strollers fits either one. The Bugaboo Butterfly 2 has come off Bugaboo’s own site, replaced by the Butterfly 2 Plus. The Stokke YOYO³ is under an open CPSC recall.
Buy the Joolz Aer+ at $449. It scores 66.2 on the ledger below, within 0.3 points of the Cybex Coya at 66.5, and it costs $443.45 less. None of these five — Aer+, Coya, Stokke YOYO³, Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus, UPPAbaby Minu V3 — folds narrow enough to fit any US carry-on box its maker gestures at. Every one of them misses on the same dimension.
You Cannot Put 17.3 Inches Through a 14-Inch Opening
American Airlines publishes one number for a carry-on bag: it “cannot exceed 22 x 14 x 9 inches (56 x 36 x 23 cm) including handles and wheels.” A stroller folds into three dimensions too, so the check is mechanical — sort both triples, compare them in order, and every one of the three has to clear. Here is that check, using each maker’s own published fold and no measurement of mine.
| Stroller | Maker’s published fold, sorted | vs 9 in | vs 14 in | vs 22 in | Fits? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cybex Coya | 7.1 / 17.3 / 20.5 in | 1.9 under | 3.3 over | 1.5 under | No |
| Stokke YOYO³ | 7.1 / 17.3 / 20.5 in | 1.9 under | 3.3 over | 1.5 under | No |
| Joolz Aer+ | 8.46 / 17.72 / 21.06 in | 0.54 under | 3.72 over | 0.94 under | No |
| Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus | 9.6 / 17.6 / 21.8 in | 0.6 over | 3.6 over | 0.2 under | No |
| UPPAbaby Minu V3 | 10.0 / 18.0 / 21.5 in | 1.0 over | 4.0 over | 0.5 under | No |
Read the bolded column. All five fail, all five fail on the middle dimension, and the middle dimension is the folded width. The spread across five strollers from five different companies is 17.3 to 18.0 inches — seven tenths of an inch, 4.0 percent, top to bottom. That is not five design philosophies. That is a wheel track wide enough for a seat a toddler fits in, which is a fixed problem, and none of them has solved it because it is not solvable at that seat width.
The Joolz and Stokke figures are converted from the metric dimensions each company publishes: Joolz gives the Aer+ as 53.5 x 45 x 21.5 cm, Stokke gives the YOYO³ as “52 x 44 x 18 cm (20.5 x 17.3 x 7.1 in)” and calls it “like the size of an airplane cabin luggage.” Cybex publishes 20.5 x 17.3 x 7.1 inches for the Coya — the same three numbers as Stokke, to the tenth of an inch, on a stroller from a different company at nearly twice the price.
You Cannot Settle This With Cubic Inches
Cubic inches is the wrong test here. Multiply the Coya’s fold out and it comes to about 2,518 cubic inches against 22 x 14 x 9 = 2,772 cubic inches for American’s box — 2,518 divided by 2,772 is 0.908, comfortably under on total volume. That comparison still tells you nothing about whether the stroller fits, because volume is not what a sizer checks.
A sizer is an opening, not a bucket. A plank one inch thick and forty inches long has a trivial volume and fits nothing. The Coya is 17.3 inches across its widest face against a 14-inch limit, and no amount of spare volume rotates that away. Every roundup in this category that reaches for cubic inches is making the same substitution, and it produces a confident wrong answer instead of an uncertain right one.
You Gain 1.3 Inches on Southwest and Still Miss
Southwest publishes the most generous carry-on box among the big US carriers: “24” (length) x 16″ (width) x 10″ (height),” and it is explicit that “Wheels, handles, and any attachments count toward these dimensions.” Two more inches of width than American. Run the same check and the answer does not change.
| Stroller | Folded width | Over Southwest’s 16 in by | Over American’s 14 in by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cybex Coya | 17.3 in | 1.3 in | 3.3 in (23.6%) |
| Stokke YOYO³ | 17.3 in | 1.3 in | 3.3 in (23.6%) |
| Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus | 17.6 in | 1.6 in | 3.6 in (25.7%) |
| Joolz Aer+ | 17.72 in | 1.72 in | 3.72 in (26.6%) |
| UPPAbaby Minu V3 | 18.0 in | 2.0 in | 4.0 in (28.6%) |
What you are buying in this category is not a fit. It is a small enough miss that a gate agent waves it through, plus a fold light enough to lift over your head. Both American and Delta say plainly that a stroller is checked free and does not count against your baggage allowance, and neither publishes a size or weight limit for carrying one into the cabin — I looked and could not find one on either carrier’s own pages. Cabin carriage is crew discretion. Price the risk accordingly, and read our carry-on luggage comparison for the bag that has to share the bin with it.
You Should Check Your YOYO³ Serial Number First
On 14 November 2024 the Consumer Product Safety Commission published recall 25-044, covering about 2,890 Stokke YOYO³ strollers because “the parking brake on the recalled strollers can disengage, posing an injury hazard.” No incidents were reported. The recall is bounded by serial number: units beginning 142AA and running below 0062239. The remedy is a full refund, not a repair kit, which is Stokke’s own read on how fixable the fault is.
Any stroller carrying an open recall on the stroller itself has to be named here, so here it is. The recall does not make the YOYO³ a bad stroller; it makes the serial number on the frame something you check before the first walk. Register at Stokke’s recall page, follow the maker’s own guidance, and take a professional’s word over mine on anything to do with a child restraint.
Joolz has a 2026 recall too, and its scope is narrower than the headlines suggest. Recall 26-568, dated 18 June 2026, covers about 3,840 US car seat adapters for the Aer2 after one report of an adapter detaching, and the notice states outright that “only the car seat adapters are involved in the recall; the stroller is not involved.” The Aer+ is not in it at all. Bugaboo, UPPAbaby and Cybex have no open CPSC recall on any of the strollers here.
You Cannot Buy the Butterfly 2 Bugaboo Sold Last Year
Bugaboo’s US stroller page lists nine models. “Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus” is on it; “Bugaboo Butterfly 2” is not. The Butterfly 2 product page still resolves and still prints its specs, and across the top it says “No longer available,” with a button pointing at the Plus. Same 17.6 x 9.6 x 21.8 inch fold, same 16 lb, same 50 lb child limit, $579.00.
Joolz did the opposite thing with the same problem. Its US stroller page carries the Aer+ at $449 and the Aer² at $579 side by side, neither marked discontinued, neither described as replacing the other. Two current models at a $130 gap, and the buyer has to work out the difference from a comparison page on the company’s European site. That page is where the Aer+ fold dimensions live, because the US Aer+ page went to a 404 partway through this check and came back later.
You Are Weighing Five Axes, and Here Is What Each Is Worth
Folded width, 30 points. The heaviest, because it is the only dimension any of them fails on and the only one a sizer would catch. Scored against Southwest’s 16-inch limit as the reachable target: 16.0 inches scores 100, 18.0 scores zero. Buyable from its maker with a price on the page, 20 points. Recall record on the stroller itself, 15 points. Adapter recalls count for less than frame recalls, and the CPSC notice says which is which. Warranty you get without registering anything, 20 points. Registration-gated coverage is a coupon, not a warranty. Weight, 15 points. 13.2 lb scores 100, 16.7 lb scores zero.
| Axis (weight) | Cybex Coya | Joolz Aer+ | Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus | Stokke YOYO³ | UPPAbaby Minu V3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Folded width (30) | 35 | 14 | 20 | 35 | 0 |
| Buyable with a price (20) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 50 |
| Recall record (15) | 100 | 100 | 100 | 30 | 100 |
| Warranty without registering (20) | 60 | 60 | 60 | 25 | 100 |
| Weight (15) | 60 | 100 | 20 | 85.7 | 0 |
| Tally | 66.5 | 66.2 | 56.0 | 52.9 | 45.0 |
The Coya’s 66.5 is 10.5 + 20.0 + 15.0 + 12.0 + 9.0. Move the width weight down from 30 to 15 and the Aer+ takes the top spot outright, because the Coya’s only edge over it is 0.42 of an inch on a dimension where both of them miss by more than three. That is worth knowing before you pay the difference.
You Get the Cheapest Fold and the Lightest Frame in the Joolz Aer+
$449 on Joolz’s own US page, 6 kg with the seat unit — 13.2 lb, the lightest here — and a 22 kg child limit. Its warranty runs 24 months, extendable to ten years if you register on joolz.com within six months of purchase, which is generous and is also a thing you have to remember to do. BabyGearLab scored it 84 of 100 on 29 September 2025, the highest of the three strollers here it has reviewed, and measured its fold at 21 x 17.6 x 8.6 inches, within half an inch of Joolz’s own figures on every axis.
One disagreement worth printing: BabyGearLab weighed its Aer+ at 14.3 lb, which is exactly what Joolz publishes for the newer Aer², and 1.1 lb above what Joolz publishes for the Aer+. I have no way to settle which unit was on the scale. If a pound decides your purchase, weigh the box.
Skip this if you need a seat that lies flat from birth. The Aer+ seat is rated from six months; a newborn needs the cot or a car seat, and that is another $300 or more.
You Pay $892.45 for the Narrowest Fold and a Warranty of Two Years
The Cybex Coya tops the tally on width and buyability. It is also the most expensive thing on this page by a wide margin: $892.45 on the specific 2025 product page, marked down from $1,049.95, while the lightweight collection page next to it says “From $699.95” and the Coya Platinum page shows no price at all. Three of a company’s own URLs, three different price presentations. Its 55 lb child limit is the highest here and its warranty is the plainest: two years from first retail sale, receipt required, no registration.
Skip this if the $443.45 gap to the Aer+ is real money to you. You are buying 0.42 of an inch of width, a pound and a half of extra weight, and 5 lb more seat capacity.
You Trade Three Pounds for the Best Push in the Bugaboo Butterfly 2 Plus
16 lb, a 50 lb child limit, $579.00, and a fold that is 9.6 inches deep — over American’s 9-inch limit on two dimensions rather than one. Bugaboo’s warranty is 24 months, doubled to four years automatically if you buy direct or register a retailer purchase within three months. Its warranty page and Joolz’s open with the identical sentence, word for word: “The manufacturer’s warranty period is 24 months from the date of purchase as indicated on the sales receipt.” Two competitors, one paragraph.
Skip this if the stroller spends more time in overhead bins than on sidewalks. Three pounds and half an inch of extra depth are exactly the wrong things to carry through an airport.
You Are Buying a Recall Check With the Stokke YOYO³
13.7 lb, second-lightest, the joint-narrowest fold, and the longest history in airline cabins of any design in this class. Stokke lists it at $499.00 from six months and $649.00 as the from-birth bundle, marked down from $748.00. What holds it to fourth is the open recall above and one absence: I could not retrieve a warranty duration from Stokke’s own collection page or its warranty page, only a reference to an extended warranty behind a registration process. Every other maker here publishes a number.
Skip this if you are buying secondhand. The recall is defined by a serial range, and a used frame is exactly where an unchecked serial ends up.
You Get the Best Warranty and the Worst Fold in the UPPAbaby Minu V3
The named loser here at 45.0, and it loses on two axes it cannot argue with: 18.0 inches is the widest published fold on this page and 16.7 lb is the heaviest frame. Its own product page publishes no price numeral I could retrieve. BabyGearLab scored it 82 of 100 on 29 September 2025 at a $550 list price and measured the fold at 21.6 x 17.6 x 9.2 inches. UPPAbaby labels those three numbers differently — it calls the 10-inch face the length and the 21.5-inch face the height — but the shape both sources describe is the same box, and on width the maker’s own 18.0 is the larger figure, so that is the one scored.
It wins the axis buyers do not shop on. UPPAbaby covers it for three years and says registration is “for safety alert or recall only,” not a condition of the warranty — the only unconditional multi-year coverage on this page. It is also rated from birth without buying a cot, which is a real saving the ledger does not score. If your stroller is mostly a sidewalk stroller, the trade is defensible, and our full-size stroller comparison is the more useful page for you.
Skip this if you fly more than twice a year. Four inches over American’s limit is the largest miss here, and the extra 3.5 lb is the difference between lifting it and heaving it.
You Have a 0.3-Point Tie to Break
66.5 to 66.2 is not a verdict, it is a rounding error with a winner’s badge on it. So: the Joolz Aer+ is the one I would pay for. The Coya’s entire lead is 0.42 of an inch of folded width, on a dimension where both strollers miss American’s limit by more than three inches and Southwest’s by more than one. Buying $443.45 of stroller to close a gap that changes no outcome is the definition of paying for a spec sheet.
Nothing in this category folds narrower than 17.3 inches. Buy on the other four axes.
Prices are approximate, current as of publication, and change frequently — confirm the latest price with the retailer before buying.
You Probably Want to Ask These Three Things
Will any travel stroller fit in an airplane overhead bin?
Not by the published numbers. American Airlines caps a carry-on at 22 x 14 x 9 inches including handles and wheels, and the five premium compact strollers on this page fold to widths of 17.3 to 18.0 inches — 3.3 to 4.0 inches over. Southwest’s larger 24 x 16 x 10 box still leaves all five over by 1.3 to 2.0 inches. Strollers ride in bins because bins are bigger than the published allowance and crews use judgment, not because any of them fits.
Is the Stokke YOYO³ under recall?
Part of the run is. CPSC recall 25-044, published 14 November 2024, covers about 2,890 YOYO³ strollers whose parking brake can disengage, with serial numbers beginning 142AA and running below 0062239. No incidents were reported and the remedy is a full refund. Check the serial number on the frame against that range before use, and follow Stokke’s own instructions rather than a summary.
Has the Joolz Aer+ been replaced by the Aer2?
No. Joolz’s US stroller page lists the Aer+ at $449 and the Aer² at $579 at the same time, and marks neither as discontinued or superseded. That is the opposite of what Bugaboo did with the Butterfly 2, whose product page now reads “No longer available” and points buyers to the Butterfly 2 Plus.
More of these in Family & Kids, including what changes when a second child arrives.
