A holidaymaker dodged paying £46 for baggage on an EasyJet flight by taking matters into his own hands in the middle of Gatwick Airport – and putting on a week’s worth of winter clothes.
Matt Botten, 32, spent about an hour putting on all his warm winter clothes before checking in on a flight to Iceland because he was told his hand luggage was too big for the cabin.
Matt, from Cardiff, said that despite the ‘one hour embarrassment of looking like the Michelin man’, it was worth it.
TV producer Matt Botten and girlfriend Abigail White, 31, a primary school teacher from Surrey, arrived at Gatwick Airport ready for their one week holiday to Reykjavik, Iceland on Saturday.
The cash-conscious pair were thrilled with their cheap EasyJet flights but were shocked when they were told they’d have to pay a £46 fee for checking-in an extra bag.
Savvy Matt decided there was only one way to avoid wasting his hard-earned holiday spending money – and began emptying the bag’s contents in the North Terminal’s Wetherspoons before layering up.
In total, he emerged sporting six layers on his top, four layers on his legs, three pairs of socks and two pairs of shoes – one pair sticking out of his trouser pockets.
The two pairs of shoes proved the trickiest items to explain to security, when he was questioned by security for a half an hour.
Speaking once happily in Iceland, Matt said: “We got cheap flights, and that was cracking.
“But when it came to adding on extra baggage, they tried stinging us for £46 quid a bag.
“When most stuff you own is from Primark and collectively worth half that, it seemed ludicrous.
“So I sensibly decided the one hour embarrassment of looking like the Michelin man, and subsequent odour, was worth the expenditure. I was entirely right.
“Collectively, I was sporting six layers on top, four below, three pairs of socks, and – the hardest to justify to security – two pairs of shoes
“Security generally wanted to know why I would think that was a normal thing to do, and enquired about my temperature
“You’d probably think it would be massively difficult to get all this on – and you’d be entirely correct.
“I upset three tables’ worth of people in Gatwick Wetherspoons donning this get-up, one of which, resultantly, had a crying child on.
“Like all great endeavours though, you’re always going to get some collateral damage.”
Once the flight was in air, Matt stripped off his extra layers, satisfied by his novel saving technique.
Writing on Facebook, Matt said: “We’re going to Iceland baby! And how to do it in a financially frugal manner, without having to stump up forty five bloody quid for a hold bag? Simply by wearing everything I own.
“The massively padded, multi-layered, vest-wearing get-up may have necessitated an extra thirty minutes of questions at security, but at £45 a bag, I’ve effectively just worked a half hour shift at £90 an hour.
“Winning the game.”
