Argument for Pay as you Weigh airfares

[Foreigner]

Airfares should be 'pay what you weigh': professor

Economist argues for fat fliers to pay more.

 

[lovestotravel]

It's only fat people that don't like this type of airfare

 

[stewiejp]

As much as people get offended by this concept - it is the same principle used when transporting cargo. Weight and volume create the formula for what to charge. Somehow I think our anti discrimination laws may come into play though, as the article not only points out obese people spilling onto the next seat, creating less room for the pax next to them, but also weight which burns more fuel = higher costs and emissions
Would we also be happy to charge athletes more for this (imagine the olympics or footy trip flights), also expectant mothers, people in wheelchairs (TG article recently - the Kenyan disabled woman).
Would wider seats be introduced so as not to inconvenience the healthy pax next to the fatties?
IMO it opens a can of worms the airlines may not legally be able to open.

 

[medhead]

So which airline is going to set up private booths for every check in desk so they can weigh people and also protect their privacy. I'd say none.

 

[mella2007]

Can you imagine the outrage? Next they'll be flying people by nationalities or sexuality

 

[JW1003]

As a fattie or tallie, if I pay twice as much as a skinny or shortie, I want twice as much space. Or in my case, twice as much leg room

 

[jetlagger]

IIRC, I often get weighed on some of the smaller airlines in Asia, or have to provide my weight estimate.
i also have to provide my weight for any Hot Air Balloon flight.
Never an issue.

 

[medhead]

IIRC, I often get weighed on some of the smaller airlines in Asia, or have to provide my weight estimate.
i also have to provide my weight for any Hot Air Balloon flight.
Never an issue.

You're providing your weight in those situations to address safety issues not so they know what to charge you. 2 very different matters.

 

[jetlagger]

You're providing your weight in those situations to address safety issues not so they know what to charge you. 2 very different matters.

True!
Wouldn't be an issue IMO if had to pay per weight though.

 

[benhadi]

I'll support implementation of YQ based on weight. I think that's fair. Doesn't matter why you weigh that much. Same fare for everyone, but YQ based on howuch fuel you'll presumably use.

 

[medhead]

True!
Wouldn't be an issue IMO if had to pay per weight though.

The issue is getting people's weight without telling everyone else, or even just the next person, in the queue their weight. It's a privacy issue. Otherwise this is a pretty stupid idea by an academic. The freight analogy is false, even if they call them self loading freight, people are not boxes.

 

[stewiejp]

Re privacy: Same way they get the credit cards details at the supermarket, passport numbers, FF number- just show them/write it down, no need to shout your weight out loud.
In any case it would cause an uproar, and copious amounts of passengers would ditch the relevant airline. Contrary to what anonymous internet forum members may say ("I wouldn't mind paying extra...") Today Tonight/ACA would simply jump up and down about a pregnant lady having to pay more, or a disabled "battler" and people would be throwing their arms up in the air.

The freight analogy is relevant - a 100kg person costs more to transport than a 50kg person, the same way a pallet weighing a tonne, costs more than a parcel.

 

[JohnK]

What a load of rubbish. We are talking about human beings not cattle or pigs.

Give it a break....

 

[medhead]

The freight analogy is relevant - a 100kg person costs more to transport than a 50kg person

Actually they cost the same. The airlines current set the fares based on an average weight and considering what they need to make for the flight. As such it can cost exactly the same for 2 people as per your example.

 

[casanovawa]

You could bet that they would put the price up for the over weight, but not down (or only a fraction) for whatever under weight was considered to be...

Maybe planes could have a few slightly larger seats at some point in the mix (maybe down the back where the fuselage narrows on a 747 where it goes from 3 to 2 on the outside) for those a little wider... Similar to bassinet seats for those with babies??? After all in all these design elements for public use they must take into account some sort of average person and as the average person seems to be getting a bit more rotund (i wouldn't be surprised if we were getting taller too) they may need to adjust things slightly over time...

Good luck with getting more per kg out of people... If all this oil is now going to be available with fracking etc, will oil ever come down and the YQ charges be a little less to get hysterical about, or is it another case that what goes up doesn't always come back down???

 

[Awesom Andy]

If pax are going to be charged by their sizes, then the airlines should also provide seats that are suitable for those sizes.

 

[stewiejp]

Actually they cost the same. The airlines current set the fares based on an average weight and considering what they need to make for the flight. As such it can cost exactly the same for 2 people as per your example.

I stand corrected, and before I read the article being discussed I thought the same - here's what it says:

Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management editor Dr Ian Yeoman said: "For airlines, every extra kilogram means more expensive jet fuel must be burned, which leads to CO2 emissions and financial cost.

Unless I'm misunderstood, the article's point was to no longer charge by "average" weight.

​

 

[Rox]

Surely to be fair then you would have to weigh the passenger with their luggage?

 

[stewiejp]

absolutely

 

[Pleb Status]

The current system is a 'community' rating system, where everybody pays the same no matter how much someone weighs (to a point).

I would have no problems changing this, even though I would be at the heavier end, if all other 'community' rating systems were eliminated. Why should a couple pay the same for health insurance as a family of six? Three times the risk for the same premium!