I'm interested in booking an extra or "comfort" seat for an upcoming BA transatlantic flight. At 200 pounds I'm not that fat, but the flight is going to be on a 787, which from my one other experience is pure misery. I'm traveling with my son and two of his friends.

I only paid $290 for my round-trip tickets, which I think comes out to zero dollars plus taxes and fees. If I understand, the minimum BA charges for extra seats on flights like this is £300, so I'll be paying for for the extra seat than my own, but I can live with that.

Now for my questions:

1. How will the extra seat be assigned? Will I need to pay for seat reservations for everyone in order to use the extra seat?

2. The rules allow one to purchase an extra seat for an item. Does this mean I can bring on an extra personal item? (I want to travel with a carry on, a smallish laptop pack, and a somewhat large wedge pillow that I hope to use to sleep).

3. Will the extra seat show up as a "passenger" in my booking, so that I can go online and perhaps move our seats around if I wish?

Thanks for any information from anyone with experience in this matter.