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What’s Really in an Airline Pilot’s Flight Bag?

A FLYING Magazine reader asks a question plenty of us outside the airline industry have wondered about.

So, what's in that bag, anyway? [File Photo: Adobe Stock]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • Historically, airline pilot flight bags, often called "brain bags" or "kit bags," were heavy leather bags packed with extensive paper charts, manuals, checklists, and navigation tools.
  • These traditional bags also contained essential items like headsets and flashlights, alongside personal touches such as hot sauce or reading material.
  • The advent of electronic flight bags (EFBs) like iPads has drastically reduced the need for physical paper content, transforming modern pilot bags into lighter, more compact carriers resembling laptop bags.
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What’s Really in an Airline Pilot’s Flight Bag?

In my career, the two most-prominent labels used when referring to the piece of airline pilot luggage that, at one time, kept chiropractors in business was either “brain bag” or “kit bag.” Distinguished by stickers and decals, the outside of the bag reflected a pilot’s personality and told a story.

The good-quality bags were leather, and real pilots schlepped them by hand—wheels were for sissies. We stuffed them with

Les Abend

Les Abend is a retired, 34-year veteran of American Airlines, attempting to readjust his passion for flying airplanes in the lower flight levels—without the assistance of a copilot.

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