Most travel neck pillows solve for softness, not support — which is fine until your head actually falls forward mid-flight. The real difference between a decent pillow and a great one comes down to whether it's engineered to hold your head upright, or just padded to feel comfortable for the first ten minutes.
The trtl wins decisively on actual neck support for long-haul flights — it's designed by a physiotherapist specifically to stop your head lolling forward, which memory foam alone doesn't solve. The Amazon Basics pillow can't match that structural support, but it's genuinely comfortable, machine washable, and costs a fraction of the price — perfectly fine for a two-hour train journey or car nap.
We avoided inflatable neck pillows despite their compact size. They're a reasonable space-saver, but reviewers consistently report they lose firmness within the first hour — exactly when you need support most on a long flight.