Thanks Sarah. I have read a lot of mixed reviews on the need for a car seat on the plane. Some people have told me I cannot live without it, others say it isn’t necessary for a cross country flight, but would be for a much longer one. We definitely need a car seat where we are going, so it seems easier to just bring one with us. If we are brining one along anyway I don’t see the harm in using it on the plane. Other than dragging it through the airport.

Bernie — I actually LOVE your suggestion of purchasing one seat in plus or business if we were traveling on a longer flight. For a four hour flight it may or may not be worth it, but it would enable both of us to stretch for at least a little bit of our journey. My fear though is that my son will want to stick with me. He’s a bit of a momma’s boy, which means my husband would get to spend 4 hours all alone. Not a bad deal for him, not sure it’s such a good one for me 🙂

Now I might have shelled out the $50 per seat but they were clearly trying to get every penny, especially because of the “it starts at $5,” I probably would have said no on principal.

You might try booking two seats in economy and one in plus or business. That way you and your husband can trade off and get some relief depending on how long the flight is. If it’s just a couple hours I’d say it wasn’t worth it but only you can know how uncomfortable you’ll be.

I enjoyed reading your post. I agree with you that everywhere you turn there is some new additional fee created.

I think I would pay for the extra legroom at the front of the plane if I had a baby or toddler. That would provide some comfort and ease with all the baby items we would need to carry with us. This would also apply to a situation where you have a family member or friend who has leg cramps or physical ailments where they need to stand up or stretch often.