When you’re flying you have little access to your carryon. Once it is stored in the overhead compartment it is really not much different than a check bag.
What you do have access to is your personal item which is expected to be stored under your seat. This is where you should keep everything you need access to throughout your flight.
Portable Charger
Portable chargers are a must! When you have nothing to do but sit on a plane for hours having a backup battery with multiple charges is necessary.
I actually bring one with me everywhere whenever I leave the house. I never go anywhere without one.
Empty Water Bottle
While you’re not allowed to bring water bottles through security – even if you already went through security on the first leg of your flight and they are making you go through security again.
What you can do is bring is an empty water bottle. I particularly like the ones that roll up and take hardly any room or fit in your pocket.
Most if not all airports have water fountains to fill water bottles. The flight crew will also fill it for you ask them to.
Just make sure the bottle is empty before you go through security.
Snacks
This is especially important when you’re stuck on a long flight or flying with children. What you want to keep in mind when packing snacks is that they aren’t liquid like yogurt and that they aren’t very sweet or salty.
On a flight you cant really taste salty and sweet much. Instead focus on the other flavors such as savory, sour, spicy, and such.
I tend to bring dark chocolate because it is less sweet. I’ll bring regular dark chocolate, dark chocolate with nuts, dark chocolate with orange, dark chocolate covered orange peels, dark chocolate covered nuts, dark chocolate covered coffee beans.
However, if you want to be healthy peppers, carrots, cheese, cucumbers, pop corn, and the like are all good options.
Passport wallet
Being a dual citizen my whole life, passports can be a pain. I always have one more thing to keep in my hand and I never have enough hands as it is. So, needless to say this was one of my favorite buys.
Even if you’re not a dual citizen this can be handy if you’re traveling as a couple or just to keep everything in one place because it also has slots for credit cards.
Fuzzy Socks
Whether your flight is across the world or just half way across the country, fuzzy socks makes the whole thing more comfortable and I never fly without them.
Plains get cold. Sometimes they get cold. You may be given a blanket but it probably wont help your feet very much. Also, it’s just nice to have – especially if you’re on a long haul flight.
Valubles
Carry on luggage on will be checked occasion due to a lack of room. This has happened to me. So, keep your valuables such as jewelry in your personal item which gets stored under your chair.
Laptop
As I just said, valuables go in your personal item for safe keeping because carry ons sometimes get checked. However, you also want them in your personal item because your carry on gets stored in an overhead compartment which is not very easy access.
Also, it makes it easier to take out and put back when dealing with security.
E-Reader
Flights get boring. Short flights don’t provide you with entertainment such as movies and long flights don’t usually have a great selection anyway. E-Readers are light, compact, have a long battery life, and you can make sure you have plenty of reading material.
Ear Buds + Adapter
If you’re on a long haul flight and they give you earbuds they aren’t comfortable. Some flights – usually bargain flights, even long haul, will charge you for these disposable earbuds. If you’re flight is short you probably won’t be provided with them at all.
Either way, it’s best to bring your own so you can have a good pair your comfortable using for hours. If you want to use them for movies make sure to bring an adapter so you can use them for the movie.
Travel Jewelry Box
If you like to carry some jewelry with you a small box you can easily fit in your pocket or personal item is just the thing you need. Its a great way to keep your favorite pieces safe and sound and not lost – I bought mine after losing a pearl earring.
Toiletry Bag
Sure you can keep this in a check bag but what if connecting flight is delayed overnight? Or your luggage gets lost – you’ll have bigger problems than your toiletry bag if it does but its one more thing to worry about.
You can also keep it in your carry on. Which is fine if you’re only flying a few hours and have a whole day ahead of you. Except it’s annoying to have to take it out when going through security.
I always carry mine in my personal item because its nice to be able to freshen up during a log flight or at the end of any flight unless its particularly short.
Your Favorite Coffee or Tea (or hot chocolate!)
Whether you just like what you like and don’t want anything else or are on a long flight this can be very nice to have.
On long flights its comforting to have your favorite drink with you. I’m not much of a coffee drinker so I bring tea bags and a pack of hot chocolate. If I did drink coffee I’d bring some in a small container or a resealable bag. There are also travel options though they aren’t as easy to find.
First Aid Kit
I mostly keep this on hand during a flight because it has all the pills I could need. I tend to get head aches… Sometimes, depending on how much weight and room I have, I stick it in my carry on and just put my nifty DIY pill case in my personal item.
Still, I carry it with me everywhere when traveling because you never know when you’re going to need one.