Gate checking is much better than counter checking the car seat. Bringing the seat on board is the best option but it's tricky on a foreign carrier with a lap baby. Gate-checked things are less likely to be misrouted because they are loaded directly down into the belly of the plane, vs. checked bags which have to go through conveyer belts under the airport.

Although one poster here told us that the airline simply didn't get the gate-checked things on to the plane in time. So it can happen but at least they knew where these items were and they were sent on another flight.

Supposedly it's also less wear-and-tear. Basically, the gate-checked things spend less time with the airline.

It's also less likely that the car seat will be crushed under the other bags since they're loaded last and usually in a different part of the aircraft.

The only warning is that some airports use these chutes at the gate. Wheelchairs are carried down but the other items are sent down and basically dropped from the jetway.

The main reason that the European airlines are so car seat unfriendly is that many of the models sold over there require a three point seat belt, which of course airplanes don't have. They also tend to be really bulky.

It's strange that BA actually instructs people to put strollers in overhead bins. This was not allowed on both airlines I worked for. They had the tendency to fly out and hit people. If you travel with one of these companies and are told this, try to stow your stroller in a closet or be really careful how you put it in the overhead. Pushing it all the way to the back and keep an eye out while others are getting their things out (this is the way I saw a lot of things fly out of those bins). If you pay attention, I think you can avoid an ugly scene.

If you're flying with a lap baby on a European airline, you might want to arrange a car seat at your destination or even avoid car travel while there, which is actually pretty easy to do with their good transport systems.