Katherine is a good friend of mine, even though we have only met a few times. We wrote this article together because, first of all, we think that having these items is a helpful thing for first time flyers, and that teens should at least have been warned that they would want or need these things. Whether they decide to use this info for their own good or not is up to them. Another reason is that we are experienced flyers, and both of us carry these things when we go flying. She and I decided to create a list of seven things that teens need or want when flying on a commercial plane for the reasons I have listed above. We have been friends for a long time and our background has been travel. We have both flown many times and have experience in what is needed or wanted for flying on a long, or even short, flight.

1:  Snacks

Yes, the plane has those tiny bags of peanuts and the pretzels you get in some countries when you fly but you get hungry after a while (after all, we are humans). Make sure you bring something to eat when you travel - otherwise your ribs will cave in because there is nothing to hold them out! Don’t bring whole fruit, though, or else you can get in big trouble. My brother Ezra brought lemons in to New Zealand and we were close to getting a court order. There is nothing worse than sitting on the plane for five hours straight without food, mostly because your stomach starts to growl and then you feel a little lightheaded later in the descent, when all the pressure is changing. Once you get on the ground, you can get something to eat, but it is usually expensive in the airport.

2: Something to do

Bring something to do on the airplane! You could bring a sketchbook, something to read, or better yet, bring supplies to make something, like key chains.  You may be able to watch the in-flight movie, but unless you have the screens in the seat, the movie probably won’t be appropriate so you should also bring a computer if you have one so you can watch a movie on that. The problem with that is not everyone has a computer, and the battery runs out, and ALSO it is heavy.

3: The perfect carry-on

I find that it is helpful to have the perfectly sized carry-on. The size will depend on what you are bringing. If you are bringing more stuff on the plane, then you will want to have a bigger carry-on. But if you are only bringing one or two things with you (for a shorter flight), then I find it is best to have a slightly smaller bag. It is sometimes disabling and annoying to have a carry-on bag that is big, because if you do then it will not fit under the chair in front of you. Sometimes you can put it above you but if you do that then it will be hard to get it out to get something and you don’t want to get out your things before you put it above you because if you do there is a possibility that you will forget something when you disembark from the belly of the plane.

4: Water

You can’t really bring water through security but you can get it after you get through security! I highly recommend bringing an empty water bottle to fill after security, especially if it is a long flight, because it is really nice to have when you get thirsty and the flight attendants aren’t giving out snacks and sodas yet.

5: A cheerful spirit

Ok well this isn’t really an item … It’s just important.
You do NOT want to be the grump that glares at everybody and snaps at the moms who are trying to calm their screaming babies. You need to just go with the flow, even if you can’t sleep because of the engine and the babies. A cheerful spirit will also bring up the levels of happiness around you. You don’t want to be overly talkative or loud in your happiness, but neither do you want to be so quiet that nobody around you wants to talk to you, unless it is nighttime, of course.

6: Brothers and Sisters (If possible!!!)

Brothers are really nice to have a long for several reasons. One is that, if it’s a day ride, they are fun to play with. If you have a brother, then you won’t get bored. A sister is really good for night rides because, one, she doesn’t tell if you don’t go to sleep when dad says to. Two, she is really good to sleep on when you finally do get tired, and vice versa.

7: An IPod/Ipad

IPods are great because when it is nighttime and people don’t want to have a big light in the middle of the plane keeping everyone up, you can flip that on and quietly read the night away. Also, if there is enough battery, you could easily play games, or listen to music, or write, or compose emails and send them when you get to the ground.

These are things that most teens have a hard time living without. Can you imagine, looking back on your own teen years, going without food and enjoyment?! I mean, you people who are thirty or older didn’t really have Iphones and such when you were teens, but you can still paint a good picture of how it would be.

Gabriel Miller is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

Photo courtesy and copyright Gabriel Miller