Traveling Light with a (bed) pillow: is it possible?

Try a serious compression bag where you roll out the air - try it at home and see how small you can make it.

Depends on the airline and the size of the pillow. If allowed a personal item and a standard hand-carry and the pillow isn't a plump US king then I reckon you haven't an issue...unless your "packing light" routine already accounts for both items to be filled, in which case you'll clearly need to either cull your list or perhaps be able to find lodging for the displaced items in the luggage of a willing traveling-companion.

As an aside, I use a wedge under my pillow at home but whilst traveling I place my RS back-door bag under the hotel pillow.

Hi Tony, there’s a really nice pillow that packs extremely light & squishes down with its own drawstring.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/campincomfort/?etsrc=sdt

I will comment that airlines are getting very picky about the two items going inside the plane at boarding. Extra items in your hands are considered as part of the count of the two carry on + personal item.

There is nothing wrong with checking a bag. I always check my carry-on sized rollaboard so that I can put my daypack in the overhead and purse under the set in front of me. If you have an expandable carry on bag, you could probably get your pillow in that and check it.

I saw a packing video on you tube by Sarah Murdoch (Adventures with Sarah) where she packed a pillow into her carry on. Her logic as I recall is she saved space so that she could bring her pillow (which was quite squishy). Unfortunately, I don't know which video of hers it is as there are several.

I used to have the pillow Sarah Murdoch used when I had to travel for work a week each month to Carlsbad several years ago. It was a half-size down pillow with not much loft to it. I used a plaid flannel regular size pillowcase and just folded it over. Plaid - so housekeeping wouldn’t accidentally take it, or I wouldn’t forget it when packing up.

Sarah Murdoch is a top five pack light guru! Here’s one of the vids where she talks about & shows her pillow in an ultralight context. sarah vid
Here’s another one. They’re down pillows she squishes down to fit and sometimes underfills to fit. I have learned almost everything I know from her, Maggie Fuchs and Rick Steves Monday Night Travel’s own Lisa Friend here

If you are fussy about pillows, whatever you try to take, use it at home so you are sure you are comfortable with it (half-size, squishier material than usual, compressed and recovered, propped up in a new way, etc.). Like shoes - well worn in.

I often pack my old and venerable goose down pillow. 99% of the time I travel only with a carry on and small backpack. Pillow fits well in the back pack that goes under the seat in front of me.

I always travel with my own pillow, squeezing it down into a compression bag. It fits nicely in my overnight/ carry on bag. It is a memory foam pillow