There Has Been An Outcry Over Moves To Weigh Passengers On Flights

It is seen as the future of green air travel.

As millions put Christmas behind them and begin looking for summer sunshine, airlines are looking to ask flyers to step on the scales before stepping on board.

The first study into the controversial idea has shown that more than half of tourists are against it.

But perhaps unsurprisingly, the well-off and regular flyers are behind charging heavier people more.

Markus Schuckert, professor of hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire, said: ‘This topic has been widely discussed for decades, but there’s surprisingly little research on it.

‘Some airlines have tried or considered weight-based policies, but the main roadblock remains ethical concerns which make it difficult to even discuss.

‘But if we aim to make air travel more sustainable, we should have an open discussion.

‘That’s really the point of research—to put everything on the table for consideration.’

Researchers on the study, published this month in the journal Transportation Research, asked 1,000 travellers about weighing their baggage and themselves to help lower emissions and found more than half of travellers were not enthusiastic about hopping on the scales to trim the amount of jet fuel used.

However, several were receptive to the concept provided it aligned with their personal interest in reducing emissions.

Participants in the research were offered the option of a basic policy in which the cost was the same for all passengers.

The second option was a threshold policy where passengers exceeding a certain weight pay additional fees and then a tariff where each passenger’s airfare is based on their combined body and baggage weight.

The standard policy was the most accepted approach and almost 60 per cent of those asked had serious concerns about weight-based policies saying it was unfair and risked discrimination and singling people out.

Those who liked the weight-based program were young people aged 18 to 35, 20 percent more than travellers over 66.

Regular flyers and high earners were 25 percent more likely to support weight-based policies than those in lower income brackets or who didn’t travel as much.

Finnair, a Finnish airline, caused controversy earlier this year when it implemented a voluntary passenger weighing system and was accused of fat shaming.

Travellers at Helsinki airport were invited to step on the scales along with their bags to help ‘optimise Finnair’s current aircraft balance calculations’.

Satu Munnukka, head of ground processes for Finnair, said: ‘We weigh volunteer customers together with their carry-on baggage.

In the measurement, we do not ask for personal data, but the total weight of the customer and carry-on baggage, the customer’s age, gender and travel class are recorded in the database.

‘No information is collected that would allow participants to be identified.’

Southwest Airlines in America permits overweight passengers an additional seat free of charge.

It’s not always the person’s fault if they are overweight. They could be on medication that bloats them or even hormones – overweight doesn’t always mean everyone overeats.

There are numerous overweight people these days for one reason or another, it makes no difference which reason it is. Have airlines not thought of making double seats for those who are pregnant or overweight and charging a little more money so they can accommodate without people whining that they’re sitting next to a fat person?

For the safety of the passengers, crew, and attendants, body weight should be considered since planes do have a maximum weight restriction.

However, being overweight is not the only thing that can make a flight pure torture. There are the noisy passengers and crying children as well. If you decide to fly and want comfort, then go first class – you get what you pay for.