Top travel accessories for long-haul flights in 2025
Long-haul flights can be daunting.
Trust us: We know.
At Hack Your Trip, we’ve taken some of the longest flights in the world, including the 17.5-hour trek from Dallas to Melbourne on Qantas.
Given Australia is a long way away from almost anywhere, many international trips are lengthy.
However, with some essential flight accessories, it is possible to enjoy a level of flight comfort.
Bluetooth Noise-Cancelling Headphones
The first thing we ensure that we pack for flights is our AirPods.
We have the Pro version, which has excellent noise-cancelling abilities.
It can block out the roar of jet engines - and any screaming children who might be seated nearby.
AirPods seamlessly connect with iPhones and iPads, allowing users to enjoy music, podcasts, movies, TV shows, or audiobooks while in the air.
If you have an Android device, Bose has similar highly rated QuietComfort earbuds, which are fabulous headphones for travel.
Bluetooth Audio Transmitter
While we often download a few movies or shows to our iPad to watch during a flight, some of the content on the plane’s entertainment system sometimes catches our eye.
The problem is that most airlines are still stuck in the past and give you poor-quality headphones to plug into the entertainment systems physically.
However, you can bring your own Bluetooth audio transmitter and watch content on the seatback screens while listening through your wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
These transmitters are easy to use, quick to connect, and have sufficient battery life to last through any long-haul flight.
Wireless headphones are essential travel accessories and can be paired with Bluetooth audio transmitters on flights.
Travel Pillow
Most of us like to get a little shut-eye on lengthy flight legs, particularly those that are overnight.
If you’re on your way to your destination, you won’t want to be exhausted when you get there.
If you’re on your way home, you don’t want a lingering case of trip fatigue.
We’d recommend getting a good-quality travel pillow to help make those long-haul trips in Economy a little more bearable.
The Cabeau Evolution S3 Travel Pillow is the No.1 selling travel pillow on Amazon and is highly rated for several reasons.
It has responsive memory foam for superior comfort, a strap that goes around the plane seat’s headrest to keep you upright, and can be folded into a small carry case.
Sleep Masks & Earplugs
‘Don’t the airlines give you sleep marks and earplugs on the flight?’ we hear you ask.
Yes, they usually do.
But unless you’re flying first class, they are usually very low-quality, and therefore, we like to take our own to ensure we can get some sleep.
The MyHalos 3D Sleep Mark is well designed and comfortable. It blocks 100 percent of light, so you don’t have to worry if the person next to you has their reading light on for the entire flight.
When it comes to ear plugs, be environmentally friendly and invest in some reusable silicone plugs.
This LOZIEMI Quiet Ear Plugs set comes with four ear tips of different sizes to fit any ear.
Other Essentials
Whenever we take long-haul flights, we pack a few additional items.
These include:
Additional Snacks
You never know what the plane food will be like, and your body clock and stomach can quickly get confused by time zone changes and unusual meal times, so it’s always best to have a couple of extra snacks on hand.
Toothbrush and Toothpaste
Especially on lengthy outbound trips of more than 12 hours, it is nice to have clean teeth and fresh breath when you land at your destination. Just make sure you take a small travel-size tube of toothpaste, less than 100 grams.
Roll-On Deodorant
Like having clean teeth, it is nice not to smell when you arrive at your destination after many hours spent in tight confines with fellow travellers. You can take a small roll-on deodorant in your carry-on luggage.
Electrolyte Tablets
Flying can cause dehydration because of the dry air that circulates in the cabin. Dehydration will not help with jet lag, which is why we take electrolyte tablets during our long-haul flights. Tablets like these from VOOST can be dissolved in a cup of water or a water bottle and help to reduce the risk of dehydration.
Summary
Long-haul flights can be daunting, but getting hold of essential travel accessories like noise-cancelling headphones, a good-quality travel pillow, and a Bluetooth audio transmitter can ensure you travel in comfort. For better sleep, bring your own sleep masks and earplugs – other must-have travel gear items for 2025. Additionally, pack snacks, a toothbrush, roll-on deodorant, and electrolyte tablets to stay fresh and hydrated when you arrive at your destination.
Written By: Chris
Updated: October 2024
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Our essential items for long treks overseas include noise-cancelling headphones, a Bluetooth audio transmitter, a quality travel pillow that doesn’t hurt your neck and your own mask and earplugs that actually work and allow you to get some sleep.
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These headphones actively work to block out surrounding noise, including that of the jet engines and any screaming children seated nearby. It means you can listen to music or watch movies with relatively clear sound. Apple’s AirPods Pro and Bose’s QuietComfort are two popular options.
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Most airlines provide cheap, corded headphones with you can plug in to seatback entertainment systems. But to listen to movies and shows in greater clarity, bring a Bluetooth audio transmitter which you can plug in and connect to your own wireless noise-cancelling headphones.
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There are a lot of travel pillows on the market that hurt your neck, get too warm or take up too much space in carry-on luggage. Look for one that is comfy, supportive and compact, like this one on Amazon.
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Long flights feel like they are even longer if you can’t get some good sleep and most airlines provide cheap, low-quality sleep masks and earplugs which don’t help much. If you want to maximise your sleep time, get yourself a high-quality sleep mask and quality reusable earplugs.
