A Touchy Subject

[Marlea98]

I think there's a lot of people who would be tempted, including people who fit within a regular sized seat. It's a good option for a person like me who would really much rather have the space of premium economy, but can't quite afford it.
While there is admittedly little room to spare, I fit in a regular sized seat. However, I would still feel way more comfortable in a bigger seat. If I'm having to sit for long periods, I find it more comfortable to sit on a bit of an angle. Wider seats allow me to do this and, in a round about way, they also provide me with a bit more leg room for my long legs. When I'm traveling with my young son, he's okay with me twisting to the side and encroaching on some of his leg space. But without my son next to me, I'd be tempted to book one of those $1800 seats.

See, I'm the other way and since I'm short I'd rather a seat that wasn't so deep that my legs can hang over the edge naturally ( and I'd love a footrest that I can reach or one that comes up to meet my feet).

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[Marlea98]

I don't agree with it at all, The only time I have the problem is the ocassional larger person encroaching on my space. I've never complained or asked to be moved - mainly because my slight build makes it rarely a problem, but I think airlines could benefit for some wider seats at extra charge.

However, I would be a fond supporter of extra luggage allowance for those weighing less than 100kg.....At 52kg, I should be able to have an extra 48kg in luggage.....and yes, I'm a shopper

Oh yes, extra luggage allowance for free would be delightful

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[Marlea98]

Yeah, I am like that too - while I am not especially overweight, but I am tall and I can not sit straight up especially if I am trying to sleep - so yeah my legs are all over the place.

And yep, except for meal times, I am putting my seat back.

We are travelling as a family of five. This time we have chosen the seats at the back of the plane that are in pairs and the row of three in front.

There is nothing fun about long haul flying, no matter your size!

I'm hoping our being up the back this time works out for us. That and the addition of pillow pets to sit on to stop my bum going numb after such a long flight.

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[BecBennett]

I don't think anyone else mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure the airline that is doing this is mainly a freight airline, and freight airlines charge by KG.

Also the price for their domestic flights is $1/KG, if I could fly anywhere in Australia for $1/KG then I would be more then happy to pay per KG

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I don't think anyone else mentioned this, but I'm pretty sure the airline that is doing this is mainly a freight airline, and freight airlines charge by KG.

Also the price for their domestic flights is $1/KG, if I could fly anywhere in Australia for $1/KG then I would be more then happy to pay per KG

Agreed. However, unlike humans, freight is packed together in a plane leaving little to no empty space. You generally pay less for a small package, but expect it to be surrounded on all sides by other packages.

If the airline is going to charge people like freight they should load them the same way i.e. smaller people get smaller seats and less leg room.

I just read an article that said on your average domestic flight it costs US$3.05 to carry 100 pounds of weight.

On Samoan Air (at $1 per kg) a 200 pound person would pay approx $50 more than a 100 pound person, when in fact they are costing the airline less than $5 more.

The huge majority of an airfare goes to paying for things completely unrelated to your weight (wages, profit, airport fees, advertising, ticketing, the fuel costs for keeping the plane itself up in the air etc etc). Compared to a 100 pound person, a 200 pound person on Samoa Air is paying double for all of these services and not getting anything extra (e.g. bigger seat ) to show for it.

Let's just say I will be putting my money where my mouth is and never flying Samoa Air purely on principal.

 

[battymum]

Where does Samoan air even fly to?? I don't think they fly to aus. I don't think I'll be flying with them any time soon.

Maybe they are doing it because people are paying children's fares for their 100kg 10 year olds!

 

[alicia1506]

samoa air from my understanding is a small domestic service flying samoa to fiji. as they are a small plane i can understand them asking for, and needing, passenger's weights to determine fuel requirements for the trip. i know small sightseeing planes often weigh or ask passengers to disclose their weight for fuel calculation purposes. having said that, i think it is incredibly poor form to charge a per kg price for the following reasons :

- the seats are 1 size fits all so someone who is larger (muscular, overweight, pregnant, whatever) is paying more for the EXACT same amount of space
- the amount of fuel required & the cost of the extra fuel is not proportional to the increase in price
- this tactic only serves to shame and marginalise people who fall within higher kilogram amounts for whatever reason
- as this airline runs a small domestic service they are not able to install seating commensurate with their patron's needs (ie larger, more legroom, premium economy etc) and therefore this is simply a way to extort more money from those who weigh more than others.

personally, while i think airlines today get away with a variation of torture (economy on a 14 hr flight does resemble sardines in a tin) at least the arrangement is fair.

economy seats at 1 price. premium economy (with additional services, seat width and pitch etc) at a higher price. seat width and pitch advertised for each class up front. everyone knows what they are getting into.

i fit in an economy seat even though it is a bit smooshy. but when we flew southwest in 2011, i prebought 2 seats for myself, just in case.

i didnt encroach on anyone, in fact i didnt even encroach on the empty seat, but after all the horror stories and so on, i figured why not? and you know, it actually made my journey a heck of a lot less stressful.

there were no judgemental glares from skinny people. there was no stress about being singled out in line or being forced to pay a full fare day-of-flight fee for the 2nd seat, i was treated politely and with dignity and was able to preboard even earlier than the rest of the early boarding party.

did i require 2 seats? no. i still fit in 1. but it was actually a great experience. i was entitled to 2 x seats worth of baggage allowance (didnt get to use it though as it was a domestic flight and my international leg had less awesome baggage policies) but if i was solely travelling in the usa then it would have been great. having a policy like that meant everyone was happy. i chose to pay a higher fare to obtain a little more space to be on the safe side, was treated well and got all the perks of that extra space and... knew exactly what i was getting into.

that kind of policy i support a heck of a lot more than paying per kg and getting absolutely nothing but public humiliation in return.

 

[battymum]

I don't see how they can get away with it. It's blatent discrimination.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I don't see how they can get away with it. It's blatent discrimination.

Hear hear.

And well said Alicia

 

[alicia1506]

Hear hear.

And well said Alicia

thanks

i appreciate that people who are skinnier don't like having people encroach on their space for whatever reason (wide hips, wide shoulders etc) but what about those who weigh more than a skinny person, but can still fit in the standard seat? they are receiving the exact same service, taking up the same seat, compartmentalising themselves & contorting themselves into the small 17" seat with 31 or 32" seat pitch, getting no extra amenities whatsoever... and yet may end up paying 2 or 3 times the price of a 50kg person using the same service and sitting in the same seat???

what about a pregnant woman who pays more while pregnant than she would have once she was no longer pregnant??

i don't mind the idea of paying a fuel tax or fuel surcharge in a small plane to allow for accurate fuel costs to be covered, but charging per kg? seems like blatant money grubbing to me

 

[battymum]

I would pay for a slightly wider seat - not quite PE -
I think they just try and jam too many , even though it's well recognised that people are, on average, bigger than they used to be.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

thanks

i appreciate that people who are skinnier don't like having people encroach on their space for whatever reason (wide hips, wide shoulders etc) but what about those who weigh more than a skinny person, but can still fit in the standard seat? they are receiving the exact same service, taking up the same seat, compartmentalising themselves & contorting themselves into the small 17" seat with 31 or 32" seat pitch, getting no extra amenities whatsoever... and yet may end up paying 2 or 3 times the price of a 50kg person using the same service and sitting in the same seat???

what about a pregnant woman who pays more while pregnant than she would have once she was no longer pregnant??

I don't mind the idea of paying a fuel tax or fuel surcharge in a small plane to allow for accurate fuel costs to be covered, but charging per kg? seems like blatant money grubbing to me

Exactly. My husband is 6 '3 and built like a rugby prop. Admittedly, he is carrying a few extra pounds around his middle, but he is also very muscular. Width wise, he fits better than me into a plane seat, but legroom wise, my DH is cramped up the whole flight.

Compared to a little, tiny woman, my DH is not only way less comfortable, but on Samoa Air, he would be paying almost 3 times as much. For what? To cover the approx $5 extra in fuel that he is using.

It is blatant money grubbing.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I think they just try and jam too many , even though it's well recognised that people are, on average, bigger than they used to be.

Too true.

 

[battymum]

So my solution, - most 747's are configured with 3seats in the window, 4 in the mid section and 3 the other side. If they put 3 seats in the middle section instead of four and priced them accordingly. - would be a little better

 

[zanzibar138]

Even as a lighter person who would probably get the better end of the deal with something like this, I completely disagree with it on so many levels.

It's completely unfair to people who are naturally heavier (eg tall, big build, muscular, curvy, pregnant etc). Plus it's rewarding people who are unhealthily skinny.

Logistically it is a complete nightmare. As others have pointed out, how do you buy your fares? Would you qualify for a refund if you came in underweight, how would that happen? What about the extra time it would take to weigh everyone at check in?

Plus, there's the public shame factor of a 'weigh-in' at the airport. Even people who aren't overweight don't want the world to know how much they weigh, and for some people I can't even imagine how hard it would be... just about enough to put you off flying altogether!

I suppose I can understand the idea behind it for smaller airlines, but does it have to charged by the kilo? Couldn't they just implement a fairly generous combined weight limit and impose a fuel surcharge on those who are over? Even something like that raises a lot of ethics questions for me, but it seems more fair than charging by the kilo.

 

[battymum]

I would also not like to be sat next to a person with a 2.5 year old "infant" on their lap!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Even as a lighter person who would probably get the better end of the deal with something like this, I completely disagree with it on so many levels.

It's completely unfair to people who are naturally heavier (eg tall, big build, muscular, curvy, pregnant etc). Plus it's rewarding people who are unhealthily skinny.

Logistically it is a complete nightmare. As others have pointed out, how do you buy your fares? Would you qualify for a refund if you came in underweight, how would that happen? What about the extra time it would take to weigh everyone at check in?

Plus, there's the public shame factor of a 'weigh-in' at the airport. Even people who aren't overweight don't want the world to know how much they weigh, and for some people I can't even imagine how hard it would be... just about enough to put you off flying altogether!

I suppose I can understand the idea behind it for smaller airlines, but does it have to charged by the kilo? Couldn't they just implement a fairly generous combined weight limit and impose a fuel surcharge on those who are over? Even something like that raises a lot of ethics questions for me, but it seems more fair than charging by the kilo.

Well said.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I would also not like to be sat next to a person with a 2.5 year old "infant" on their lap!

Lol. Even I have to admit I'm not keen on sitting next to toddlers. Sitting next to my own when he was a younger was bad enough.

 

[Marlea98]

Lol. Even I have to admit I'm not keen on sitting next to toddlers. Sitting next to my own when he was a younger was bad enough.

I thought exactly the same thing about mine! Flying with two under 2 on my own was an absolute nightmare

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[Aussie Wendy]

Zanzibar said it for me-and let alone toddlers, on the way to Melb we had three 7? 8? 9?yo boys behind us-as well as the non-stop loud talking & giggling & the kicking of seat behinds, it was the topics of conversation that got me. Think silly little boys obsessions with anything crude and rude-I got fed up hearing them giggling about supposedly one catching his parents "wrestling naked" in bed every Sunday morning and so on with obvious made-up crude additions then add some toilet humour-I never had a boy but I am sure they are not all a bad as them?????? We just thought thank god this isn't an 8 hr to Asia or a 13hr to Europe or the US. It was getting on for 11pm and they were in full throttle!