When it comes to travel, I’m definitely on Team Checked Bag. I’m always in awe of people who claim they can pack enough for a multi-night trip into a tiny carry-on. But sometimes, I need to travel light and skip the checked bag.
Flying Ultra Low-Cost for a Weekend in Dallas-Fort Worth
On a recent solo weekend trip to Dallas-Fort Worth, ticket prices for the hub airline, American Airlines, were out of this world. Since it was just me, I wanted to spend as little as possible on the flights. That meant flying Spirit on the way there and Frontier on the way back.
One of the perks of traveling solo? I can make decisions like that without wondering whether my wife, Sharon, would agree to this itinerary.
To save even more money, I didn’t pay for any additional baggage. That meant I was limited to a single personal item—which, according to both Spirit and Frontier, must be no larger than 18″ x 14″ x 8″.
The Bag: Nomad Lane’s Bento Bag
Now, Sharon has traveled this way before and even bought a bag specifically designed for personal-item-only trips: her review here.
While I could’ve used her bag, I have my own favorite: the Bento Bag from Nomad Lane. Nomad Lane even wrote a blog post about how their bag is ideal for flying Spirit: The Best Personal Item Bag for Spirit Airlines.
With dimensions of 17” W x 8” D x 10” H, the Bento Bag technically fits within Spirit’s personal item limits. It’s marketed for trips like “a weekend to Miami” or “an overnight to Chicago,” so I figured a weekend in Texas should be just fine.
The Spirit Airlines Test
I packed my clothes, computer, and other essentials into the Bento Bag and headed to the airport.
First stop: the dreaded Spirit bag sizer. Would it fit?
It did. The bag slid in with a little room to spare.
Onboard, I had an aisle seat, and the under-seat space was a little tighter than the other seats in the row. The Bento Bag didn’t fit perfectly, lying flat, but no one said anything when I placed it longways under the seat.
The Frontier Airlines Test
On the return flight with Frontier, I wasn’t too worried. If the bag fits Spirit’s sizer, it should be fine on Frontier. I didn’t get a chance to try the Frontier sizer because I headed straight to the Capital One Lounge at DFW before boarding.
I scored a free upgrade to the exit row (which I’ve written about before) and had a ton of legroom. Even so, I still had to put my bag under the seat for takeoff. This time, the Bento Bag slid under the seat sideways without issue.
But I could have also put the bag in longways if I needed to.
Final Verdict
Based on this two-flight test, the Nomad Lane Bento Bag passed as a personal item on both Spirit and Frontier.
Considering that the cost of bringing a carry-on can be as much—or even more—than the ticket itself on these airlines, being able to bring everything I needed for a long weekend in a single personal item is a budget travel hack worth knowing.
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