Anyone who’s jetted off abroad this year may have come into contact with a practice known as ‘raw dogging’ - but have you ever experienced ‘naked flying’?
Get your head out of the gutter, please! We don’t mean that kind of naked flying.
If you’ve got no idea what we on earth I’m talking about, then let’s go back to basics: ‘raw-dogging’ a flight means you don’t bring any entertainment into the flight cabin.
That means no headphones to catch up with season five of Stranger Things; your Nintendo Switch 2 is left at home; Kindle is switched off and unused, and absolutely, under no circumstances, are you allowed to browse the in-flight entertainment system.
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Instead, these ‘raw dog’ kings must spend time glued to the flight map, staring off into space, or maladaptive daydreaming.
You may be surprised to hear how popular ‘raw dogging’ flights is, with previously published research discovering that a whopping six million travellers would choose to take on the controversial challenge.
If you’re a serial ‘raw-dogger’ and have found it easy to stare off into space for hours at a time, then maybe you will want to go one step further?
Introducing the concept of ‘naked flying’.
Rather than jumping onboard a Boeing 737 without your knickers on, ‘naked flying’ means you’ve waltzed through the airport, and have decided to sit in the cabin without any bags.
To be a true naked flyer, you first need to abstain from checking in any hold luggage.
After this, you must stroll through the security checkpoint with a limited number of items in your back pocket.
These include:
- Passport
- Physical plane boarding card (if applicable)
- Wallet to buy some grub and water
- Mobile device
- The tech’s subsequent charger
Although it’s a pretty hardcore way to travel, it can save you a ton of dosh, as Rachel Kelly, 28, found out.
According to an interview with the New York Post, she relocated from Ireland to Australia earlier this year to pursue teaching. While booking, she realised that if she wanted to bring all her belongings via an extra bag, it would cost her a cool $1000 (£740.74).
To combat this ludicrous price, Kelly decided to have her hand luggage shipped directly, saving $600 (£444.44) in the process. She then boarded her long-haul flight with nothing but her wallet, phone, and charger.
After managing to avoid fees the first time, Kelly is now a seasoned baggage pro.
“If I’m travelling with an airline like Jetstar with the 7kg limit, I’ll hide my handbag under my coat or wear seven jumpers if needed so I don’t get stung with excess baggage fees,” the Aussie admitted to the outlet.
“I get nervous doing it, for fear someone would catch me, but sometimes it has to be done as I would be raging if I had to pay the fine for my bag being over the weight limit.
“Usually I’ll take my bag out once I’m on the plane.”
If the idea of carrying nothing but your essentials on a flight scares you, then there is a couple steps down from the ‘naked flying’ trend.
The first, like Kelly did later, is a trend called ‘pocketing’.
These so-called ‘pocket people’ stuff every pocket to the brim. They’re also likely to be wearing all their clothes under a coat.
‘Delivery crew’ travellers opt to ship essentials to their destination.
Some of these frugal fliers are also likely to ask friends if they can borrow items. If you’ve not got the most generous mates, then you might want to avoid this one.
To be honest, I’ll be sticking to my regular ‘stuff everything in my case and hope for the best’ practice. But if ‘naked flying’ sounds more like your jam, I urge you to go ahead!
Topics: Lifestyle, Plane Etiquette, Travel
Ella Scott