His last free flight was last week <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/greensad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="greensad"> However, the only place we ever really go is to my grandma's in NY (about 5-6 x year) and she has graciously offered to pay for his ticket whenever we want to come up. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/love.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="love"> He has sat buckled into his own seat for quite some time now, although technically if the flight was full he would have to be in my lap. When he was littler and even now if he is sleeping or grumpy, I stealthily anchor him to me with my maya wrap around his waist and mine. Usually I drap the tail of the wrap in such a way that it looks like he just has a blanket on. I have to do this in secret because the flight attendants will chew you out if they see you with the sling on - as it is not approved by the FAA. So that I don't arouse suspicion, I don't wear the sling while I am getting on the plane. However, I think it is ridiculous that they think a baby would be safer in just my arms as opposed to securely fastened to my body, which is securely fastened to the seat. Okay, I'll get off my sling rant now...<br><br>
I've never bothered bringing the car seat on as it seems like too much hassle and without trying to be really dark and depressing, if your plane crashes, a car seat isn't really going to do much. I always just check the car seat, but I use a great car seat travel bag that I bought at Babies R Us for about $20. It makes it much easier to carry the seat into the airport and protects it from grime, mishandling, etc.<br><br>
He has always done really well flying, never had any problems with his ears or anything. When he was little, I always made sure to sit next to a little old lady if I could find one, because they usually delight in having a baby to play with for a while!