Flights can be difficult to be on, especially if you don’t travel often or aren’t a fan of being on a plane. The number one thing you can do for yourself to make the flight more enjoyable is to focus on taking care of yourself! Below are my top 10 in-flight essentials to ensure the best and most relaxing flight experience.
1 - Portable charger
The night before every flight, we charge our portable charging bank. This portable charger has saved us so much grief when we are not only waiting at the airport and all of the charging stations are full, but have also been amazing to have when we’re listening to podcasts, music, or watching shows on our phones or iPad while on the flight. Plus, who doesn’t like to have a fully-charged cell phone when you walk right off that airplane and need to know where to go next?
2 - Headphones/earbuds
OMG. I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve taken off and realized I didn’t have my ear buds with. Oh, the humanity! Unless you have a notebook, newspaper, or non-electronic game with, noise cancelling earbuds or headphones are essential to having in-flight peace.
3 - cell phone/tablet plus these apps
It’s sort of a given that you’ll probably have some sort of cell phone or iPad or laptop or something with, so I won’t add that as a specific item; however, I will add that I would be so bored on flights without these apps: Google Play, Podcasts/Podbean, OneNote, Pinterest, The Weather Channel and (of course) Instagram.
4 - Notebook
I love writing. I write notes all the time, every day. Even when nothing requires a note to be written. BUT, how would I remember certain events or plans or memories without writing them down? I do often use the notepad app native to my iPhone, but nothing truly beats a good ‘ole pen and paper to jot down your thoughts. How else do I remember details for my blog posts?
5 - Reusable water bottle
These are great throughout your entire trip and not just on a plane. Trust me. Just went through security? Fill it up! Drank the whole thing mid-flight? Ask a flight attendant to pour some water in there instead of in their plastic disposable cups! Having a reusable water bottle has saved me from feeling parched onboard when you’re waiting for that drink cart to make its way to your seat. Some flights only bring the drink cart by once! In those instances, it’s best to be ready and have a full water bottle 🙂
6 - Travel neck pillow and eye sleep mask
Ready for a nap? If you’re like me, you planned to take the earliest flight known to man, meaning you’re probably exhausted before you even get to your destination! I’ve found an eye sleep mask helps block out enough light to take a great in-flight nap, and having a perfect neck pillow helps avoid that embarrassing neck bob we all do when starting to fall asleep, and keeps your neck comfortable while you are asleep!
But even if you don’t plan to snooze during a flight, I’ve found it to be a major relief to have a neck pillow around my neck so I can relax. Maybe it’s just me and my giraffe neck, but it always tends to feel strained after a couple of hours of sitting on a plane, which tends to put me in a less-than-ideal mood. If not for my neck, I also often use the neck pillow as lumbar support since the seats also don’t support my tall torso. Sometimes being tall has its disadvantages. Will airplanes someday, just maybe, offer lumbar support? One could only wish.
7 - Snacks
I am always feeling snackie! Did you know you can bring snacks (including homemade!) onto a plane? I question this every time I’m planning a trip, and finally started remembering, which has drastically reduced my travel spend! My favorite snacks to bring are Annie’s Friends Bunny Grahams, crackers, and almonds. OMG, I almost forgot to add gum. Your seatmate(s) will thank you. Or you’ll thank yourself when you find out you’re stuck sitting next to someone for six hours who literally must have just eaten a raw onion before stepping on to the plane. Woof.
8 - Lotion
My favorite item to have on-hand (ha, get it?) and in-flight is hand lotion! Nothing makes my hands feel worse than being on an airplane. My friend Taylor gifted me the First Aid Beauty “Ultra Repair Cream” lotion a couple of years ago for Christmas and I have not stopped purchasing it every time it runs out. My favorite is the two ounce tube as it’s conveniently TSA-friendly and fits in the small upper-pocket of my personal item backpack. I apply this lotion probably 4-5 times throughout a flight to ensure my hands stay nice and don’t crack from that dry recycled plane air.
9 - lip moisturizer
Like my hands, my lips tend to constantly feel drier when I’m flying somewhere. Jack Black’s “Intense Therapy Lip Balm” is my absolute favorite. It’s so hydrating, I don’t feel like I need to re-apply every few minutes! It also has SPF 25, making it one of the strongest SPF lip balms around and is super versatile for on the plane and in my purse for visiting even the sunniest of places.
10 - eye drops
The theme here for the last three items is dryness. Is there anything worse than feeling all sorts of dried out and not being able to do anything about it? The last item for hydration is eye drops. I hate dry, itchy eyes from that recycled plane air blowing in your direction all flight. I bring the Target brand (Up & Up) eye drops with me on every flight—it’s easy to just drop some of the solution in before take off and again mid-flight to ensure your eyes don’t get irritated.
A bonus, late addition, thanks to Sarah for the reminder to have – hand sanitizer! This doesn’t really need explaining. With how germy planes are, you want to prevent from getting sick! Another bonus essential in my bag I forgot to add in my original publication, are packets of Emergen-C. Along with hand sanitizer, Emergen-C is in my bag just to ensure that recycled air doesn’t get me sick! Have you ever gotten a cold (or worse *cringes*) from being on an airplane? It’s the worst.
If you’re ever questioning what you can bring onboard, don’t hesitate to Tweet @TSA or download the app on your phone and search items there 🙂
What are some of your favorite items to have in-flight? Share in the comments below!
Portable charger is such a must! I always carry it with me when I’m traveling. Great list 🙂
I also take fuzzy socks with me and a cashmere wrap because I always get cold on the plane. And for long flights, compression socks!!
Great tips! I always take gossip magazines….nothing bad can happen while I’m reading trash, right? 😂
Good post! I like the water bottle thing. Just carry an empty one on the flight and ask the steward/stewardess to refill it on the plane.
Great suggestions especially the hand sanitizer. I carry it everywhere now.
Yessss I carry it everywhere now too!
Great tips! My plan is to travel more in the future, so I appreciate reading about essential items to have with you while traveling ♥️
<3 Thank you so much! So happy you plan to travel more in the future, and I'm happy you also find essential item lists to be helpful--I love reading what people find to be essential too!
Great suggestions! While many planes do provide you with the opportunity to plug in a charger for your phone or tablet, relying on the fact that would be there could be taking a big risk! I can’t count the number of times that a plug on a plane or bus hasn’t worked. That’s why I never travel anywhere without the portable charger on hand!
Great post, made me want to fly somewhere! I think you thought of everything, I can’t fly without my noise canceling headphones! Essential especially as you age. And longer flights I bring circulation. Socks! Am I revealing my age much?
Thank you so much!! Ah, yes!!! Circulation socks are SO useful! I’ve started wearing them also 😀
This is really useful. I’ll save it for when I travel.
I’m so happy to hear this is helpful! Thank you so much for saving it 🙂
Great list. I’m 5’9 so I also have tall people issues in flight. And maybe its the brand, but I find neck pillows so uncomfortable! To this day, I’m not a fan of flying so having all of the essentials helps to calm me.
Yes, I so agree that neck pillows can be so uncomfortable! I was gifted this one (pasted the link below) for Christmas in 2018 and it was a life changer because it’s tall! And me too–flying isn’t my favorite so having the comforting things makes it better 🙂
https://www.target.com/p/cabeau-evolution-classic-memory-foam-travel-pillow/-/A-52214412?preselect=52949251#lnk=sametab
I have a post coming about this very topic and the 10 are very similar but about 2 differences. I always have Blistex in my pocket regardless of where I am. Thanks for the post.
Yes!!! Same–always having a lip balm of sorts in my pocket! I’m excited to read your post about this topic soon 🙂
Great tips! Thanks