Aussie teens attempt airport baggage hack but still cop a fine

Another cost-conscious traveller has employed creative methods to fly cheap, but, unfortunately, she just wasn’t fit for the runway.

An Aussie teen’s attempt to dodge a fine for overweight baggage has fallen short, despite the humorous and innovative tactics she employed.

So, what was her method for circumventing the fee? By stacking on layers and layers of clothes.

“I looked like a bear. I’m small and petite but I looked like the exact opposite,” Adriana Ocampo, 19, said as she described her plan to dodge a fee on a Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Adelaide.

Ocampo had been on a trip with her friend Emily Altamura and she knew she would is the firing line for a fine when her baggage was well over the weight limit after she could barely close the bag in her hotel. But the duo marched on with hopes that their hefty luggage would go undetected (to no avail).

“When we went to board, we saw them pulling out a trolley with a scale,” Ocampo said.

That’s when a lightbulb (albeit dim) went off in her head.

“We thought the only way we can take the weight off our bags is if we put it on ourselves so we started putting on our jackets and coats,” said Ocampa, who had to do this a second time because her bag was still overweight.

She yanked all her clothes out of her suitcase and puts about 15 different things on, including an iPad stuffed in her pants and her mate joins the trend.

The clothing airport hack employed by Ocampa (Kennedy News & Media)

“As well as layers of jackets and jumpers, I had baggy trousers on and I was stuffing t-shirts and my iPad in them,” Ocampa said. “I had about six layers on and stuff in my pockets.”

Despite the bold effort by the pair, the ladies were told no and had to pay the $65 fine.

“Everyone in line was staring at us and laughing at us, it was kind of embarrassing,” Ocampa said.

“People were annoyed that we were holding the plane up.”

Jetstar address the incident in a statement that acknowledged the humorous nature of it, but emphasised the importance of safety.

“While we certainly see the funny side, we have limits to carry-on to make it fair for everyone,” said an airline spokesperson.

“Keeping track of how much baggage passengers bring onboard means everyone has room for their belongings and we’re meeting our safety requirements.”

It looks like the added on fees have prevailed in another case of cheap traveller vs. airline.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

Adriana Ocampo Flying fees jetstar