I’m a flight attendant – here’s what airlines don’t want you to know about those TikTok luggage hacks
IN recent years there's been a big increase in people showing off how they beat the system with their "packing hacks," to get extra luggage onto planes.
You've probably seen the videos on Tiktok, with people hiding bags up their jumpers to make themselves look pregnant, or stuffing clothes into pillow cases.
All of them show people just trying to take more items on holiday without having to pay for excess baggage and believe me, we've seen them all.
Chances are, we probably even saw those people doing it at the airport, but just didn't care enough to do much about it.
In this, my latest weekly blog for Sun Online Travel, I'll explain why we really aren't bothered and how sometimes we're actually quite impressed.
Every airline is different, but usually, each passenger has the option to pay to bring more stuff on the plane.
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Some people see it as a safety scheme, which to some extent it is - if the plane is too heavy we'll have problems.
But it's also a money making scheme too and the fact that every single passenger has the option to bring more luggage onto the aircraft shows that there's probably enough room.
If every single passenger starts doing it, we'll likely have problems, because even with smaller bags, the weight would add up.
But we're not at that stage yet and at the moment, it's really not as much of a big deal.
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Personally, I've been inspired - I'm all about saving money wherever I can.
Even as flight attendants, we have to ask our manager if we want to bring any extras on board, so I totally sympathise.
Although the airline are quite lenient with crew, I know that's not the same for passengers, especially with some airlines who will try and charge you left, right and centre.
The only thing I would ask for anyone thinking of trying to get away without having to pay for excess baggage, is to still scan everything at security.
As long as a bag has been checked by the scanners, I'm fine with it being on the plane, whether it's been paid for or not.
If you do want to bring more things onto the plane, but aren't willing to try and sneak something past us, then there are ways you can make room in your bags.
For instance, we don't charge for extra coats or jackets, so think about wearing your bigger items to the airport and layer up as much as you want.
You won't have to do it for the whole flight, just while you're checking in. Then when you're on the plane, store your jackets and coats with the rest of your luggage in the overhead.
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That way you can bring extra items on board, make space in your case and not worry about possibly having to fork out for an excess baggage fine.
But, if you're a daredevil and you want to get one past us, I'd recommend trying the pillow technique over the others, as I've seen plenty of people bring pillows on board and no one ever checks inside them.
