Herbs for Travel

Rescue Remedy is for anxiety, which is more of an adult affliction (well, other than seperation anxiety) than a young toddler thing. There's no reason to believe your child will be anxious, unless he is feeding off of your anxiety. I get the impression (correct me if I'm wrong!) that solsticemama is looking more for something to keep her kiddo relaxed and under control in a situation where he can't move and expend energy, and is likely to become frustrated.

Valerian would work, but I'd talk to an NP or herbalist about dosages for a child that young. In any case, I'd save it until you need it, rather than just dosing him up right from the start of the flight. Is this an overnight flight? You may be able to just nurse him to sleep for much of the trip. I've had no trouble with Talia on 5-1/2 hour trips, awake the whole time or most of the time.

Make sure you bring food he loves, even if it's "treat" food (I bring Annie's Cheddar Bunnies), one or two favorite toys and, most importantly, one or two brand new toys. Don't even let him see them until you really need the distraction then bring them out as a surprise. I last travelled with Talia when she was 22 months, and brought a Magnadoodle - it was awesome. Whatever you buy, make sure it doesn't have small bits that you'll have to chase down in tight airplane spaces. I taped the drawer of the Magnadoodle with the little shape magnets closed, and we only used the tethered pen.

I assume you bought your kiddo a seat? Expect him to spend part of the time there and part of the time on your lap. He'll need Mama time, but you'll need your space a bit too, as well as need to strap him in sometimes for safety. If you expect him to stay strapped into his seat the whole time, well, you'd be more successful with codeine

Good luck!