How to Charge a Device on an Airplane

Charging During the Flight

Book a flight with power ports in every seat. Power ports are becoming more common in planes but they still are not standard. Many planes only include outlets near certain seats. When purchasing tickets, see if plugs are listed among the amenities available on the flight. Some airlines, like Southwest and Alaska Air have no power ports. Virgin America has plugs on every flight. The accessibility of power ports on most other airlines varies with the model of the plane.

Bring an adapter. Many power plugs on flights are not adapted to accommodate typical device plugs. Many are adapted to Cigarette DC Power or EmPower DC Power. These are similar to what you find in a car and require the same type of adapter. For Cigarette DC Adapters, look for an “Auto/Air” adapter. For Empower DC Power, you might need an additional device that can be attached to a Cigarette DC Power adapter. Most "Auto/Air" adapters can easily be converted from Cigarette to Empower Adapters. The Empower DC adapter looks much like a Cigarette DC adapter. Whereas a Cigarette DC adapter has a circular shape with a number of very small inputs, the Empower DC adapter has a circular shape, with some small inputs and two larger ones near the top. If you are flying internationally you should consider a universal device that includes an array of different adapters. These are more expensive, but international power plugs often are not compatible with U.S devices. A good, universal adapter will allow you to charge your devices both on the plane and abroad.

Be prepared to wait. It can be dangerous to charge during crucial moments of the flight, like take off, landing, and periods of turbulence. As of yet, there are no official regulations about when you can and cannot charge. However, many airlines have their own rules and flight attendants might tell you to unplug your devices at certain points in the flight. Often, the power ports will shut off automatically at the end of flight.

Bring smaller devices. Unfortunately, most on flight power ports work at a very low voltage. These will rarely be sufficient to charge larger devices, like laptops. Often the laptop’s demand for power will trip the power circuit, so that you do not get any power from it. Smaller devices are less likely to trip the circuit. Sometimes if you remove the battery, the device will be able to run off the current from low voltage power plugs. Smaller devices like tablets, DVD Players, and cell phones are more likely to charge effectively with airplane power ports.

Ask flight attendants for alternative charging locations. Some planes might have open power plugs located away from normal seating areas. Don’t expect to be able to use these. It won’t hurt, however, to ask if anything is available.

Conserve power. You won’t need to charge if you don’t use much power. See if your laptop has an energy efficient setting. Turn off unnecessary applications to reduce the consumption of power. Putting devices on airplane mode can also conserve energy. These tricks will also allow you to charge your device faster.

Preparing for your Flight

Charge in advance. Obviously bringing pre-charged devices will make it easier to stay entertained during the flight. However, it might also be necessary for getting on the flight in the first place. Because of concerns that bombs could be hidden in electronic devices, some security will no longer allow you on the plane with a device that will not power up on its own. So far, this rule is only being used for select international flights, but it is unclear how this rule will be applied in the future.

Charge at the airport. Most airports have some power ports and many now have specialized charging stations. However, they are often very popular and you might be competing with a horde of other people to get access to the power port. One good way to get around the scarcity of power ports is to bring your own power strip. These allow you to turn 1 power port into 5 or 6. That way you can charge several devices at once and even make some friends at the airport!

Purchase a power pack. Power packs can cost anywhere from $20-$100. Depending on the model, they might be able to charge several devices for as long as a week. The cheaper models, however, should be sufficient to keep your devices charged on even the longest flights.

Bring more than one device with you. If you do this, when one device runs out of power you can switch to the other one. You can even charge one while using the other.