{"id":773798,"date":"2026-07-02T07:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/773798\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T07:36:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:36:12","slug":"jetstar-passengers-bizarre-mcdonalds-loophole-to-avoid-60-fee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/773798\/","title":{"rendered":"Jetstar passenger’s bizarre McDonalds loophole to avoid $60 fee"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many Jetstar<\/a> passengers will know the feeling of dread when they find out they’ve exceeded their baggage limits before getting on a plane.<\/p>\n

But one man has discovered a wild hack involving a McDonald’s<\/a> takeaway bag to get around the strict weight limit rules.<\/p>\n

Hayden Smith, who cofounded an investment app, appeared on the Get Rich Slow<\/a> podcast, where he discussed how he avoided paying baggage fees.<\/p>\n

“I once kept a McDonald’s bag<\/a>, and I put some heavy stuff in there,” he said.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/p>\n

“If they see a McDonald’s bag, they’re like, ‘They’ve clearly come to the airport with their seven kilos, and then they bought McDonald’s’.<\/p>\n

“They’re not going to ask me to put my McDonald’s bag on the scale.”<\/p>\n

He didn’t set out to cheat the system when he first received the Macca’s bag, but he wanted to see whether he could get the items through without detection.<\/p>\n

Do you have a travel hack you want to reveal? Email claudia.poposki@yahooinc.com<\/p>\n

Hayden also said putting on extra clothes, like jumpers, is also a good way to get around the weight limits.<\/p>\n

He called on the airline to adopt a “volume-based” system for carry-on charges, rather than a weight-based one, as he “pretty much always” has more than 7kg when flying with the airline.<\/p>\n

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Jetstar and Hayden for comment.<\/p>\n

How much do you have to pay for baggage with Jetstar?<\/p>\n

Going over the weight limit or not purchasing baggage with your ticket can mean you end up spending a lot more than you originally planned.<\/p>\n

If you’re flying domestically on Jetstar and haven’t paid for baggage, you have to fork out $120 for the first 20kg of luggage at the airport.<\/p>\n

For international flights, it’s $170<\/p>\n

If you go over the agreed weight limit for the baggage you booked, it’s $30 per kilogram over for domestic travel and $50 per kilogram for international travel.<\/p>\n

Passengers are also only allowed 7kg for their carry-on, and if they go over that, they have to pay at least $60.<\/p>\n

But don’t airlines stop you from bringing food on board?<\/p>\n

Jetstar’s website states that there is a caveat regarding what customers can take on board in terms of food and drinks.<\/p>\n

“You’re welcome to bring your own food and some drinks on board,” the airline’s website states.<\/p>\n

“For safety reasons, we do not allow passengers to board with hot drinks (eg. coffee or tea) or bring their own alcohol for consumption during the flight.”<\/p>\n

Want the latest lifestyle and entertainment news? Make sure to follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram, <\/a>and TikTok<\/a>.<\/p>\n