I travel a lot, and because I am obsessive about taking exactly the right things (but not too much!), many people ask me what I take on an overseas flight. I am a Carry-on Only kind of girl, so my carry-on is reserved for my clothes and the things I don't need to have readily available to me on the plane. The things I want to use during the flight go into a small, lightweight backpack that fits under my seat. My tiny travel purse fits inside, so I comply with the rule of only two allowable items on the plane, a carry-on and a personal item.
Here is the list of my "on the plane" must haves: