What I Bring On My Carry-On

The preparation pre-departure is crucial for making sure that your trip goes as smoothly as possible. Packing should be strategic. There’s no use packing headphones for your plane ride, only to have accidentally stored them away in your checked bag. Follow along as I offer some tips in what I pack in my carry-on. 

When traveling by plane, the TSA allows one carry-on bag per passenger, and one personal item. Restrictions on your checked bags vary based on the airline. In most cases you have to pay per checked bag, and if you overpack, you could wind up spending more in baggage fees than what you paid for your actual airline ticket! If you didn’t know, a checked bag is the bag you drop off when you first get to the airport. The baggage handlers load them into the underside of the plane for you, and you receive them in baggage claim once you reach your final destination.

The carry-on bag must not exceed the dimensions 22” X 14” X 9”, or 56 X 35 X 23cm. For your own comfort, try not to over-pack your carry-on bag. The carry-on is what you have to lug through the airport and eventually hoist up into the overhead bin when you board the plane. Try to pack as much of your heavy luggage into your checked bag as possible.

If you don’t have a tape measure handy, here’s some examples of what would fit into the categories of a carry-on bag:

1. Backpack
2. Weekend bag
3. Large purse
4. Small/medium duffel bag
5. The smallest luggage bag in a set

A personal item is kind of like a smaller carry-on bag, and must not exceed the dimensions 9” X 10” X 14”, or 22 X 25 X 43cm. Some examples of a personal item are a purse, a diaper bag, and a laptop bag.

The larger the bag is, the more likely that the flight attendant will require that you store it in the overhead bin compartment. If you want to keep your bag handy and not have to stand up to search through your bag every time you need something, opt for a bag on the smaller side. This way, you can keep your bag in front of you as your fly.

I think of my carry-on bag as a place where I put items to cure my boredom. Some people travel frequently for business, so what they bring in their carry-on may be more professional than others. The following is a list of what I always bring:

Headphones. I love to listen to music all the time, and it is definitely a huge passion of mine. Being on a long flight allows me the time to listen to dozens and dozens of songs and makes the flights seem shorter than they are. Headphones also drown out the sound of the airplane engines and listening to music long enough can lull people to sleep, which can be a helpful tool on a long flight.

Cell phone. Obviously, most of us have one, and for most, the cell phone is not going to be used to much on a flight. Some flights offer in-flight Wi-Fi, but a lot of times you have to already be a customer of a particular carrier, or you have to pay extra. To save money, I usually never pay for Internet because I don’t find a use for it. If you are a business professional or you make most your money online though, it might be worth it to you to utilize this option. While flying, my primary use for my phone is to be a source of music. I connect my wireless Bluetooth headphones to my phone and, long before the flight, I download many songs and albums that can be played off-line without the Internet. Spotify is a great place to do this. I pay $9.99 a month and I have access to millions of songs that I can download, if needed. You don’t need Internet to listen to music, but you have to pre-select the music you want to listen to. Try to do this at least the day before your flight. There have been many times where I was scrambling to download off-line music while waiting to board, and unfortunately was only able to get 10 to 15 songs.

Charger. Bring a plug-in charger for your electronics. Many domestic flights and most international flights allow the passengers the capacity to charge their items. A portable charger is also key, although I was forbidden from using mine while flying on China Southern, to and from Guangzhou, China in 2017. Some airlines have restrictions on this.

Small blanket. I would advise a blanket that is both soft and thin enough to take up minimal space. Gone are the days where airlines automatically hand out blankets for your flight. They are available in limited supply if you request one at the start of your flight, but how often do they wash those things anyway? I’d rather bring my own, thanks.

Reading material. I always bring one book for pleasure reading, or a textbook if I happen to have homework due during or after my trip. If you are not much of a reader though, feel free to skip this category.

A pen and notepad/notebook. When traveling internationally, flight attendants hand passengers a Customs Declaration Form, which you fill out and hand to a customs agent shortly after landing. And not once, in my experience, did the flight attendant hand out extra pens. This is a tiny issue, but bringing a pen means one less thing to worry about. I also like to bring a small notepad or notebook on my flight to either doodle (which I am terrible at) or write down ideas for future blog posts, travel destinations, etc.

Daily medications. If I were you, I would forgo optional vitamins/supplements and only pack the medication your doctor requires you to take daily. This way you’ll save valuable space!

Identification. This seems like an obvious one, but it is the most important! Please do not forget to bring your passport and at least one other source of identification, like a driver’s license or state ID. You will not be able to board your plane without this! For a domestic flight, a passport is not currently required.

Toiletries. This is an optional category, and I have survived just fine without paying too much attention to this category. But if you want to increase your comfort level a tad, pack a small travel toothbrush, toothpaste, facial moisturizer, chapstick, and hand sanitizer. A lot of international flights I have traveled on will provide a toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a comb, so it all depends on who you fly with. Spending several hours on a flight will leave your face very dry, so I like to apply moisturizer and chapstick 2-3 times while I’m in the air (my skin tends to be on the drier side.) Hand sanitizer is something I would actually consider mandatory (but I had to place it somewhere lol.) While traveling, there are a lot of surfaces you will come in contact with, touched by people from all over the world…with alllll sorts of hygienic standards. So sanitizer tends to be my best friend whenever I travel anywhere. You just never know…

 

I hope this helps you on your future travel journey. As you can see, most or all of the things I have listed are items you likely already own, so there is no need to purchase expensive equipment. I have made the mistake of packing unnecessary things out of fear of being too bored on my flight. But also bear in mine, many of you will probably just sleep the entire flight and your 12-hour flight will only seem like a 1-hour flight to you. I have a very hard time sleeping in public around strangers and I always fear missing out on the food cart, so I’m usually pretty alert. If you have never flown long distance, you will quickly discover your personal flight style and patterns. You’ll see how much you sleep and what entertainment you’ll gravitate towards while thousands of feet in the air.

 

Happy Traveling!

 

 

Helpful Links: https://www.cbp.gov/travel/us-citizens/sample-declaration-form

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/Pages/BaggageCarry-On.aspx