The 5 Best Cooler Flight Bags for Pilots and Crew (2024 Reviews)
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It’s probably been recommended to you to bring your own food on trips. It is healthier and will save you money, and the snack basket and/or FBO snacks get old fast. Meal prep is not our favorite thing to do, but we do recommend packing your own food. Of course, you’ll need a cooler bag. There’s not too many options out there specifically designed for flight crew. We’ve searched and selected the best cooler bags to choose from.
Our Guide to Choosing Your Cooler Bag
When choosing a bag, there are several things you should consider.
Size
Do you want to avoid a purchasing a single food item on a 5 day trip, or are you happy eating a few home cooked meals to balance out dinners with the crew? If you want the most possible food, look to maximize cooler size. Overall size of the bag is also important, as it will be the another bag to carry everywhere you go. It should fit in the cockpit, in the overhead bins, and ideally under passenger seats as well.
Carrying Method
If you want to slide the bag over the handles of your luggage roller, make sure the bag is capable. Hanging the bag from a J-hook is another option. All the coolers below can be carried both ways.
EFB, Pockets and Organization
Decide what else you’d like the cooler bag to carry, other than food. Many offer specific a specific pocket for your EFB. Perhaps you’d also like room for you headset, pilot documents, flashlight, or sunglasses.
Our Choices for Best Cooler Bags
Aerocoast PRO EFB + Cooler II
We use the Aerocoast PRO EFB and it has been a fantastic choice for the past 4 years. It has a good amount of room for food to supplement a 3 or 4 day trip. The EFB pocket fits any iPad and many laptops including the 13.3 inch MacBook Air. It has plenty of accessible pockets for whatever else you want to carry, such as a flashlight, pilot documents, utensils, pens, and more. The YKK zippers have held up, and the bag fits everywhere, perfectly in the pilot side compartment in the ERJ-175. The rear sleeve makes the bag easy to slide over your luggage handle to sit on top of your roller.
Most headsets will take up most of the room in the cooler compartment, so we clip ours externally on the side. Only small ones would be able to fit in the top compartment. The top sunglasses pocket is very small and wouldn’t fit many cases or sunglasses themselves. We find it works better for other quick-access items, such as chap stick, airpods, or car keys (2020 update: hand sanitizer).
Pros:
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- EFB compartment
- Ergonomic interlocking handle for quick, easy, and comfortable use
- Plenty of pockets and organizer sleeves
- Durable YKK zippers
- Fits under aircraft seats
- Overall size: 15”L x 12”W x 9”H and food compartment:14”L x 10”W x 6”H in.
Cons:
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- Will not fit both food and large headsets
- No water bottle pocket
Pro EFB Canadian Ice Cooler
The Strongbags EFB Canadian Ice Cooler is another impressive cooler with an EFB compartment, plenty of space for food, and extra pockets. The top pocket is more likely to fit your headset, with 2 more inches of height than the above Aerocoast EFB Cooler. However it has a little less volume for food in the cold storage compartment. It is made of Strongbag’s tough, completely waterproof, ultra-durable Cordura Ballistic Nylon fabric and the bottom of the cooler is reinforced with hard edges and triangular foot pads. It will fit over a 8.5 inch wide luggage handle. The size pockets open with a lower netting, so they can serve as bottle holders on either size. It will fit under most aircraft seats.
Pros:
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- EFB compartment
- Large top compartment to fit some headsets
- Waterproof, ultra-durable Cordura Ballistic Nylon fabric
- Personalized embroidered velcro wrap
- Size pockets can be used to hold bottles
- Overall size: 14”L x 7”W x 13”H and food compartment: 12”L x 7”W x 9”H in
Cons:
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- Not as much pocket organization
LuggageWorks Stealth Premier Cooler
LuggageWorks also makes a cooler that competes with others. The interior lining is removable for easy cleaning, and has a velcro divider. Carry by a J-hook or on top of a roller thanks to a rear sleeve. The top pocket will be able to fit some small to medium sized headsets. This is a very nice looking bag with many pockets and good organization.
Pros:
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- EFB compartment
- Removable lining for easy cleaning
- Reinforced padding on all pockets and seatbelt webbing handles
- 13” x 8” Ipad-Tablet padded pocket and expanded phone pocket
- Bottle pocket
- Overall size: 14.5″L x 9”W x 12”H
Cons:
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- Top pocket will not fit large headsets
Aurora New Generation - Cooler-Tote Combo
Luggageworks also makes the Aurora Cooler-Tote Combo, made to be 2 bags in 1. With 3 internal compartments, carry your headset, EFB, phone, water bottle, books, and other electronics. It even comes with a small, removable, USB-chargeable flashlight. The cooler compartment is padded, comes with a detachable divider and measures 14”L x 3.5”W x 11”H. Since its a combo, this bag has the least amount of space for food. The food compartment isn’t completely waterproof, but as long as you use ice packs opposed to filling it with loose ice, you won’t see any leaks. The headset/electronics compartment is large and also padded. The third compartment is a narrow zipper section with a file folder. While bulkier than other bags, it will still fit in most cockpits including the pilot side compartment in the ERJ-175. It has a rear sleeve if you’d like to slide it onto your roller bag.
Pros:
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- Most headsets will fit, even large ones
- Extractable, small USB-chargeable flashlight, no batteries
- Pocket designed for business organization
- Water Bottle pocket
- Overall size: 15”L x 10”W x 11.5”H Food compartment: 14”L x 3.5”W x 11”H
Cons:
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- Smallest amount of cooler space
- Slightly bulky
Travelpro FlightCrew5 Crew Cooler - Large
If all you need is a cooler, the FlightCrew5 might be the perfect fit. There is a large and small version. The large can fit an impressive 12 drink cans. It features a top, dry zippered compartment and insulated PVC lined interior food compartment. The interior lining actually zips out for convenient, easy washing. A loop on the bag allows for quick attachment to your luggage roller, over the handle. It’s durable, made of 1682D ballistic nylon fabric. The zipper system was also made to last with large high strength pulls.
It does have a side pocket with lower mesh to hold a water bottle, but it will not fit anything bigger than the standard 16.9 oz plastic bottle.
Pros:
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- Removable zip-out PVC lined interior for easy washing
- 3 mesh internal pockets for ice packs
- Ergonomic zipper system with self-repairing nylon coil zippers
- Reinforced top handle
- 3 year warranty
- Overall size: 10.5 x 14 x 9
Cons:
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- Side water bottle pocket is small
- No EFB compartment
Inside the Cooler
Choosing your cooler is half the battle. Read on for our recommendations on food storage containers, so you can enjoy your new flight bag to the fullest.
Thin Bins Collapsible Containers – Set of 4 Rectangle Silicone Food Storage Containers
This food-container set comes with 4 collapsable containers, each a different size. They expand for use and collapse to 1/3 their size, perfect for saving space after use. Snap-on lids create an airtight vacuum seal that will keep your food secured and fresher longer. They are microwave, freezer, and dishwasher safe, and made from 100% FDA compliant non-toxic, BPA free, food grade silicone. They even have an air vent for microwave heating to keep you from having to wipe down the microwave.
Rubbermaid – Find Vented Lids Food Storage Containers, Set of 21
These containers are not collapsible, but will work great in your cooler bag and kitchen. You get a generous 21 pieces, with 6 different sizes. 3 of those sizes feature a built-in vent for splatter-resistant microwaving. They are BPA free, microwave safe and dishwasher safe.
Elitehood Ice Cold Pack Reusable Ice Bags
Not every hotel room will have a freezer for your ice packs. However, all will have an ice machine (hopefully on your floor). While not advertised for food, these reusable ice bags are completely waterproof with a superior leak-resistant cap, which is our top priority. The cap opening is large enough for easy filling with cubed or crushed ice. Choose from 3 sizes. We hope no injuries happen, but you are also now better equipped if you or your crew takes a misstep exiting the hotel van.
