This Neck Pillow Is So Good, I Slept for 5 Hours Straight on an Economy Flight

I just returned from my honeymoon to Southeast Asia. To get there, my husband and I had to fly multiple long-haul flights in a row. We had full travel days — it took us about 25 hours to get to Vietnam, and the same amount of time to get home from Thailand. We flew economy class, and didn’t check any bags because the flights were already prohibitively expensive. But flying long-haul economy is uncomfortable, and given that Southeast Asia is 11 to 12 hours ahead of New York City (where I live) depending on when one visits, I was nervous about jet lag and finding a way to sleep as comfortably as possible on the plane. 

That’s why I was so excited to try out a new kind of travel pillow that combines the best features of a neck pillow (neck support) and an eye mask (blocking out light and sound): the PLUTO POD Travel Pillow. This travel pillow promises to help you “get amazing sleep” on a flight, and I can attest to the fact that it really delivered on this; in fact, I slept for five hours straight while sitting up. Now, I’ll never take another long-haul flight without it. (And if you want one of your own, you can get $20 off the POD by entering code apartmenttherapy at checkout until midnight PST on March 20.)

The PLUTO POD Travel Pillow is a travel pillow that is both a pillow and hoodie. You wrap the neck pillow around your neck and secure it with Velcro to your desired level of tightness. Then, you can pull the hood up over your head. If you want even more privacy or darkness, there’s an interior eye mask that you pull down from the hood over your eyes. The all-around head, neck, and eye coverage blocks out most noise and light.

The 360-degree support of the neck pillow design is based off of the support a neck brace would provide — so no waking up in the middle of your nap with a stiff neck because it jerked to the side or fell forward. And while it doesn’t block out all noise, it definitely makes you feel like you’re in a quiet pod all your own. This is especially good when you fly economy all the time, like I do. 

Although the pillow is quite big, you don’t need to try to shove it in your suitcase to get past flight attendants. You could wear it on your neck while boarding the flight, roll it up and clip it to your bag with a built-in carabiner, or you could roll it up and clip it around the handle of your suitcase. The choice is yours. The pillow comes in Sky Grey or Black, and is priced at $145. It’s also FSA/HSA eligible. 

Anything that can help me sleep for five straight hours in an economy window seat on a 15-hour flight from Doha, Qatar (one of our layovers), to NYC gets a thumbs up from me — and that’s exactly what the PLUTO POD did. When we boarded our flight, I put this thing on, covered my eyes, leaned to one side, and slept so hard that I missed the first meal service completely. I woke up bleary-eyed and asked my husband if I missed the meal, and was disappointed to find that I had — but then I was happy that I had slept hard enough that I didn’t even hear or notice food being eaten all around me. 

And it all worked out. I only had nine hours to go. I asked a flight attendant if there were any leftover meals, got one, watched a movie, then put my pillow back on to sleep for two or three more hours after that. Getting almost eight hours of sleep on an international flight in economy is a huge win — full stop.

The pillow is highly effective at blocking out light (there’s only a tiny sliver that you might see, should the eye mask come up your nose). You do look a little silly wearing the pod (see: photo above). But who cares? For the convenience of being able to sleep for almost half of a 15-hour flight, I’d accept looking like anything.

It’s easy to clean — you unzip the neck support cushion area and remove the foam (which cannot be washed.) Wash it cold, delicate, and without other items, and lay flat to dry.

My only complaint about the POD is that I am a very short person (I do not clear 5 feet). This is mostly good on flights because I have more leg room than most people, but it can occasionally lead to discomfort if my legs don’t reach the ground. Plenty of things are not built for my size. The PLUTO POD is, unfortunately, not an exception. It did fit me, obviously, as I was able to use it very successfully, but the neck pillow was a bit thick for my neck length. I had to wear it looser than I probably would have otherwise to make sure my chin was comfortable, as it didn’t quite clear the height of the pillow. I imagine that if you’re even just a few inches taller than me then it will fit you perfectly.

Also, the PLUTO is a warm pillow. This was great on the long-haul flight because, typically, I find longer flights are colder than short ones, but if you run super hot then this might not be the perfect travel pillow for you. 

Unequivocally, yes. I will buy one for my husband the next time we have international travel, because it was almost unfair how much more I slept than he did. It is not a cheap pillow by any means, and $145 might seem a ridiculous price to pay. But, once again, I got five straight hours of deep sleep — and considering I will be flying economy for the rest of my natural born life, I think that this pillow will more than make up for the buy-in. 

Buy: PLUTO POD Pillow, $145