Air Travel Packing List
Air Travel Packing List
[A lists of 20 items is given in two columns with 10 items in each. Each item is preceded by a checkbox. Most items only take up one line, but in the left column two items take up two and in the right one item take up three, so they take up the same space. Above is a large heading, with an explanation beneath it.] Air Travel Packing List If you haven't flown in a while, you might not remember what you need to bring. Use this handy checklist to pack!
[Left column:] ☐ Seat cushion ☐ Parachute ☐ Wing glue ☐ Air horn ☐ Sextant ☐ Nose plugs and goggles for pressure ☐ Airplane shoes ☐ Navigation crystal ☐ Spare batteries in case the plane runs out ☐ Birdseed
[Right column:] ☐ Homing beacon ☐ Meteorite antidote ☐ USB wing connector ☐ Emergency siren ☐ Spare flaps ☐ Mouthpiece (Pandemic restriction; airlines still provide the trumpet) ☐ Luggage ballast ☐ Flag (International flights) ☐ Decoy tickets ☐ Keys to the plane

This comic is another in a series of comics related to the COVID-19 pandemic .
The comic is about a proposed air-travel packing list, and the humor stems from the fact that many people have not been flying during the pandemic, and thus they might have forgotten what to pack. So Randall is so kind as to provide a packing list with 20 items. However, apart from the first item, the rest is not something you would or even should normally bring on an airplane.
Many of the items are already found on passenger airplanes, some items would seem like they could be useful on a plane, while others could actually be useful in case of a plane crash (but only if you survive), while many others would be counter-productive to safe air travel, even in the event of a crash. Below in the table is a quick summary of each item.
The title text references the idea that there is a trumpet for each passenger provided by the airline, which is item number 16 on the list. This items also states that you, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, should remember to bring your own mouthpiece for the trumpet as a safety measure.
The trumpet idea is then combined with the common debate regarding reclining your seat in airplanes. About half of the people think that reclining is rude as it takes up the space of the person behind you. The other half think that seats recline for a reason and the person in a seat has the rights to the space behind them. See for instance this video about such a debate. Reclining a seat has resulted in actual physical fights on board airplanes.
Here it seems that Randall sides with the anti-recliners, although maybe only in the context of the comic, because he states that reclining would prevent him from playing his trumpet, as the seat hits the bell of the trumpet. The person in front could certainly argue that playing the trumpet behind them would be very annoying, to which Randall could reply that because the trumpet is provided by the airline, he has the right to play it. This would add a new layer to the debate. This could also be Randall's way of arguing against the right to recline a seat, just because it is possible.
[A lists of 20 items is given in two columns with 10 items in each. Each item is preceded by a checkbox. Most items only take up one line, but in the left column two items take up two and in the right one item take up three, so they take up the same space. Above is a large heading, with an explanation beneath it.] Air Travel Packing List If you haven't flown in a while, you might not remember what you need to bring. Use this handy checklist to pack!
[Left column:] ☐ Seat cushion ☐ Parachute ☐ Wing glue ☐ Air horn ☐ Sextant ☐ Nose plugs and goggles for pressure ☐ Airplane shoes ☐ Navigation crystal ☐ Spare batteries in case the plane runs out ☐ Birdseed
[Right column:] ☐ Homing beacon ☐ Meteorite antidote ☐ USB wing connector ☐ Emergency siren ☐ Spare flaps ☐ Mouthpiece (Pandemic restriction; airlines still provide the trumpet) ☐ Luggage ballast ☐ Flag (International flights) ☐ Decoy tickets ☐ Keys to the plane
