A former cabin crew member has revealed that there's one thing you should always pack in your bag when going on holiday to avoid paying overweight baggage fees.
Especially upon returning from a trip, there's always the stress that anything you bought while away has made your bag too heavy to be accepted back on the plane.
And unless you can swap some things to your hand luggage, you'll be faced with a hefty fee to pay. Thankfully Kat Kamalani, ex-flight attendant for a US airline, says there's an easy way to get around this - and all you need is a pillowcase.
The Express reports that Kat, who posts airline hacks on her TikTok account, says that a "tiny hack" will save you if your bag is ever overweight while travelling.
Most airlines have restrictions on how heavy your bag can be to take on a plane, and if it's over the limit, you'll usually be asked to pay a fee.
However, if you can get your suitcase down to the weight limit, this will save you from any last-minute costs.
"This hack works the best when you are travelling home from vacation," said Kat. "You will always want to carry a pillowcase in your bag because if your bags are overweight you can stuff your pillowcase full of clothes and use it as a pillow on the aircraft. This is seriously a game changer to avoid those fees for overweight bags."
Kate also confirmed that in her experience a pillow does not count as a personal item or towards airline luggage allowances.
TikTok user Larissa, who posts under the username @is.me.larry said she and her friends were able to “save nearly €80” (approximately £67) on hand luggage fees when they put the pillowcase hack to the test.
In the video, she said: "We tried the airport pillow hack and we succeeded." The TikTokker and her friends can be seen stuffing all of their belongings into an empty pillow case, disguising them as comfy cushions for personal use during the flight.
If you want to test out this hack in the UK, whether it works or not may depend on the airline you're travelling with.
Nicky Kelvin, head of The Points Guy UK, explained: "The likes of Ryanair and easyJet have been allowing people to bring pillows aboard for aeons, not to mention goading customers on social media over the more inventive means of maximising carry-on.
"Given the clothing and pillows are effectively perfect for stashing extra items, it was only a matter of time before people looking to avoid steep luggage prices steeper would see how far they could push it."
Some airlines may begin to click on and put a stop to the sneaky solution as it gets more popular on social media. "There are plenty of TikTok videos showing it does work, but with every view, there’s more heat and it wouldn’t be surprising if the airlines clamp down on the hack at some point," said Nicky.
It also has some potential flaws, as Nicky explained: "For one, all your clothes will be creased to high hell — just use packing cubes.
"Secondly, imagine this doesn’t work, do you want to be the person at the airport standing with a pillow of belongings they can’t take with them? Thirdly, actual pillows are far comfier than pillows you make out of your belongings."
Fans of Kat's have applauded her recommendation, however, with one user named Jenni describing the hack as "genius". Another commenter added: "That’s a naughty game changer."
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