Travel goods industry vets tuning into the HBOMAX series, “The Flight Attendant,” have no doubt raised an eyebrow at the amount of stuff Cassie Bowden, the title character played by actress Kaley Cuoco, routinely packs into a small tote she perches atop her 16-inch roller bag. Thankfully, travel packing expert Anne McAlpin, founder and CEO of Pack It Up: The Art of Organized Travel, was asked by writer Claire Spellberg Lustig to weigh in on Cassie’s packing methodology for a recent story in Primetimer.

How does the flighty flight attendant fit her trademark large (but admittedly fabulous) coats, plus clothes including bulky sweaters, multiple pairs of shoes, makeup and other essentials into such small cases?

Focusing her comments on Cassie’s go-to extra-long puffer coat, McAlpin noted, “A large compression bag would squish it down, but that would take up probably three-fourths of that rolling tote,” she said. “It would be a tight fit.” 

The less-is-more packing expert then put her compression theory to the test for Primetimer. Check out the article here and see what McAlpin discovered in the course of her investigation. (On a side note, sharp-eyed industry vets may recognize the similarity of Cassie’s cases to Travelpro’s Crew VersaPack Rolling Tote and Deluxe Tote, released as part of a collab with the show.)