Airplane Travel Essentials: What I Always Pack in My Carry-On
I almost never check a bag, and many of you already know that about me. But when I do, I’m very particular about what stays with me on the plane. I want the things I’ll actually use during the flight within easy reach, plus anything I’d be very unhappy to lose if my checked suitcase decides to take a trip of its own.
Over the years, I’ve pared my airplane travel essentials down to the things that keep me comfortable, the things I can’t easily replace, and enough to get me through the first day if my luggage is delayed.
Here’s what I actually pack in my carry-on and personal item when I’m checking a suitcase.
What I Never Put in Checked Luggage
If losing something would seriously disrupt my trip, it stays with me. That includes prescription medications, identification or passport, prescription glasses, jewelry, electronics, and anything valuable or difficult to replace.
I also keep important travel information on my phone, with screenshots or downloaded copies of hotel addresses, transportation details, and reservation numbers. Wi-Fi has an uncanny knack for disappearing just when you need it.
I bring a little more medication than the exact number of days I’ll be away, too. Flights get canceled, and plans change, and I’d rather have a small cushion than spend part of a trip trying to replace a prescription.
What to Pack in Your Personal Item
If I’m traveling with both a rolling carry-on and a personal item, anything I’ll want during the flight stays under the seat in front of me. I have no desire to wrestle with the overhead bin every time I want my glasses or headphones.
My personal item is normally my Away Overnight Bag, which carries my medications, glasses, phone, headphones, book, knitting, chargers, a change of clothes, laptop, and anything valuable. It always fits under the seat in front of me and is easy to access while sitting.
For getting through the airport and during the flight, I keep my passport, travel documents, phone, and hand sanitizer in a small waist bag. My favorites are this Waverly and this Bond Fanny Pack, which can also be worn crossbody. I like having everything within reach without digging through my larger bag. When it’s time to board, I slip the waist bag into my personal item.
I also pack this way in case my rolling carry-on has to be gate-checked. The things I absolutely need are still with me.
What I Pack in My Rolling Carry-on
I rotate among my Quince, Away Flex, and Monos Pro roller carry-ons depending on the trip and how much room I need. The roller holds what I want with me when I arrive but won’t need during the flight, including most of my clothing, underwear, sleepwear, and my main toiletry bag.
I try to pack the things I may want first when I land near the top rather than burying them under everything else. After a long travel day, I have very little interest in unpacking an entire suitcase to find pajamas or a clean top.
I also resist filling every available inch. A little extra room makes the bag easier to close, easier to lift, and gives me somewhere to put something I pick up along the way. An expandable carry-on is useful, but I don’t want to arrive at the airport with the zipper already begging for mercy.
My In-Flight Comfort Essentials
I’ve frozen on enough airplanes to know that an extra layer is non-negotiable, even when I’m flying somewhere warm. A lightweight cardigan or wrap goes in my bag and can double as a blanket when the cabin gets downright frigid.
For longer flights, I bring compression socks, noise-canceling headphones, and an eye mask. I also carry a water bottle and a few snacks. Delays and customs lines have taught me not to leave food and water entirely to chance.
Toiletries I Keep Within Reach on a Flight
Airplane air is brutal on my skin, so I keep a few basics within reach: lip balm, hand cream, eye drops, and my favorite refillable hand sanitizer. I also bring my travel-size Chantecaille Rose de Mai Face Mist for a quick refresh when my skin starts to feel dry. I find the scent soothing too, which doesn’t hurt when travel gets stressful.
For longer or overnight flights, I add a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant I know works, and a rich moisturizer.
I keep this pouch small because I don’t need my entire skincare routine at 35,000 feet.
For U.S. flights, I make sure my carry-on liquids follow TSA’s 3-1-1 rule: containers of 3.4 ounces or less that fit into one quart-size bag. Medically necessary liquids can be exempt from that limit.
You can find the rest of what I travel with in my Complete Packing List of Travel Toiletries.
Tech I Keep With Me
My laptop is critical to my business, so it always stays with me in my personal item rather than going into checked luggage. I also carry a portable charger for my phone because so much of travel now depends on having a working battery.
One important thing to remember: portable chargers and power banks have to stay in the cabin. If my bag is gate-checked, I take mine out and keep it with me.
I keep my charging cables together in a small pouch, and for international trips I add my travel adapter. I also put an AirTag in each piece of luggage so I can track its location.
How I Organize My Carry-On
A large bag can hold a lot, but without some organization, everything ends up at the bottom. I use smaller pouches to keep categories together, so I’m not digging for a charger, lip balm, or medication mid-flight.
I also pack by access. Things I may need in the air stay near the top, while anything I won’t use until I land can go underneath.
The older I get, the less interested I am in hauling things through an airport that I probably won’t use. A few well-chosen airplane travel essentials make the day easier without turning my carry-on into another piece of luggage to manage.
If you have a trip coming up, you may also want to read my guides to my favorite travel bags and comfortable walking shoes for women.
What’s one thing you always keep with you when you fly?
Thanks for the tip on the magnetic power bank. I bought one and am taking it to Europe with me in October.
Didn’t you feature some pull on jeans in one of your posts? I can’t seem to locate it.
Love your blog.
Michele
I’ve linked a lot of pull-on jeans. Do you remember which ones?
Thank you for your informative post! I read it and saved it to read again. I always wondered how people do carry on only….i am an overpacker but I see I haven’t used my personal item to its best use. I just use a Tumi tote bag. It holds all I will need on plane but doesn’t help for extras. I have bought a larger Tumi personal item and need to use it to carry plane accessories but also have it carry any extras that didn’t fit in the carry on like clothes, shoes toiletries. Basically I think people use the carryon roller and the personal item to share all that they need to take. Duh. Didn’t figure that out!!
Happy this was helpful Barb!
Good info — a couple of comments/questions. 1. I use a passport card (not my passport) for US flights. It fits in a credit card slot with other cards. 2. I have a ‘3rd bag’ for meds. It’s never been an issue, but I have a letter from my doctor with me in case. 3. Charge your phone before your trip and turn phone off during flight. 4. Pls think twice about misting (or perfume): you’ve paid for your seat not the airspace around it, and some of us are really sensitive to smells.
Great ideas. I don’t wear fragrance when I travel.
I noticed you show two small cosmetics bags in you carry on. The airlines only allow 1 small quart size bag for all cosmetics that aren’t solids. How do you get that past security?
I have never had an issue because I don’t bring many liquids, and the ones I do are travel-size. I use more creams and gels.
I appreciate the ‘on my radar’ suggestions. I was fortunate enough to snag the Talbots denim dress in an 8P before they were sold out, during their $99 dress day and used two rewards. What a bargain for a dress that I’m sure will be a staple for many years to come!
Also, I was able to get the Chicos microfiber tank in the very pretty pearly pink, on sale, again… thank you very much!
You’ll love that tank. They fit so well and cover your bra straps.
As always, great tips here, Jennifer. I also like Annie’s idea of printing 1 sheet with important, pertinent info in the carryon. One thing that’s absolutely necessary for me, besides reading glasses, is a good book and my ear buds. I also like that both you and Annie prefer a printed boarding pass; I thought I only do because I’m “old school”…..
There are lots of us old schoolers around and we’re in great company
I do pretty much the same when packing for a trip, but like many older passengers I also have to pack a cpap machine and charger for my hearing aids! That takes up a lot of the room in a carry-on. I rarely see any acknowledgment of the challenge of packing medical appliances! BTW, love your posts!
I love your posts.Bravo Jennifer
I’m glad you find them helpful.
All great tips Jennifer thank you !
I also pack like you, I learned the hard way to take a set of clothes and 2 pair of underwear. Flying is not as much fun as it used to be but we can at least try to be comfortable.
You mention keeping important travel information on your phone, via screenshots or photos. I do this, too. Now imagine your phone is lost or stolen or stops working, which happened to me fairly recently. I now keep a one-page paper document, folded into my crossbody, with flight info, hotel info, passport #, other ID numbers, and important phone numbers. I also always print my boarding passes so I can function w/o my phone, if needed.
I’d be freaked out if I lost my phone. Brilliant idea to have it all written down. I prefer a printed boarding pass too. I hope you got your phone back.
I did not! And what a pain that was. We don’t realize how completely reliant on our phones we’ve allowed ourselves to become. I learned my lesson, and now always have that one piece of paper, which I update before each trip. (I also keep a paper printout of accounts, log-ins, and passwords in my home desk drawer, just in case I’m injured or pass away while traveling — paper is the solution everyone can access.)
Oh no, Annie. That is a nightmare
Since 2024 I have had to travel with. CPAP. While it has its own bag and doesn’t count in the carryon limit, I found having to deal with 3 bags to be onerous. While traveling to France (my first international flight with the CPAP) , I forget it when boarding on the international leg of my flight! Luckily I realized it after I boarded. I notified the flight attendant and was allowed to deplane and get it after everyone boarded. Since then I have been working on what to use to limit myself to two bags. I have a Briggs and Riley roll on that fits under the seat. That holds my electronics, small purse with ID, etc., toiletries, hearing aid charger, underwear and one change of clothes. My CPAp bag and extra pair of shoes , other clothes goes in either my Cotopaxi Altra or my Catalina Deluxe large bag. I am working on becoming more of a minimalist packer!
My husband travels with a travel sized CPAP machine too. He puts his in the Away Weekender so it’s always with him.
Hi Jennifer,
LOVE your common-sense travel posts!
I DID lose my phone a couple years ago while on a trip! It fell overboard on a dinner cruise while videoing Northern Lights in Tromso, Norway! Yep! ALL our plans were on my phone! BUT I had also shared most screenshots of our plans, reservations, & such, with family traveling with me – thankfully. Could have been much worse, it was actually, oddly “freeing” to not have my phone for the rest of the trip! Heading to the phone store was the first thing we did when back in the US! AMAZINGLY they were able to retrieve even the very last photos I had taken, including video of it heading toward the water. And showed up in the fjord with “find my phone” for a bit.
Also, my husband & I both travel w (full size) CPAPs, I keep mine in the bottom, padded, “shoe” compartment of my large Lo & Sons Catalina Deluxe, with my soft down travel blanket “stuffed” around it to pad it. It works very well. I have done quite a few miles over various trips & never had an issue. The Catalina is large, but I’ve never had a problem using it as my “personal item” or putting it under the seat in front of me across various airlines, since it’s flexible, even with the CPAP.
I HAVE also recently bought a backpack, with an insulated cooler, w separate compartment, that the CPAP also fits in, & feels quite protected, to try to down-size everything a bit. I like it, but for big trips, I still feel like I “need” the big Catalina.
Happy Travels to all!
That’s amazing! It must have been funny to see the video of the phone heading for the water. I understand the relief of not having a phone, but it’s hard for me. Thanks for sharing.
Good morning, all great tips and things I tend to do as well! Travel teaches you a lot about what not to do. I have found the adorable little backpacks that can hang on a zipper to be so helpful. In there I keep my lip gloss, hand cream super accessible. These are my non negotiable items in flight. My headphones and a scarf or sweater and reading glasses are in top of my personal bag, as well as my book or kindle.
I have often thought of trying a small backpack Amy. Do you put it in the personal bag to board or use it as your personal item?
I love all your tips and they are similar to mine. I learned having extra days of meds, the hard way, but fortunately I was in country and could get refills. I was just going to buy a battery charging pack since I was on two recent trips where the phone charger in seat back didn’t work, or didn’t exist. However, our pilot friend said you must bring them on (not checked) but MAY NOT charge on board. So now….I’m holding off. I take long flights…some 17 hours and I had hoped to charge on board. Any thoughts?
If my phone is dying, I snap my charger onto the back of my phone and leave in my lap to monitor if it gets warm etc. Yes I’m breaking an obscure rule, but no flight attendant has ever mentioned it and if the seat charger is broken, I do it.