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Travel Hack of the Day: Pack Your Carry-On Pillow With Clothes

News Airports + Flying
by Olivia Harden Feb 16, 2022

Air travel rules are strict when it comes to luggage, and often costly, too. While there are moments where airlines are forced to cough up the cash because they banged up or lost your luggage, travelers are usually at the mercy of the airline for what they can bring as a carry-on. Que this TikTok travel hack from Anya Iakovlieva.

Iakovlieva is a travel influencer who racked up 24.9 million views on her travel hack, and all you’ll need is a travel pillow case. The concept is simple: Swap out your pillow insert and instead stuff the cover with any extra clothes that didn’t fit in your carry-on, personal item, or checked bag. Sure, you’ll have to take the pillow through the x-ray scanner when you arrive at security and deal with any possible questions from the TSA agent, but this hack can make things a breeze once you arrive at the gate.

@nolimitua #travelhack #travelhacks #pillowtransformation #lifehack #travellight #noonesgonnaknow #traveltips #travellife #traveltip ♬ how would they know bad girls club – Chris Gleason

Unless your flight attendant at the gate is really stingy, you can typically get away with a personal item like a bag or purse plus a travel pillow for comfort. Just note that this travel “pillow” seems rather uncomfortable compared to a pillow with the normal stuffing inside. That doesn’t mean it’s useless. There are plenty of sleep hacks for comfortable flying, including the military sleep method or scoring some extra room in economy.

How far would you go to get a little more luggage up in the sky?

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