Thanks ladies! Good to hear that yours have all come out at the other end not damaged - i was just a bit wary of this as I've seen how rough they handle the baggage sometimes. Plus, I've only flown about 4 times in my whole life so I really have no idea how it all works!

We were just going to get one of the cheapo fares with carry-on luggage only so we didnt have to wait around for the stuff to come out on the belt and also I'm very paranoid about my stuff getting lost/broken... but it sounds like I might have to buy the more expensive fare and put the seat in the luggage. Sounds like it might be too much of a challenge to bring it into the cabin and use it.

(I was going to book my tickets tonight but my uni had the most epic fail with my exam timetable, expecting me to be in two places at once, and I now have to wait for them to re-do the timetable before I can book.... grr)