We think taking a car seat on the plane is worth it as our son will have a place that he is safe, comfortable and familiar with. You also get to be more comfortable, especially on longer flights.
We also have Nuna car seats and traveled with them both (on the plane, we haven’t checked them). And just FYI, My sister-in-law recently went to Italy and gate checked baby items and they came out at baggage claim, just so you know that is a possibility.
When our son was an infant, we had the Pipa Lite LX. This one requires the base for travel and was a bit more inconvenient because we had to carry the base too, but still worth it. The other Nuna infant seats aren’t so cumbersome.
If you already have the Nuna car seat and plan to travel with it, consider the Nuna TRVL. It fits in most overhead compartments, easy to fold, and equally light. The benefit would be you don’t have to worry about adapters.
We used our Ergobaby Omni when flying. No metal, still had to take it off.
Also, a lot of other countries don’t have the same locking mechanism for their seat belts if you plan to secure your car seat with the seat belt. You need an additional piece like this.
– Carri, Santa Barbara, CA