Ever left something behind in an airline seat pocket? Thankfully, I’ve only ever forgotten a newly-purchased magazine and a packet of tissues (except when I was traveling as an unaccompanied 8 year-old and left my new long-legged rag doll behind, never to be seen again – cue very sad face). But I’ve often temporarily lost items like mints and reading glasses when they’ve fallen to the bottom of the seat pocket, and believe me, its not very pleasant fossicking around down there.
Leave something like your passport behind and it could potentially ruin your travel plans.
So I love the idea of the Airpocket, a new carryon which stores all the things you need to keep close at hand on a long flight – the things you usually jam into the seat pocket individually.
The Airpocket has been designed by first-time entrepreneur Trish Smith, from Canberra, Australia. An avid traveller, Trish came up with the idea after watching a woman block the plane aisle while she transferred all the items she needed for the flight from her bag to the seat pocket, before stowing her bag in the overhead locker.
Trish decided to design a compact pouch to store everything needed for a flight, so all you have to do is transfer the pouch from your luggage to the seat pocket. And on disembarking, you can quickly grab it, knowing you haven’t left anything behind. Brilliant.
I’ve been using various ‘pouches’ for a while to hold all my flight essentials for quick transfer from bag to seat pocket. I started with a soft cloth bag, which while easy to move, didn’t have any compartments, so I still had to fossick around inside it to find things. Now I have a four zip-pocket pouch, which I love, but it’s not quite big enough – it doesn’t fit my contoured eye mask, which I don’t want to fold.
So I’m looking forward to purchasing and test driving the neoprene Airpocket, which has flexible internal pockets big enough to take e-readers, tablets, phone, glasses, an amenity kit and more. I’m not sure of the actual dimensions yet, but it is designed to fit inside a handbag or satchel, or alternatively, you can slip it over the extended handle of your carry on case. Looks like you’d need a pretty large handbag to accommodate it, but hopefully it will slip into my backpack.
It will certainly be of benefit on those planes that don’t have a proper seat pocket any more, just a hard-shell magazine slot at the top of the seat. You’ll be able to keep the Airpocket beside you on your seat or slip it under the seat in front of you where it is within easy reach.
Trish is using the global crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to get her design into production, and her campaign starts on 3 March 2015. You can check it out here. You can also follow Trish’s progress on the Airpocket Facebook page or Airpocket Twitter feed.
Having taken timeout from her career in recruitment to get this product off the ground I certainly hope Trish raises the necessary funds to see her design come to fruition.
Well done Trish and good luck!
Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post. I will be supporting the Airpocket by pledging to buy one through Kickstarter.
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