Due to family illness, I travelled with my son via airplane twice a month for almost a year beginning when he was 2 months old. I know that I will need a flame-proof suit as I say this, but we did not purchase a seat for him on any of these flights. Not only was finances an issue, but he HATED to be confined in a car seat. Being able to hold him made it much easier to rock him to sleep as the plane took off.
Don't stress too much about other passengers. In all those flights, I only had one person get snippy (and my son was actually asleep!!) about sitting next to an infant. Boy did she gets some dirty looks!! With very few exceptions, people are VERY understanding and will even try to help you if you look like you need it. I've seen men in business suits offer to hold babies while Mom gets situated.
Advice for the plane: Try to reserve a bulk head seat if you can. There is much more room. The one and only bad experience I had was when we had a really stinky diaper shortly after takeoff. There is no room to change a baby in an airplane bathroom and waiting until landing was not an option, so we had to do it on the floor. I just did it quickly and sealed the diaper up in a plastic bag. (Make sure that you pack some bags for this type of emergency). Even if you get a bulk head seat, check in at the counter before you board to see if there are any extra empty seats on the plane that you could sit next to. It only takes a minute and the extra room can be fantastic.
I didn't try to feed my son on the plane when he was tiny. I did it before we boarded and gave him his pacifier when we got seated. He would usually nap after he ate, so this was a good prelude to getting him to sleep. It also gave the food a chance to settle on his stomach a little, reducing the whole vomit/mess thing. As he got older, we did make sure that there were snack type finger foods for him in my bag. But I agree that some type of sucking is important to prevent ear pain. (Another tip if you use pacifiers, get one of those clips to attach it to baby's cothes. It is a nightmare trying to reach a binky that has bounced across three rows under the seats!)
The emergency instruction cards are great distractions, too. Pictures are bright and cartoonish. The card is stiff enough to hold with one hand without flopping all over and my son loved it. During takeoff and landing when you have to stow luggage, this is wonderful!!
For other toys, safety pin a piece of ribbon to your shirt and tie the other end to the toy. The child can play with it and drop it a hundred times without you performing gymnastics to get it back.
Bring your own stroller, even if you leave it in your room for the rest of the vacation. Trying to manage luggage, tickets, carseats, diaper bags, DHs, and a baby can be overwhelming. Your stroller can make it easier to get from the parking lot to the gate, to the baggage claim, to transportation, through check-in,.....well, you get the idea. You can gate check it right before you get on the plane and it will be returned to you at the jet way as you disembark.
That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure that others have more great ideas!
Have a great trip!
A
. It has been easier at times to just hand them to someone who glares. A baby can have a great deal of discomfort (or any of us for that matter) if there is any fluid in the sinuses. It is cold season! For adults, I recommend sudafed before hand and as many of the other posts suggested, something for the baby to suck on for takeoff or landing. Warming bottles on the plane doesn't work all that great, because there is only hot water. You can put the bottle in hot water to warm, but this doesn't usually get very warm if you intend to use it for take off. One thing I have seen formula parents use is a travel thermos that they bring half full of hot water. They plop the bottle in before boarding, and it is warm for takeoff. Of course you can ask the flight attendant to add both hot and cold water to your formula, but they don't have "warm water" and really, most babies shouldn't drink the airplane water at all. 
)
any horror stories with a 18 month old? I have seen a lot of unhappy babies in the parks. We didn't take our boys until they could walk all day (that was the motto...'stroller free' 
We absolutely loved this thing, did not have to take it off to nurse him, and we felt very reassured that he was not totally unsecured in the plane. Buying the extra ticket, for us, would have been a waste of money on those very short flights. He was good the whole way with the help of my magic ****ie milk, LOL! 
LOL
My next tip is to definitely, definitely take a sling. The trip we just took, we did not bother with a stroller. In fact, he has never been in a stroller in his life! (He will be by the time we get to Disney in Nov. though.) We have a ring sling and it works wonderfully, also custom-made! You could get one of those in a Disney fabric if ya wanted, as well! Hee hee, I am going Disney nuts! 
I guess this is not a tip but I have to brag that we are collecting Disney diapers for his first trip in November...so far we only have a Buzz Lightyear but OMG is it cute! If anybody wants to overdose on Disney baby products the way I have, let me know and I'll steer ya in the right direction! HA HA
She is 3 months old now. Her big brothers are 10 
and 9 
