Good: “Pillowcase Hack” Backfires On Frontier Airlines, Cops Called

Usually I think frontline airline employees don’t do enough to deescalate situations, especially at ultra low cost carriers. However, in this case I can’t help but think it’s deserved.

The “pillowcase hack” is ridiculously stupid

Before we talk about this specific incident, let me share some background. The internet is full of people trying to pretend they have insightful “hacks,” because it makes for great clickbait. Along those lines, some people love to promote the concept of the “pillowcase hack” when flying.

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Airlines are often strict about carry-on allowances, and that’s particularly true on ultra low cost carriers, which typically only let you take a personal item (and not a full size carry-on) when booking the most basic fare.

There’s a belief out there that taking a pillow onboard a plane won’t count toward your carry-on allowance, since it won’t be stored in the overhead bin or underneath your seat. However, over time that concept has evolved, with some people now removing the pillow from the pillowcase, and instead stuffing the pillowcase with clothes and other items, and treating it like a carry-on, while thinking that they don’t have to pay.

The problem is, if you look at social media, you’d assume that this is some permissible loophole that airlines officially allow, and that there are no risks. This simply isn’t true — I actually don’t know of a single airline in the world that officially states that a pillow doesn’t count as a personal item or a carry-on, even if people get away with it. And I’m just talking about a regular pillow, and not even a pillowcase stuffed with other stuff.

I mean, it’s kind of like saying there’s a “genius hack” to get groceries for free, and that’s to just steal them. So to constantly cover stuff like this without any caveats is doing a disservice to your audience at best, and downright unethical at worst, in my opinion.

Frontier passenger tries “pillowcase hack,” finds out

As flagged by View from the Wing, TikTok user @natashaorganic shared a video from a Frontier Airlines gate, prior to a flight from Orlando (MCO) to Buffalo (BUF). The narrated video, which has been viewed over a million times, revolves around an incident where a passenger tries to pull off the “pillowcase hack.”

The guy shows up at the gate with a pillowcase stuffed full of personal items, and the gate agent reportedly informs him that he’ll have to pay for that as a carry-on. He gets really argumentative, and refuses to pay, claiming it’s “just a pillowcase.” He really doesn’t seem to get it — you’re still not actually officially allowed to bring a pillowcase onboard, over and above the carry-on allowance, but some gate agents will turn a blind eye.

The guy only ends up claiming that he’s willing to pay to take it onboard after the aircraft’s door closes. At that point it’s of course too late. Nonetheless, he tries to force his way onto the plane, at which point the cops are called, and the man is escorted out of the airport.

As the video’s narrator explains, “stop letting these sites, social media, give you tips and tricks, because sometimes it’s not gonna work”

@natashaorganic Stop listening to the internet #airline #travelhacks #pillow #frontier #mco #orlando ♬ original sound – natashaorganic

In general, I find it dismaying the extent to which the internet has become all about clickbait and passing off breaking rules and half-truths as “genius hacks.” As media consumption increasingly shifts to short form videos, I suppose that’s inevitable. You need some real zingers in order to get traffic.

But it’s not just young Gen-Z people on TikTok doing this, but it’s also passed off widely on the internet beyond that. For example, I saw the above story about someone getting in trouble for the “pillowcase hack” on View from the Wing, and Gary talks about how “travel social media” has been “taken over” by this hack. But then I remembered where I actually heard about this hack in the first place. So as you can see, this advice is pretty widespread!

Bottom line

I’ve never written about the “pillowcase hack” before, because I think it’s dumb and just plain bad advice. Yes, some people will stuff a pillowcase with clothes and be able to bring it on a plane, because some gate agents won’t say anything. But that’s not official policy, and all too often, coverage about this doesn’t include caveats about how this isn’t permitted by airlines.

Someone found this out the hard way on a recent Frontier Airlines flight, when they were asked to pay to take their pillow stuffed with things onto the plane. The guy refused until the aircraft door closed, and then offered to pay, but it was too late. He became more aggressive, and then the cops were called.

What do you make of the “pillowcase hack?”