Hi all,

I have flown a lot in the past, but soon it will be the first time I fly with my kid (a 16-month old when we fly). We're not sure how to best handle the situation. It's worth mentioning that we're relocating from US to Europe, so we need to bring everything with us.

We're flying AF in business class SFO-CDG-BIO (3 hour stopover in CDG). The toddler gets a seat. We have front row seats in both flights. We'd like the toddler to lie on the seat and sleep there. On the short-haul flight we'd prefer to have the toddler sit in a car seat. Can I safely assume AF will be OK with toddler sleeping on the lie flat seat?

We own a Bugaboo Fox, and a convertible car seat that does not go into the plane. What option is better?
1. Bring Bugaboo Fox + attachable infant car seat (e.g. Maxi Cosi). Gate check the stroller frame and bring infant car seat into the plane. Ship convertible car seat by sea.
Does the stroller frame need a bag to be gate checked? Is it too big to bring to the gate?
2. Buy a smaller stroller and a lightweight car seat (e.g. Cosco Scenera NEXT). Gate check the stroller and bring car seat into the plane. Ship Bugaboo and convertible car seat by sea.
Is the Cosco Scenera car seat good enough to be used regularly as a car seat for a couple of months?
3. Something else I didn't think of?

Any advice/tips on how to make our flights as pleasant as possible is welcome! Thanks all!