Woman reveals travel hack for packing with an airplane pillow: ‘I needed this’

A woman has revealed how she used her airplane pillow as a carry-on bag on a plane, especially when on a budget, and viewers are praising the idea.

In a TikTok video posted on 8 January, @anayotothe noted how she’s seen people on the platform put items in their airplane pillow when traveling with Spirit and Frontier Airlines.

“Trying the Spirit and Frontier pillow hack cuz I ain’t tryna pay $60 for a carry on,” the text over the video reads.

“A few weeks ago I saw a track hack on TikTok for the budget airlines that don’t let you carry on a bag,” the text continues. “Instead, you can use a travel pillow as additional storage.”

She explained that she got a U-shaped travel pillow that had a zipper on it. So, she pulled out all the stuffing from the inside of it.

The TikTok user then took out a different bag, which had some of her clothes in it, and transferred them to her pillow.

“These are the clothes that wouldn’t fit in my backpack,” the text overlaying the clip reads. “I’m going to Vegas so ya girl needs options!

“These are my mesh tops and dresses so they’re lightweight.”

Everything then fit in the pillow, except one shirt. She only brought this pillow and a backpack onto the plane.

The video has over 988,000 views so far, with some viewers in the comments noting how much they loved this travel hack.

“Yes I will try this I’m not paying more for luggage than the flight cost,” one wrote.

“Yessss bb thank you!!,” another comment reads. “My man and I are going on a trip soon and he’s the only one that has a carry on bag! I needed this!!!”

Viewers also shared their own travel ideas, one of which said: “Next time do a free personal item then get a jaw string bag and put it under a Jacket (it’ll just look like you’re pregnant) I do it all the time.”

However, some TikTok users thought that using a travel pillow as a bag was too much of a hassle.

“At that point isn’t it just easier going on another airline? Is it that much cheaper?,” one wrote.

“This too much,” another viewer claimed. “just pay the money and fly on delta or JetBlue.”

In a follow-up video post on 12 January, @anayotothe confirmed that she made it onto her flight with the backpack and pillow, without having to pay extra.

She also responded to some of the comments that told her that her packing routine was “too much work” and that she should just “pay for a more expensive flight.”

The TikTok user explained that it took her “five minutes” to get the travel pillow from Walgreens and pack her stuff. She also noted that she doesn’t live far from Las Vegas, so she didn’t want to pay for a more expensive flight.

“I live in the bay area,” she said. “I was going to Vegas. It was an hour flight. There was no reason I or any of y’all if you live that close to a place should pay $300 dollars for a flight when you can take one of the budget airlines.”

As noted on its website, in order to “keep prices low,” Spirit Airlines charges “for carry-ons and checked bags.” Passengers are allowed one personal item, such as a small bag or purse, that fits “entirely in the smaller sizer box” included in each ticket. Prices for carry-ons can vary based upon weight.

Just like Spirit, Frontier Airlines only includes one free personal item per ticket, as explained on the airline’s website. The price of a carry-on also varies based upon its weight of it.

The Independent has reached out to @anayotothe, Frontier, and Spirit for a comment.