Over the holiday break I saw the movie “Up in the Air” starring George Clooney, which has pulled in about $50 million at the box office as of this recording. The film shows Clooney as a lifetime veteran of airline travel, operating with ruthless efficiency while showing a new business traveler the ropes.

While I’m not hanging out in the Admirals Club with executive platinum members, I do have a decent amount of business travel under my belt over the years.

So as I prepare to head out to the Wired office in San Francisco for a few days and need to crank out a quick podcast before I go, having just packed for my flight tomorrow, I figured I’d give you a glance into my bag. Doing this has gained some popularity, just do a google image search for What’s in my bag or check out the What’s in your Bag group on Flickr.

So I decided to put together a podcast titled:

How to Pack for a Business Trip

Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:

Here’s an outline of today’s topics:

First - the global rules
- In the age of IM, email, conference calls, and video chat, why do business travel in the first place?
- Always fly direct
- Never check bags
- The time of day I always try to fly
- My tips (or lack thereof) for dealing with Jetlag
- Keep a vacation / trip checklist

Jim’s tips

- Jim’s dorky, analytical “Vacation Checklist” file
- Why it’s so helpful, and the two types of things that need to be on it
- Buy two of everything (I explain what)

Jim’s pick for the perfect carry-on:
21″ “Mother Lode” rolling carry-on from eBags.com
- Not the 22″ pr 24″ standard that *just misses* fitting in the overheard … you know it’s going to fit
- Bright orange lining
- Customize it with removable, Velcro shelf
- Choice of upper and lower compartment, or one large
- Key points: Good handles, good wheels, stands up when packed

Why eBags has done a great job marketing this product:
- Unique, personal video walk-through
- Reviews: 1,723 out of 1,778 (97%!) would buy it again

What goes in it
- Jim tip: stick to one color theme (black or brown)
- Adapt to your needs: Formal vs. casual
- Example footwear: Kenneth Cole shoes (MVP candidate)
- Dark jeans
- 3 black dress socks
- 3 casual/running socks
- 3 non-wrinkle dress shirts
- 3 t-shirts
- 2 hats (casual, running)
- 1 v-neck sweater or zip up
- Running sneakers
- Running shorts
- Dri-fit shirt
- Laptop brick
- Papers/work items
- Toiletries
- Eagle Creek Electronics bag - chargers, cables, sunglasses, camera

Luggage 2 - Backpack
- Switch from leather messenger during the workweek to travel-centric bag
- Swiss Army one has worked well, but I need an upgrade; laptop sleeve nice

What goes in the backpack with you
- Keep it light
- Leave room for enough space under the seat

- Laptop
- Food / gum / mints (never know who will be next to you)
- Travel pillow — I tell you which one I highly recommend (see below)
- Magazines / books
- Electronics: Work Treo, iPhone, iPod, Thumb drive with important work files, headphones
- Toiletries (Tip: Get the expandable ziplock bags, put it in your backpack but don’t bring out unless security requests it)

What to wear
- Please, no pajamas
- Layer t-shirt then zip-up
- More comfortable of your 2 dark jeans
- Good socks (remember you’ll be taking off your shoes during security)
- Ex-officio underwear (MVP candidate)

Jim’s MVT’s (Most valuable travel items)
1. Black Gap sportscoat
- Warm enough to be used as a primary jacket in most weather (just add a scarf)
- Soft material doesn’t wrinkle vs. a dressier jacket
- Can be dressed up with a dress shirt or casual with a t-shirt

2. Therm-a-Rest Compressible Pillow
- $19.95 for small size at REI
- Compresses fairly small
- Can be used as lumbar support when driving or if you have an airplane pillow
- Unfolds for supportive sleeping pillow

3. Bose noise-cancelling headphones
Pros: Screams “leave me alone,” excellent sound, drowns out noise, screaming kids and yapping teens
Cons: Expensive, can get hot, some argue it’s a marketing scam

4. Logitech VX Nano Wireless laser mouse
- Available on Amazon for about $60
- 715 reviews
- Ergonomic, works great on any surface, small transmitter, comes with carry bag

5. REI Powerstretch Half-zip top
- The best piece of clothing I’ve ever owned
- I’ve owned mine since 1999
- Has been through mountain biking, running, casual, and traveled with me around the world
- 4-way stretch, warm when it gets chilly but is not bulky, but not hot when it warms up
- Around $50-$80 at REI

So to sum things up…
- Keep a checklist of items and outfits
- Buy two sets of toiletries
- Never check bags, fly early, fly direct
- Go for a smaller carry-on like the eBags mother lode
- Worth it to spend the money on a few high-quality, multi-function items
- Pillow
- Sportscoat
- Stretch pullover

Happy Travels

This entry was posted on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 1:27 am and is filed under Marketing Case Studies, Pop Culture / Entertainment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.