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I am very non expert at travel with kids, but when I flew I used the stroller in the airport to push my kid and hold some stuff then just folded it up to gate check it. I left my car seat home and rented one at our destination.

We've always traveled with our stroller - we just use it in the airport and then gate check it (note: check that when you gate check it will be at the gate on the other end. That sounds like a stupid thing to say but twice I've ended up at Pearson airport in the middle of the night waiting for my stroller only to be told "Oh, that will come out with the luggage at baggage claim" which is literally a 15 minute walk and then however long it takes to get through customs). We have a gate check bag for both our big Uppababy stroller and our umbrella stroller - we just bought a generic one from Amazon, it was pretty cheap, and it protected the stroller from scuffs etc. If you plan to travel even semi-regularly it might be worth investing in one.

Not sure how old your kiddo is, but I opted for checking both stroller and car seat into baggage and carrying LO through the airport in an Ergo. That left me pretty free to move through the airport and not have to manage a bunch of stuff. If I had an older kid who couldn't be worn, I'd probably bring only a stroller and diaper bag (with kid and my own things) through the airport and check everything else. I've seen lots of gate checked strollers that were just folded up, no need for a special bag.

I like to have a gate check bag for 2 reasons, it keeps the stuff clean and it also keeps all the straps together so it doesn't get snagged on anything.

A garbage bag with a big piece of duct tape with my name on it is also good, I am not picky.

We have a brica bag with backpack straps (and it has wheels) for the carseat and we switched from our regular stroller to the baby jogger city tour for air travel since I take it onto the plane and don't have to wait around after we deplane (really we use it for all travel since its so darn convenient). You didn't mention if you got your LO a seat on the plane so I can't tell if you absolutely need the carseat plane side. At that age it is nice to have a stroller to strap them into although you could probably do it with just a soft structured carrier. What I'd do (assuming you don't need the car seat) is take the stroller and stick a carrier under the basket. Get a bag for the carseat and check it at the ticket counter. You don't have to have a bag for the stroller, but just know it could end up broken or dirty at the other end. If you are ok with that, then no bag.

I intended to use a bungee cord, but I found that hooking the latch connecters to each other (this will only work with the standard ones, not the stapler-looking ones) formed a loop that I just lowered over the handle of my little rolling bag.

I have no advice on the stroller since we didn't use one. One of the airports on our most recent trip had SO MANY escalators; I would have been frustrated trying to find elevators to circumvent every one of them. I'd probably wear the baby unless you know this won't be an issue.

We've used a thick contractor garbage bag before without issue. If you go this route, wait until you get to the gate to bag the seat because they'll need to take the seat out of the bag at security.

Personally, I find it easier to check the carseat with the luggage rather than cart it through the airport. I also prefer to use a carrier through the airport rather than deal with the hassle of finding elevators, the extra time through security, maneuvering through crowds, and waiting for gate checked items after the flight.

We've only flown once but we checked stroller and car seat with our baggage. The flight was full on the way there (not on way back but they made it sound like it was) so we didn't bother keeping the car seat til gate and glad we didn't. They put it in a nice plastic bag for us. We didn't bother with bags for either bc we Purchased both for traveling and they weren't expensive. My one tip is that I didn't realize strollers and car seats came out separately and don't go on the bagage claim conveyor belts. So look for the bulk items and don't wait around like a big dummy like me.

I feel like it's a rarity to have an empty seat anymore unless you are flying waaay off peak to a random place. I don't even bother thinking there might be one. Not only would you need to hope for an extra seat, but you'd need three seats together if you want to sit near your SO. They way airlines oversell flights these days....