yeah, that was kinda mean. I hope it made you feel better.
If you could save $900 on your next flight would you do it? If I know its going to be a major inconvenience for EVERYONE else on board I wouldn't do it. But the thing is, anytime you travel with a kid that age it could turn into a problem- seat or no seat. Anyone who has ever tried to put a toddler in a carseat if they didn't want to go in it knows it can turn in to a tantrum of epic proportions. That's life with a toddler. Anything can set them off, but sometimes they suprise you and are like little angels. Its not like the seat will magically make her behave.
I get what your saying though, and I totally understand. Like I said, if it were up to me, we wouldn't be going at all. Because to me, (who controls the fiances of the house) we shouldn't be spending this much on a "vacation". But, there are other people to consider, like my father in law, who is disabled and can't take a flight of that length to see his only grandchild. And my husbands grandmothers, who are definately not able to fly to the US and may never see a great-grandchild otherwise. Not that I expect a violin to start playing or anything, but thats the reality here and there isn't much I can do to change it. So we're going. Poor people travel sometimes.
A few things I need to clear up about this whole thing.
It looks like I need to lie about her age to actually buy her a ticket. When I put in her birthdate on both Delta and KLM it takes away her seat.
(* so the airline expects me to not buy her a seat*)
IF I do buy her a seat, I can bring my car seat to the gate and install it in the seat - but not during take off/landing and during turbulence because she is under 2 and should be a "lap baby". Or does this vary by airline?
This seems crazy to me, but what do I know.
Basically, if I buy her a ticket, it would only be to have a place to put her when we eat and she falls asleep. Basically 5 or 6 hours of our 10 hour flight. I'm expecting to do a lot of aisle laps to keep her occupied.

If I don't buy her a ticket, she must sit on my lap during take off/landing and during turbulence. If they have a seat available, she can use it if a parent is seated in the seat next to her. They can ask other passengers to move, but the passengers have every right to refuse. I can also bring my car seat with us to the gate (we will need it when we get to Prague) and I can use it if there is an available seat, but with the same restrictions as above.
Is this it, in a nutshell?