‘Flying naked’: Inside the strangest new travel trend on the internet

17 Dec 2024, 23:33 by Veronika Bondarenko · The Fresno Bee

With airlines like Air Canada (ACDVF) increasingly moving to charge even for a carry-on for travelers in basic economy, more or more passengers are questioning whether they need to bring anything at all.

The purposefully provocative term "flying naked" refers not to sitting in a plane in one's birthday suit (something that would theoretically only be possible when flying private) but instead flying with minimal belongings — different search term variations have millions of videos on TikTok.

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Bringing a suitcase on a flight is getting increasingly more expensive.Courtesy of Amazon, Unsplash (@arturtumasjan)Courtesy of Amazon, Unsplash (&commat;arturtumasjan)

'No clothes except my airport outfit': Influencers start new trend

"Come with me to Paris naked... well sort of," travel influencer Giovanni Fares writes in the caption to a video of himself talking about a flight he will soon take. "I will be bringing NO clothes, except my airport outfit for nine days in Paris/London."

Another video in which travel content creator Bethany Ciotola filmed herself boarding a bag with just a small purse with the "when you travel naked" text overlay garnered over 12,600 upvotes and 225,000 views.

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While the term has been taking off on social media over the last year, the practice of traveling with very limited belongings dates back decades. Historically it's been something done either by people taking a very short trip (sometimes one in which they leave and return on the same day) and those who have the funds to have mundane issues such as a ready-to-wear wardrobe taken care of by someone else upon landing.

For the economically minded, "traveling naked" is a way to take advantage of the rock-bottom base fares offered by some budget airlines on the understanding that most will not be able to travel without adding at least a small carry-on. Spirit Airlines (SAVE) charges $35 for a carry-on added at the time of booking while Frontier Airlines FRON makes it more cost-effective to check a bag, with a starting fee of $50.

'It's like you're just hopping onto the local bus'

"Getting on a plane with no carry-on bags is the weirdest feeling," Australian guitarist Seb Szabo told his followers in another TikTok video. "It's like you're just hopping onto the local bus, and a little while later you get off in a completely different city."

As this is not a practical solution for most people who take flights to be away from home for at least a few days and often many weeks, airlines have been observing a rise in travelers who pack their belongings into a carry-on suitcase.

Many older planes are not designed to have the majority of passengers bring large carry-on suitcases, and airlines often end up checking the carry-on bags that people bring for free. Canadian flagship carrier Air Canada is currently trying to crack down on this practice by requiring basic economy passengers to pay C$35 (US$25) for any personal item that has wheels or is larger than a standard purse or backpack — a choice that caused widespread criticism from both travelers and Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand.

"I think they need to take a look at the persons that they are targeting with these excess fees," Anand said during an interview with local broadcaster CTV. "It is not acceptable."

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This story was originally published December 17, 2024, 3:33 PM.