We will be traveling domestically with a "lap baby" next week, and plan to bring along her car seat to use once we reach our destination. We will have to check the car seat - and I am wondering, should we plan to wrap it in some fashion? Do the airlines have a container for the car seat? It is a nice seat, and clean ... so I hate to think of it being checked through and dropped on the ground or worse.

We had a nice travel bag (by Eddie Bauer, I think) that was made for carrying baby seats, but now that our son is bigger, and his car seat is smaller, I just wrap a really sturdy plastic bag around the booster. You can probably use a good-quality trash bag.

The one time I didn't -- and we always gate-check the seat -- it was returned with a big greasy mark (which I was able to remove with a combination of Resolve carpet cleaner and Dawn dishwashing liquid).

Thanks for the info - I don't know if we can gate check the car seat, since we're not paying for a seat for the baby. It sure would make life easier if we could, though ... as we're just bringing carry-on, and that would save us having to wait at the baggage carousel when we arrive at our destination. Maybe we can check with the airline when we arrive at the airport.

I gate check DD's car seat and stroller every time, because we have connections and I don't want the risk of her car seat missing a connection. (She's still a lap infant). I also have a nice black canvas travel bag for the car seat, got it online, either Babys R Us or Amazon. I've never had a hard time checking in or getting through security with her stuff.
Bonus - there's enough room in the car seat travel bag for a blanket and a package of diapers!
Make sure there is a permanent ID on the car seat - either Sharpie underneath or an ID sticker.

we also used wrapping a large trash bag many many times and never had any problem !

I'm going to look for the car seat bag at Babies R Us - no time to order online, as we leave in five days. Also - definitely going to gate check the seat. Thanks for the heads-up regarding I.D.-ing it, too.