Packing well is the same five decisions every time, whatever bag you are filling.
Choose a colour story so you can mix and match with ease. Roll what creases and fold what does not. Sort into cubes by category rather than by day. Compress, then close. Put the heavy things nearest the wheels.
What changes is the bag. A carry-on rewards editing, a checked bag rewards weight discipline, and a tote holds the items you would not want to be separated from. Here is the method, and then how it changes for each.
Pack Outfits, Not Days
The most common packing mistake is planning seven days and packing seven of everything. A week does not need seven tops. It needs a small set of things that combine, which is a different and much smaller number.
Pick two or three bottoms and four or five tops in colours that all work together, and you have most of a week without thinking about it. Add one thing for a nicer dinner and one layer for weather you did not expect. Shoes are the real weight, so bring two pairs and wear the heavier one.
Done properly, this is not a compromise. It is the same principle as a well-edited wardrobe at home, moved into a smaller space.
Roll, Fold, or Both
Roll knits, denim, T-shirts, and anything soft. Rolling removes air, and air is what takes up room in a suitcase. Rolled items also stack upright, which means you can see everything at once instead of digging.
Fold anything structured or prone to creasing. Tailored trousers, shirts, dresses, and blazers keep their shape better folded flat, and they fare best on top, laid across everything else once the rest of the bag is full.
For pants specifically, the fold that works is one long fold at the crease rather than several short ones. Fewer folds means fewer lines to hang out later.
To avoid creases altogether, the trick is not technique; it is pressure. A garment that cannot move cannot crease. Pack tightly enough that nothing shifts, and most things arrive better than they would loose in a half-empty bag.
The Cubes Do the Real Work
A suitcase without cubes is one large space that becomes disordered on the first morning. A suitcase with cubes is four small spaces that stay sorted for the whole trip. You stop unpacking to find things, because the thing you want is in the cube it has been in since you left.
Our Packing Cubes come as a set of four, sized to nest. Two small, one medium, one large. Made from 100% recycled polyester with vegan leather zip pulls and the signature striped lining that runs through the rest of the collection, so the inside of the suitcase looks like it belongs to the outside.
How to divide them. Sort by category, never by day. The large cube, at 24.4 x 33 x 9.9 cm, takes tops. The medium takes bottoms. One small cube takes underwear and socks. The other small cube stays empty on the way out and becomes the one that holds what you have worn, which is the single most useful thing a fourth cube can do.
How to fill them. Roll into the cube rather than laying flat, packed upright so you can read the contents like files rather than excavating a pile. Fill each one properly. A half-full cube is wasted volume, and a cube packed to its zip compresses the contents in a way loose folding never will.
Why they save space rather than adding it. People assume a cube takes up room. What it actually does is hold a compressed shape. Clothes pressed into a zipped cube stay pressed. Clothes folded loose into a suitcase relax and expand as soon as the bag moves.
Because they nest, the same set works in a carry-on and in a checked bag. In a large suitcase, they stop the load from shifting on the way to the hold, which is worth as much as the space they save.
Packing a Carry-On
A hardside carry-on opens like a clamshell into two halves, and the two halves are not the same. One side of every Aviator suitcase carries a built-in compression board over a 100% recycled lining, with wide recycled webbing straps and a custom Paravel clip. That is the side for clothes. Cubes go in flat, straps over the top, and the board holds the whole load still. Packing cubes also compress clothing into a more efficient shape, helping you make better use of the suitcase's available capacity and fit more without overpacking.
The other side takes the two interior pockets, which are the right home for chargers, documents, and anything flat you want to reach without opening the packed half. Shoes go in last, along the hinge where the case is deepest, soles facing outward and socks stuffed inside them.
The other side takes the two interior pockets, which are the right home for chargers, documents, and anything flat you want to reach without opening the packed half. Shoes go in last, along the hinge where the case is deepest, soles facing outward and socks stuffed inside them.
Can you do a week in one? Yes, comfortably, if you pack outfits rather than days. Five tops, three bottoms, one layer, one thing for a nicer evening, two pairs of shoes with the heavier pair worn onto the plane. Then weigh it: on Jetstar, and on Qantas international flights, the carry-on limit is 7 kg. On international flights, liquids go in containers of 100 mL or less, decanted rather than full-size, in a single clear resealable bag. Domestic flights within Australia do not restrict liquids in the same way.
Packing a Checked Bag
The usual allowance is 23 kg on fares that include a checked bag. The Aviator Grand holds a week or two, and the Aviator Trunk is built for the trips you plan a season around. Both reach 23 kg well before they are full, so weigh the bag at home rather than guessing.
Pack the heavy things at the wheel end. A suitcase stands up straight when the weight is low and pulls to one side when it is not, and the same distribution stops the load sliding when the bag is on its back in the hold. Fragile things go in the middle, cushioned by clothes on all sides, never against the shell.
Some things never go in a checked bag. Medication, documents, and valuables belong with you. So do spare lithium batteries and power banks, which Australian aviation rules allow in carry-on baggage only, never in checked bags. Pack one change of clothes in your carry-on too, on the reasonable assumption that bags occasionally travel separately from the people who packed them.
Every Aviator comes with a removable 100% recycled laundry bag, which solves the clean-and-worn problem more elegantly than a plastic bag from the hotel bathroom. A 100% recycled dust bag comes with it for storage between trips.
Packing a Tote
The tote is not the overflow bag, though it will do that job at the end of a trip. It is the bag that holds everything you would not want to lose.
The Signature Canvas Tote is made from Better Cotton Initiative certified premium cotton with a waterproof, dirt-resistant finish, a 100% recycled striped lining, a secure latch closure, and an internal address cardholder. It sits under the seat in front of you and holds what you want within reach on the plane: a laptop, a book, a layer for a cold cabin, medication, documents, and anything you would rather not check in.
Pack it in layers rather than filling it. Flat things at the back against the panel, soft things at the front, and the thing you will want first at the top. A tote you have to dig through at a gate is a tote packed badly.
It also keeps working once you land, which the suitcase does not. From the plane to the beach to dinner, without looking like luggage.
What Goes Where
| Bag | What it is for | What never goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Carry-on | A week of clothes; shoes; anything you want to keep with you | Liquids over 100 mL on international flights; nothing you cannot lift into the overhead locker |
| Checked bag | Bulk, full-size liquids, anything replaceable | Medication, documents, valuables, spare batteries and power banks |
| Tote | Laptop, book, a layer, medication, documents, valuables | Anything you will not want at your feet for six hours |
