{
  "id": 15433556,
  "title": "A travel expert who flies 150,000 miles a year shares the one item he always packs, even though he's rarely used it",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/18/a-travel-expert-who-flies-150-000-miles-a-year-shares-the-one-item-he",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-18T15:02:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/carry-on-essentials-flight-expert-packs-extra-phone-2026-10"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Travel expert Zach Griff, who flies around the world an average of 150,000 miles each year, always packs an old phone in his carry-on backpack. Though he rarely needs it, this spare device offers peace of mind in case his current phone is lost or damaged. During a safari in the Serengeti with his wife in 2015, Jill's phone broke while they were surrounded by wildlife, preventing her from taking photos. This prompted Griff to make a habit of bringing a backup phone with him on every trip. He has only used the spare phone once, swapping it in when his primary phone cracked during a visit to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. While the backup phone didn't help him maintain contact during that incident, having a reliable backup device provides reassurance when traveling far from home.",
  "summary": "Flight expert Zach Griff always packs an extra phone in his carry-on bag, no matter the destination. He told us why you should, too.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}