How to Charge Your Phone or Laptop on a Plane

The last thing you want is to take your work with you on plane only to find out that you can't charge your laptop or phone, it or to download a bunch of Netflix movies to your iPad but not have a place to charge it. Fortunately, there are a few ways to charge your phone and other tech on a plane.

Some airlines offer a power outlet or USB port in their seats, so you can keep on working or playing as you head to your destination and be fully charged by the time you land. However, not all planes have this option, but there are some alternative charging techniques you can take advantage of.

A portable charger is just what it sounds like: a charger that you can take with you. Juice it up in the airport before the flight, or at home before you leave, and most will provide enough power to run your device(s) a few times over.

For your tablet, phone, eBook reader, or any other device that charges over USB, a USB battery is all you need. Some have multiple USB ports to charge more than one device at once.

If you need to charge a laptop on the plane, consider a portable laptop battery charger. Not only do laptops require way more power than a battery charger meant for phones, but you need a way to plug the laptop into the charger. A portable laptop charger has the two-pronged or three-pronged connection you need to mimic a wall outlet.

Tip: It's best to charge a phone or laptop battery charger overnight since they hold such a huge amount of power, but even if you have a few hours of wait time in the airport before the flight, consider plugging it in then.

Some planes offer in-seat power that work with your standard AC power adapter, like how your laptop plugs into the wall at home. For these types of aircraft, bring along your standard power brick you use with a wall. You can get one on Amazon if yours is missing or broken.

In some cases, DC power adapters are used in planes, like the circular cigarette lighter power adapters found in almost every vehicle. If that's what's available to you, you'll need a DC to AC power converter.

If you often travel with both a laptop and USB devices, you might prefer a DC to AC converter like this one from Foval which includes not only a three-pronged port for your laptop but two USB ports for your smaller devices.

Tip: Not sure if your plane has in-seat charging? Search for your flight at SeatGuru or look up your airline. For example, from the Alaska Airlines page, click Compare seat pitch, etc. on the right, and locate the Power Type section to see if "AC Power" is listed.

If you'd rather not bring a bunch of batteries with you or pay for something you'll only use on one flight, there are some things you can do to to make sure your devices remain powered for longer.

One obvious way to avoid charging your phone on a plane is making sure it's fully charged before you leave. Charge up in the airport before you take off, or keep your phone off until you get on the plane to avoid using it until you need to. The same goes for any of your other tech that need power on the plane.

Something else you can do is reduce your phone's requirement for power. Aside from keeping it off, the next best thing you can do to save phone battery is turn off location services, dim the brightness, and turn off automatic updates. See these tips to extend iPhone battery life (or your iPad or Android battery) for dozens of other tips.

Advanced Tip: If the above methods don't do enough to keep your iPhone or Android-powered, your phone might be overwhelmed with useless junk files that you can delete to free up space and, ultimately, make the device run smoother and hopefully use less battery. See these iOS maintenance tips and these Android cleaning tips.