Airline charges passengers by weight

[Lewisc]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/airline-start-charging-fat-people-fly-article-1.1305421

Fare is based on the combined weight of the passenger and his luggage. Passengers supply their weight when they make their reservation and are given an estimated fare. Passengers are weighed when they check in and their final fare is computed.

Airline fares are too high. Lose some weight and pay less.

"This is the fairest way of travelling," ...

"There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything. It is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo."

Do you think this is a practice other airlines might adapt? Maybe Ryanair or Spirit? No more fees for overweight bags.

 

[smitch425]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/airline-start-charging-fat-people-fly-article-1.1305421

Fare is based on the combined weight of the passenger and his luggage. Passengers supply their weight when they make their reservation and are given an estimated fare. Passengers are weighed when they check in and their final fare is computed.

Airline fares are too high. Lose some weight and pay less.

"This is the fairest way of travelling," ...

"There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything. It is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo."

Do you think this is a practice other airlines might adapt? Maybe Ryanair or Spirit? No more fees for overweight bags.

I think it is ridiculous. Don't get me wrong, I would love a lower rate, but not simply because I inherited my mother's skinny gene. People should not be treated differently because of their size.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Note this is Samoan Airlines, not exactly a major airline. They fly 3-9 passenger planes. Samoans are some of the most obese people in the world (over 91% of Samoans over 15 are overweight). This can actually make travel cheaper for some people, including families with children, as the fares are based on weight, not seat requirements.

 

[Greysword]

It is a good idea for Samoan airlines. They operate small turbo-prop planes, so weight balance is an issue anyway. In fact, I bet passengers and luggage are weighed prior to take off, regardless. otherwise someone lies about their weight and an significant issue arises.

As for a mainline aircraft? No, I don't see it happening. The Ultra-low carriers (Spirit, Ryan Air) would not make as much money, since they'd prefer to charge you for that small carry-on instead of a one price per pound model. Larger airlines won't, at least in the US, since it would generate discrimination lawsuits. Samoan Air is in a unique position due to aircraft size.

Their Fleet:
http://www.samoaair.ws/index.php/about-us2/our-fleet

 

[rock_doctor]

I also understand they give you a hand full of hay and a small bucket of water during their flights. Can you say "live cargo".

 

[bumbershoot]

I also understand they give you a hand full of hay and a small bucket of water during their flights. Can you say "live cargo".

I can't tell if that's a joke based on the low service of this airline, or if it's something incredibly cruel and horrid you're saying. Gosh I hope it's a joke about the service, though I saw nothing in the article to say anything about the actual service.



Any airline that adopts this model would lose their business travelers, because a company's accounting department isn't going to be OK with dealing with such nonsense. And they wouldn't be able to make sweeping changes to their employees unless they want to get their lawyers in court for the next umpteen years. Nor would they want to make decisions on who to hire based on size; why would you get rid of someone really really good for someone who might be "meh" but skinny?

 

[CPT Tripss]

After an airline attracts mostly anorexics, they will be forced to raise their price per pound and lose their competitive advantage.

 

[goofy4tink]

You know...I used to think that weight made no difference when flying. Then, we flew on a flight that was only half full. Oh dear God...imagine my distress when they asked those seated in the first 10 rows to try to spread out more evenly...they were all clumped together. There was a pretty evenly spaced group in the back half of the plane.
But, people got up and moved about so there were no more large groups sitting in just a few spots.

But to charge based on weight? Nope, not going to happen Not and stay in business anyway.

 

[MariDisney]

If they charge you by weight will they also be providing more space for the larger people and less for the smaller?

 

[Lewisc]

Any airline that adopts this model would lose their business travelers, because a company's accounting department isn't going to be OK with dealing with such nonsense. And they wouldn't be able to make sweeping changes to their employees unless they want to get their lawyers in court for the next umpteen years. Nor would they want to make decisions on who to hire based on size; why would you get rid of someone really really good for someone who might be "meh" but skinny?

Which is why I specifically mentioned Spirit and Ryanair as airlines that might at least be considering this model.

After an airline attracts mostly anorexics, they will be forced to raise their price per pound and lose their competitive advantage.

Lower weight means lower fuel costs. You'd have an advantage.

 

[rock_doctor]

I can't tell if that's a joke based on the low service of this airline, or if it's something incredibly cruel and horrid you're saying. Gosh I hope it's a joke about the service, though I saw nothing in the article to say anything about the actual service.

No joke (maybe a little), no comment about the service. Imho all airlines are looking at this to see if they get away with it. If they do you can bet other airlines will attempt to adopt this model and if they do then they have reduced their passengers to nothing more then live cargo. Just think a couple years ago we complained that the airlines were charging for checked bag then it became fairly common. Then one started to charge for carry on bags and now many have also started to do the same. I suspect what was said is true, it is a small airline with small planes and every pound counts but the same weight argument can be used by the big airlines. Time will tell if this style of ticketing will catch on. Remember when you ship a package or cargo you pay by weight (and technically the amount of space you item takes in the aircraft). They can negate size as you have to fit in the seat.