Long Flight Essentials - A Carry On Packing List With All The Essentials For A Long Haul Flight
Sick Girl Travels Has You Covered When It Comes to Long Haul Flight Essentials
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Wondering how to survive long flights in economy? Looking for essentials for a long haul flight? Well, you’ve come to the right place. Having literally flown around the world on three occasions I’m a bit of an expert when it comes to essentials for long haul flights.
Knowing what to leave behind is almost as important as what to bring. This carry on packing list should help you weed out things that will just take up valuable space. (Don’t worry, I’ve still got a few fun ideas on how to pass the time that don’t take up much precious carry-on real estate.)
These long flight essentials are all available on Amazon and all of them have 4+ star reviews.
Check out this amazing guide if you need help staying busy on a long flight.
Going on an international trip and need help deciding what to bring in your checked bag? Then check out this guide to The Perfect International Travel Packing List. It includes a fantastic printable checklist so you can make sure you have everything you need.
Now on to the great carry-on items!
Long Flight Essentials
A Canvas Overnight Bag that Straps To Your Carryon
Keep your hands and shoulders unencumbered by condensing your bags. Juggling your passport, tickets, phone, and other items is a real hassle. Why not free up a hand to grab some gossip mags at Hudson News and look chic as hell doing it by sliding this cute travel tote onto your carry on.
2. Travel Toiletry Kit
Save yourself the hassle and expense of buying your flying essentials individually. This kit has some great brands and everything you need to keep yourself fresh.
You can moisturize, brush your teeth and even shave your legs if you’re flexible to do all that in an airplane bathroom.
3. World Travel Adapter Kit
Unlike your last relationship, this Apple travel adapter kit won’t let you down. You may be asking, why place one of these in your carry on? Why not check it? Well, I’m glad you asked. I include these as one of my carry on travel essentials after having airlines lose my luggage on multiple occasions. Don’t risk being without juice. Make sure you can plug in wherever your trip takes you. Even if your checked bag isn’t taken to the same place.
Boarding my 6-hour flight from Maui to Los Angeles
4. Collapsible Water Bottle
Stay hydrated, save space, and avoid tearing through multiple disposable plastic cups with a collapsible and reusable water bottle. This little bottle folds up tighter than a contortionist and comes in a variety of colors.
5. Noise-Canceling Headphones
Noise-cancelling headphones are a MUST for any long-haul flight. Planes are noisy environments where it’s next to impossible to sleep. Block out the screaming babies, coughing strangers, and that drunk guy being zip tied for unruly behavior with a high-quality pair of noise-canceling headphones.
I love these Bose Quiet Comfort headphones and never fly without them. They’re the sole reason I’ve been able to get even a wink of shuteye on international flights.
6. Ear Plugs
If noise-canceling headphones are outside your budget, or you’re not comfortable sleeping with headphones on, there’s a cheap, easy answer to block out all that noise, earplugs.
I recommend this pack of 10 reusable earplugs that come with a case. Sure, you can buy a barrel of 50 or 100 earplugs. But then you have a big container taking up space in your bag or worse, rogue earplugs just rattling around your bag gathering lint. Nobody wants a linty earplug.
7. Eye Mask with Ear Buds
Still not satisfied with my suggestions to block out the god-awful world around you? What if I told you you could cover your eyes AND your ears with the same device? You’d probably say, Jenn, that’s too good to be true. And I’d say, no, it’s not, and why are you second-guessing me? I’m a fair to middling travel blogger with a massive shopping compulsion.
8. Lip Balm
Flying is dehydrating and it’s important to have a good lip balm. But how many times have you heard that chapstick is addictive and that using it just makes you need to use it more? While that’s a super annoying and unsolicited bit of advice, it’s actually true. But there is a lip balm that DOESN’T do that. You can buy a whole tube that may very well last you a lifetime. That is if you don’t lose it. But that’s on you. I’m just here to recommend awesome products.
9. Compression Socks
As someone who’s had a nasty case of edema flying from Tokyo to Los Angeles, I cannot overstate the importance of a good pair of compression socks when it comes to long-haul travel essentials. If you only buy one thing from this list of things to bring on a long flight, then this is it.
Also, follow those fun foot and leg stretch exercises they put in your seat back compartment. Walking through customs is no fun when you feel like your legs are made of stone and your shoes don’t fit.
Me, looking thrilled (but fresh), on my near empty 12-hour flight from Cape Town to London.
10. A Hat Clip
I’m a big fan of hats, especially on a beach vacation. But I never know how to pack them properly without an old-time hat box or squashing them in my luggage. Wearing them on the plane just isn’t practical. But this handy device allows you to carry your hat hands-free and not take it on and off to pass through security.
11. Mini Travel Lint Roller
You don’t want to arrive looking a mess. Enter the travel-size lint roller. Rid yourself of the last remaining evidence of your house full of pets before stepping off the plane.
12. An Electronics Cable Organizer
With the dwindling amount of seat-back entertainment available in-flight, passengers are now saddled with watching their own devices to pass the time. And those devices demand to be charged. Of course, each of them requires a different cord, making your bag look like the backside of your television set. This handy organizer keeps all your cords, power banks, and plugs neatly in place until you need them.
13. Battery Pack
We could all use a boost. This little battery charger will be your phone’s new best friend.
I’m always looking for space-saving items that really work, and this little battery pack does just that, making it lucky item number 13 on my long-flight travel essentials list.
14. A Commuter Essential Bag
Tired of bending over to the floor to rifle through your bag or climb over your seatmates to get what you need from the overhead bin? Me too. That’s why this bag caught my eye. It attaches to your setback so you can comfortably store all your medicines, magazines, cords, chargers, snacks, and electronic devices within arm’s reach. Genius indeed.
15. Baby Wipes
Long flights cause body funk. It’s a well-known fact. It’s important to have wet wipes to tidy up before landing.
16. A Sleep Aid
Sometimes even when you block the rest of the world out you still can’t get that much-needed shut-eye to avoid jet lag. If you can’t get a doctor’s prescription, the next best thing is Olly gummies with melatonin. They’re an absolute must-have in your flight essentials kit because nothing makes the hours pass by faster than being unconscious.
Deplaning my 8-hour flight from Beijing to Moscow and rushing to connect to my 13-hour flight home to Los Angeles. This was my longest flight but needed to be booked this way as I was carrying 8 dogs and 1 cat to their forever homes in the US.
17. Hand Sanitizer
Let’s face it, even without COVID, public transportation is a hotbed of germs. Protect yourself with some quality hand sanitizer with a convenient clip-on attachment.
18. A Packing List
As someone with tremendous brain fog from chronic illness, I often need a little help remembering what to pack. These handy sheets cover all your airplane travel essentials and give you the satisfaction of knowing you have everything you need to enjoy your trip.
19. Something Fun To Pass the Time That Won’t Take Up Space
While not officially one of my long plane ride essentials, I do love this fun, little gaming device. Sure, I could recommend a kindle, but you probably already have one and this is a bit of retro fun.
20. A Laptop Tote Bag
For those of you traveling with laptops, why not take a bag that pulls double-duty as a charger? This lightweight, waterproof shoulder bag comes with its own USB charging port and assures you don’t need to get to the gate 6 hours early to fight for one of the 2 available power outlets.
21. A Travel Pillow and Blanket
Planes are often freezing cold. And the thin sheets of fabric airlines call blankets fail to bring much warmth. Why not bring a little bit of comfort with you in flight?
This travel blanket and pillow combo even fold up nice and small in its own little carrier.
22. Hair Ties
If you have long hair as I do, hair ties are a must. Sleeping on a plane can result in your hair becoming a tangled mess. deplaning shouldn’t look like the walk of shame. Why not wrap your hair up in a chic little top knot and deplane with pride?
I like these silk scrunchies because they’re more gentle on my hair.
23. Gum
Long-haul flights are a surefire recipe for stinky breath. A nice minty fresh gum can have you fresh as a daisy. If daisies smelled like peppermint.
24. Headphone Splitter
Traveling with someone but don’t want to pull out multiple devices to watch your favorite movie or TV show? Then you, my friend, need a headphone splitter.
25. A Change of Clothes and Spare Underwear
I won’t presume to know your style by suggesting what to wear, but I will strongly suggest you pack an extra outfit. Airlines have lost my luggage more times than I can count. There’s nothing like sitting for hours on a plane only to find all you have to wear is the outfit you’ve been stewing in for the last 12+ hours. Plan for the worst and hope for the best with a spare outfit change.
26. Travel Shoes
I love having a backup pair of shoes in my bag so I can be ready for any occasion. (Again, lost luggage.) These little roll-up flats are pure perfection.
27. A Pen
One of my biggest travel tips is, always carry a pen. Avoid having to ask strangers or wait for a writing implement to become available so you can fill out your immigration paperwork. Carry a pen and you’ll instantly be a hero to everyone else on the plane who forgot to pack one.
This fun pen by Fischer is the original astronaut pen. It writes at any angle. So, if you’re lucky enough to be in one of those swanky first-class bed seats, you can write lying down.
28. More Entertainment
Whether it’s a good book, some awesome gaming apps, or downloaded movies and TV shows, make sure you have something to do. These are absolute must-haves for long flights.
There are few things worse than being stuck on a long-haul flight where there either is no seatback entertainment or the screens aren’t working. I always bring something as a backup to keep me entertained.
As a travel blogger, I LOVED this NY Times Bestseller about the hospitality industry.
29. Timer Caps for your Prescriptions
Few things are more annoying than having to calculate when you last took your prescription and when you need to take it next if you’re passing through multiple time zones. You’re tired, disoriented, and in no mood to do math. These little gems are long-flight must-haves if, like me, you’re on multiple prescriptions and hate having to set reminders.
PLEASE NOTE: Always keep your prescriptions in their original bottles when flying internationally. DO NOT use a pill sorter. Using a pill sorter could hold you up at customs, or worse, result in them refusing you entry, arresting you, and/or confiscating your medications. I cannot stress this enough, NEVER remove your pills from their original containers.
30. Travel Insurance
There’s nothing worse than having your big trip spoiled by unseen events. If you’re based in the US I recommend World Nomads. I don’t even get a cut by recommending them, they’re just really top-notch.
Landing in Chicago after an 11 hour flight from Rome, Italy.
31. Snacks
There’s no telling what kind of repellant airline food will be served on your flight. That’s why snacks are essentials for airplane travel. I recommend staying away from the salty chips and nuts which can cause further dehydration. Pick up some nice snack bars which at least have a small bit of nutritional value.
32. Compression Cubes
Make room in your carry-on for all your long-flight carry-on essentials with these lightweight suitcase organizers. I like these because they’re made especially for a carry on sized luggage. Don’t worry, boys. They come in a variety of colors.
33. Travel Pillows
As someone who’s chronically uncomfortable just being alive, I love anything that can help me relax and help alleviate discomfort. A great neck pillow has saved me from arriving with days worth of muscle spasms. This neck pillow massages, and provides proper cervical spine support.
34. A First Aid Kit
Headaches, stomach aches, backaches, heartburn, travelers diarrhea… just some of the charming things I’ve had happen to me while traveling. Depending on where you’re going or if you’re stuck in the air, tracking down basic over-the-counter medications can be impossible. Don’t suffer in silence. (I mean, don’t yell like a madman either. But, you get what I mean.)
Pack a first aid kit.
35. Great Carry On Luggage
As you can probably tell by now, I’m a sucker for great travel gear that pulls double and triple duty while also freeing up my hands. This Wrangler hard-side carry-on comes with a cup holder and it charges your electronic devices. It’s also got a near-perfect 5 stars on Amazon.
36. Disinfecting Wipes
I know they supposedly wipe down all surfaces between flights, but as a germaphobe, I still prefer to give my seat-back tray and armrests a good wipe-down. These Clorox wipes kill most every germ and take up very little space in your bag.
37. A Travel Wallet / Passport Holder
I LOVE this wallet. And it’s so crazy inexpensive, it blows my mind. I have it in a few colors. It has space for everything, including your fancy new pen! Keep your passport, credit cards, tickets, and cash organized and safely in one place with this RFID Blocking travel passport wallet.
38. A Toiletry Bag, For Your Prescriptions
If you have a chronic illness like me you often have to travel with a bag full of prescription medication. My advice, keep it all organized in a toiletry bag. It’s a little travel tip that’s not only helped me keep better track of my meds but helped me through customs in multiple countries.
Again, if you’re traveling internationally with prescription medication, make sure you keep it all together and in its original container. If you can, it’s always smart to travel with not only the pill bottle(s) but also the prescription form(s) from the pharmacy.
Odds are, nobody will comb through the contents of your entire bag, but if they do, you could be in for a world of trouble if your prescriptions are not in the original containers and made out in your name. There are tons of stories of people being arrested or denied entry to various countries. Nobody wants to be held in a Turkish prison. Particularly if your destination wasn’t Turkey. I’m rambling. Onto the bag…
39. Apple Air Tags For Your Bags
These handy little tags are great for tracking lost luggage. Slip one inside your bag to help track it when the airlines can’t. Which sadly, is a lot more often than you’d think.
40. An Eyeglasses / Contact Lens Case
If you wear glasses and contacts as I do, you’ll want to board your flight in your glasses. It’s very dry on planes and your eyes inevitably start to burn wearing contacts. But I do like to pop in a fresh pair of contacts before landing so I look bright-eyed and not like someone who’s been sitting directly under an air vent for the last 13 hours.
If you wear glasses it’s also important to bring a nice glasses case so you’re not falling asleep and losing them in the seat crack. Trust and believe, it’s super embarrassing to have the flight crew have to clear your row to dig for your lost spectacles between the seats. At least I think it was the flight crew. I lost my glasses.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this list of long-flight essentials as well as my long-flight tips. Drop me a comment if you feel like there’s anything I missed, or if you’d just like to drop me a note of appreciation for my silly and somewhat irreverent product write-ups. I’ll accept either.
Safe travels!
