Fly By Weight

[Colwyn]

A small Pacific airline is to start charging passengers by total weight = person + luggage. Will it catch on with other airlines? Is it fair/unfair?


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22001256

[AOK]

Will it catch on? dont think so.But im all for it!!Having sat next to someone who called the steward over to complain that the meal tray was not working properly when in reality it was their fat gut preventing the tray from being level

[karaokemark]

Will it catch on? dont think so.But im all for it!!Having sat next to someone who called the steward over to complain that the meal tray was not working properly when in reality it was their fat gut preventing the tray from being level

They should have flown jet2.com the trays are smaller giving more room, so I am told ;-)

[Marggie]

I think it is the thin edge of the wedge.  What are they going to do, weigh us all at check in?  Imagine the delays and chaos that  would cause and would you be paying at the airport?   To me it seems plain daft and I am not large so probably wouldn't be affected that much.  Then again I have my Turkish friends who are so tiny they make me fell like an Amazon at 5' 3".

http://forums.filmnoirbuff.com/uploads/51_michelin-man.jpg

[lynne]

Cost aside, it would definitely be safer.  Airlines work on an average weight per person which I always think is curious when you take into account just how precise they are with the weight of bags.  An overloaded plane is not safe......I frequently have a minor panic when I look around the plane and see how many above average people there are on it!

[lissa]

I think this is Samoan airlines who are bringing this in? Many Samoans are very large, so perhaps necessary!

[bewva]

Can you imagine the delays at check in if you had to declare your weight when you booked and they checked you when you got to the airport. It would be utter chaos. A lot of people are  very secretive about their weight to then be told by the check in clerk that you need to pay £5 per kilo for YOUR excess weight will be fun to watch. lol.

[Jacqui Harvey]

We had a family opposite us on the plane. Mother, Daughter and Father.  He was so fat they had to get an extension seat belt.  After take off the three seat behind where vacant and he moved into the middle seat and was taking up a big part of the other two seats  When the food came his wife sat next to him and fed him his dinner as there was no way he could do it himself as his body was taking up all the space between him and the seat in front.  It was lucky for them the seats at the back where free.
For cases like this man I think an extra seat should be booked.

[bewva]

Maybe planes should have extra stomach room seats as well as extra legroom.    It would be awful being sat next to someone like that.

[Jacqui Harvey]

Agreed, this is a case for paying extra.