Academic calls for pay-as-you-weigh flight fares

[Newsjock]

Source: The Telegraph (UK)

Charging overweight fliers more would help carriers recoup the cost of the extra fuel required to carry them.

The idea has been floated in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management publication, by Bharat P Bhatta, an academic in Norway.

He suggests three methods of implementing the scheme. A straightforward price per kilogram, a fixed low fare with heavier passengers paying a surcharge and lighter passengers being offered a discount.

The third option would see passengers divided into three bands – heavy, normal and light and being charged accordingly.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/aviation/9950911/Academic-calls-for-pay-as-you-weigh-flight-fares.html

[Cirque du So-What]

1. And we're off...

[southernyankeebelle]

4. That is discrimnaton. Well today it will be the fat people. Tommorrow it will be people who have

long hair or brown eyes. Then maybe it will be all women on flights only. Then only americans can fly on this flight. So on, so on, and so on. This my friends is a slipper slop. It isn't right. Heavy people already have to pay more money for cloths and I'm not saying we shouldn't. But flying is another thing. Gas prices change all the time to fill a plane up. Maybe people should try to hurt businesses in their pocket books for a change. Just like african-american communities did that to businesses that weren't treating them right. This isn't right.

[msongs]

10. it costs more to ship heavier weight by air. just charge all people by the pound n their carry ons n

[duffyduff]

11. It's discrimination, and it is b.s. n/t

[ZOB]

13. Weight is a commonly-accepted factor in transportation costs

Fares would be posted per pound and each person would step into a booth with their luggage. They'd be weighed privately and get a receipt for the fare.

Sounds like a great idea to me...and I'm no longer the slim 20-year-old that I was 25 years ago.

[northoftheborder]

28. Good idea to me; weigh the person AND all he's taking aboard, either on plane or in cargo.

[cthulu2016]

19. And don't get me started on charging more just to go someplace that's further away.

[southernyankeebelle]

23. LOL. I sure won't get you started. I am already heavy so they already will have me before

I even step a foot on the plane.

[randome]

33. Enjoying the show so far?

[mrsadm]

2. I think ugly people should pay more! And babies who cry!

[Skittles]

3. smell test too

anyone with B.O.

[madmom]

5. Not just B.O. but those who like to bathe in their scent of choice,as well.

[NYC_SKP]

8. +1,000

[Skittles]

9. I count that as B.O.!!!

[Union Scribe]

16. Oh hell yeah.

I think some of those folks burn out their olfactory sense and can't tell how intense their scent is.

[timdog44]

34. how about

people with stinky feet that are size 13 to boot

[duffyduff]

6. What a moron. He should be on the board of Southwest Airlines.

You have to be almost anorexic to fit comfortably in those seats; I am not kidding.

[NWHarkness]

7. Tall people should pay more for taking up extra leg room

[lynne]

15. They do -

- if they want extra room to move those long legs, they pay to get bumped up. Otherwise they must cram their frame into the same size space allotted for everyone else, including children.

Tall people are likely to be heavier, too, just because there's so much more to them. This would be discriminatory to many tall people, too.

[StrayKat]

26. Yup, true.

Or you plan ahead and pay extra to get the bulkhead seats only to have a steward/ess give it away to someone with a baby, child, extra luggage because you know their unplanned needs take precedent over your planned and pre-purchased ones.

[Honeycombe8]

12. How about just making Jewish people pay more?

Or black people? We can separate people into all sorts of categories, making some categories "better" than others.

[Nye Bevan]

14. It does not cost the airline more to fly a 150 lb Jewish person somewhere than a 150 lb Christian.

It does, however, cost the airline more to fly a 200 lb white person somewhere than a 150 lb black person.

Just like it costs more to send a package weighing 200 lb via FedEx than a package weighing 150 lb.

So the analogies people have raised about race, religious, or even "ugliness" discrimination are red herrings. Going strictly by economics, the Norwegian professor is correct. However, I do hasten to add that I personally do not endorse this, as obviously people who weigh more would find it embarrassing and offensive. Also, some people might be tempted to try unhealthy starvation diets in the run-up to their flight, which is obviously not a healthy thing to do.

[Honeycombe8]

39. There is always a good reason to segregate people. Airline fees, laziness of a race,

smell, religious beliefs. At one time or other, people have thought such reasons were very good reasons to segregate people. It's either money or some other reason.

That's the point.

If someone wanted to make black people sit in a different room at work because they smell different, and someone pointed out that's like paying fat people less because they take up more office space, someone could've logically responded that a fat person didn't smell bad, so the analogy is incorrect.

(Smell different...true enough, that was a stereotype I heard about minorities when I was growing up.)

The point being....it's not a good idea to segregate a group of people in such a way as to make them feel less than others, even if on the surface, it makes sense to some at the time.

[cthulu2016]

18. And a slippery slope... next thing you know he post office will will weighing packages.

[Honeycombe8]

40. Next thing you know, Jewish people will have to wear the Star of David on their sleeves.nt

[cthulu2016]

17. Since this makes sense it will no go very far

Since flight cost is weight sensitive, when pricing an airfare one would expect to see a flat fee per seat and a weight charge for everything the passenger is putting on the plane -- checked luggage, hand luggage and passenger.

We do not, probably because ships and trains are not so weight sensitive, and flying started as a luxury.

[Honeycombe8]

41. Any time a group of people is pulled off to the side and made to feel less than the

rest of the group, for any reason at all.....that is not common sense. That is immoral. Even if at the time, it makes sense to some who don't see the cruelty of it.

Should chubby kids at school be pulled out of the lunch line and made to go to lunch in their own line, where they pay more than the other kids? Should skinny kids at school be forced to be in their own lunch line, called the skinny line, where they pay less for lunch?

If we want to go that route, there's all sorts of ways we can segregate people by weight, like cattle.

People are not cattle. The airlines should have one fare for a seat, and that's it.

[Evoman]

20. How much more is the ACTUAL cost for someone weighing more?

Is it really THAT much. Should a man who weighs twice as much as a woman really pay double the ticket? How much does it cost to run the plane empty as opposed to filled with people? I really wonder.

[2ndAmForComputers]

22. Napkin calculation

Wikipedia says an Airbus A320 weighs 42,600 kg and can hold 180 people. For a 70 kg average, they weigh 12,600 kg. So the average person's weight contribution to total weight is 29.6%.

A person who weighs twice as much would have to pay 29.6% more then. But that's an upper bound, because there are so many other costs that don't depend on weight.

[Blue_Tires]

32. You're leaving out fuel, baggage and freight

[Honeycombe8]

43. It doesn't matter. It is unethical and immoral to segregate people by weight.

A plane full of people brings in a certain amount of money for the airline, and the fare should be the same, except for children and if certain people get a discount.

Until recently it was legal to charge women more for an ins. policy than a man, for the same policy. It is now illegal, as it should be.

Costs for a company are costs. If someone is 6'4", it is discriminatory to charge him more than the other passengers.

It makes sense at first blush. That's how it starts....discrimination. There is ALWAYS some reason for it at the time. And others go along with it, because, after all...."it's not me."

It's just a ruse to get more money. If they need to raise rates, they should raise them, and not try to pit people against each other or make some feel less than others. What are they going to do...have a weight scale by the checkin desk? Or have a "tall" line and a "fat" line and a "skinny" line? Might as well have a "Jewish" line.

BTW...black people will disproportionately be affected by a weight surcharge, IMO.

[GaYellowDawg]

21. Well, personally...

I hope Bharat Bhatta loses 90% of his thyroid function, gains 300 pounds, and never manages to take more than 5-6 pounds of it off. Fucker.

[distantearlywarning]

24. Statistically speaking, tall people and men are going to get screwed more than "the fatties"

Also the very athletic will be punished. Just for example, I have a husband who only has 14% body fat, but has a BMI that puts him into the overweight category, because he works out a lot and builds muscle easily. He'd for sure be one of the people paying more for the "privilege" of flying, even though he's not fat at all.

And I say this as someone who is overweight (but also short and female).

So bring it on, I guess. It would be quite a change to have something happen in this country that was systemically and disproportionately bad for men. Might be a learning experience or something.

Personally, I would happily pay a little extra for my fat ass, just as long as I was able to watch the all the discussions between the airline people and 6'5" guys and weightlifters who are very proud of their gym-going, etc etc, also have to pay the FATTIE tax to get on the airplane.

[Arcanetrance]

36. Thank you for pointing that out about very athletic people

I used to play football but still workout regularly and am built like a wall my body is fit and fits in the seats fine but my shoulders go over into the other seat or seats. I'm considered over weight when you do the whole weight height thing but have little actual fat

[Floyd_Gondolli]

25. The logistics of this would be a nightmare

I can see it now at the gate or baggage check in: "Okay everyone step up on the scales one at a time."

And people think airports are a pain in the ass now...

[Tommy_Carcetti]

27. The Onion? nt

[Cali_Democrat]

29. British newspaper

British news outlets are known for exaggeration and sensationalism.

This will never happen.

[Blue_Tires]

31. But to be fair Britons are very familiar with RyanAir

Who has taken "Pass every conceivable cost along to the customer in exchange for the rock bottom fare" to incredibly imaginative levels...

If there is ANY airline who would switch to this model first, it's RyanAir...

[jmowreader]

30. I think he stole this from MAD Magazine

In the 1970s they ran an article detailing ways airlines could make more money, including selling ads on flight attendants' uniforms and using aircraft only large enough to hold the people who paid to fly. One of their ideas was to weigh the passengers.

[Blue_Tires]

35. If anyone wanted to see some industry discussion on the topic:

http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/5722443/

[sibelian]

37. Also, people inhaling helium prior to flight should be penalised for weight misrepresentation.

Just sayin'.

[n2doc]

38. I guess babies fly nearly free then

Should make families with lots of small kids happy to fly again.

And will people resort to fasting/throwing up prior to their check in to save weight?

[tabasco]

42. This is rational.

Why should I pay more to subsidize the flight of someone who weighs twice as much?

[Liberal In Texas]

44. Here you go...

From a 2009 article: http://www.witness.co.za/index.php?showcontent&global[_id]=32804

I could see this happening someday.

The only time I was ever asked my weight before a flight was when I flew in a blimp.

[gollygee]

45. How much difference in cost specifically would it be?

So women would generally pay less than men? And kids would be really cheap, right? They'll never let me pay that little to fly my kids somewhere, and I don't think it costs THAT much less to fly a 150 pound person than a 200 pound person. Not enough to make it worth embarrassing their customers, and to deal with the headache of having to weigh people before charging them for their ticket. (Goodbye, internet sales.)

I don't think this idea would ever fly. (lol)