Designed to help frequent flyers bypass airport baggage queues, reduce baggage fees and virtually eliminate the risk of lost luggage, this modular Airport Jacket features 14 pockets and two detachable “pocket panels” that fit around 15 kilograms of luggage.
“With airlines beginning to charge for overhead carry-on baggage as well as severely restricting baggage allowances for the low fare economy traveler, my partner and I have designed a modular jacket that allows you to wear your laptop, tablet, two pairs of shoes, a pair of jeans, five t-shirts, a jumper and an SLR camera,” designer Claire Murphy explains. “It totals 14 deep pockets, including eight pockets at hip length, 11 pockets at three-quarter length and 14 pockets at full length. It includes two detachable pocket panels, and a carry-on size duffle bag.”
Claire and Benke Murphy came up with the idea for the Airport Jacket while traveling home with their newborn child. They had so much extra carry-on luggage, because of the baby, that the airline tried to charge them $140 for it, more than the cost of their tickets. So they had to clothes, gadget chargers, diapers and toys into their pockets, until they were just over the weight limit. They dodged the tax, but everything was sticking out of their pockets and it was a pretty uncomfortable plane ride. That’s when they decided that there was a massive need for a solution to this problem, and the idea for the Airport Jacket was born.
“Wearers need simply slide their luggage into the jacket pockets when checking in and boarding the flight, and once safely off the plane the jacket can easily be unzipped and transformed into a duffle bag capable of holding both the jacket plus all items in the pockets,” Juice Promotions Australia, the company behind this unique product, claims. And the best thing about this wearable bag is that it looks just like a regular jacket even when stocked full of stuff.
However, people have been raising questions about the utility of the Airport Jacket, specifically the nuisance of going through security checkpoints with it. They are arguing that having to take out all the gadgets and then putting them back into the pockets is not worth the few tens of dollars you save on a checked luggage. But Benke Murphy claims that they did not have any problems with that during the testing period.
“Walking though airport security is not an issue. The Airport Jacket only needs to be worn when checking in and at the boarding gate,” he said. “When passing airport security, items that need to be taken out of the Airport Jacket are usually a laptop and electronics, which you can easily pull out. Airport security are not looking at how you store your luggage, they are checking the contents of your luggage so we have not experienced an issue as long as you follow guidelines for carry-on luggage.”
The makers of the Airport Jacket are currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, trying to raise $AU100,000. But things aren’t going that great. They’ve only raised $AU3,675 so far, although they still have 37 days to go, so it’s definitely still doable. And even if this fail, they may still find a way to get it to market.
