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It also costs more for you to feed yourself than it does a shorter person. Is that also unfair? As a very pale-skinned person, I have to spend more on sunscree

It also costs more for you to feed yourself than it does a shorter person. Is that also unfair? As a very pale-skinned person, I have to spend more on sunscreen. Is that unfair?

blhack 10y ago
Airline tickets are sold per trip, not per-resource-used. If they were sold per-resource-used, heavier passengers would be able to offset this (negligible) cost by bringing less baggage, for instance.
- fennecfoxen 10y ago
  All airlines charge for extra or overweight bags, to cover the cost of fuel and bag handling, both of which use resources. If they allow any free baggage at all, it is limited, and the baggage which is allowed for free is done so mostly to facilitate convenience in the transaction. (Heck, discount Euro airlines will charge you for anything over a small backpack.)
  - blhack 10y ago
    What is your point? Baggage is sold on a partially resource-used basis. Airline tickets [currently] are not. There is talk about changing that, and people are discussing their feelings about that potential change. One obvious difference is that it's easy to choose to take less baggage, but I cannot simply choose to get a foot shorter. My girlfriend is a foot shorter than me, however, so in some ways my size is offset by hers! Almost like people are different and airlines have chosen to sell to the average instead of selling on a per-resource-used basis. If the average has changed, and they want to continue their current pricing model, then they need to adjust it to the new average. If they want to change their pricing model, which is what some people in this thread are discussing, then people are...going to discuss it, some people are going to disagree with the change.
  - MrQuincle 10y ago
    Those Euro airlines also make you fit your suitcase through a frame with preset dimensions. To stop this conversation about width versus height, we will have to have frames on the airport through which you have to fit in case you want to pay for only one chair. Maybe those Japanese 1-person sleeping bunks would be an idea.
  - plafl 10y ago
    Airlines don't charge you to cover any extra cost. They charge you just because they can. They will try at all costs to know how much are you willing to pay and offer you that price minus one cent. If they think you are on a business trip they will try to charge you more, if they think you are on an emergency they will charge you more, if they think you are without options they will ask for your soul. It's true that fuel cost is a huge part of airline costs but your extra weight is going to change that very little. What really costs airlines money is operating half empty aircrafts, something that sometimes they are forced to do. Ticket prices are determined by the market, and airlines markets are very special.
- deleted 10y ago
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cm2187 10y ago
This is a very slippery slope. Think health insurance.
- deleted 10y ago
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- viraptor 10y ago
  Health insurance is supposed to average the costs though. In many places we have crappy system where that's not really the case, but in general the whole business of insurance relies on the fact that more healthy or lucky people cover the expenses of the less healthy or lucky. If we asked people to really pay for resource usage, why would anyone go with insurance to begin with?
- wcummings 10y ago
  Insurers can legally discriminate against smokers, discriminating against people who drink 4 liters of cola everyday would at least be consistent.
- nradov 10y ago
  Some US health insurance plans already offer discounts to members who keep their BMI within the normal range.
- antisthenes 10y ago
  This is a good slippery slope and the only problem is that we're not at the end of it yet. Why are healthy people forced to subsidize obesity? 99% of overweight issues are something that is under direct personal control, unlike cancer or genetic diseases.

It also costs more for you to feed yourself than it does a shorter person. Is that also unfair? As a very pale-skinned person, I have to spend more on sunscreen. Is that unfair?

blhack 10y ago

Airline tickets are sold per trip, not per-resource-used. If they were sold per-resource-used, heavier passengers would be able to offset this (negligible) cost by bringing less baggage, for instance.

fennecfoxen 10y ago
All airlines charge for extra or overweight bags, to cover the cost of fuel and bag handling, both of which use resources. If they allow any free baggage at all, it is limited, and the baggage which is allowed for free is done so mostly to facilitate convenience in the transaction. (Heck, discount Euro airlines will charge you for anything over a small backpack.)
- blhack 10y ago
  What is your point? Baggage is sold on a partially resource-used basis. Airline tickets [currently] are not. There is talk about changing that, and people are discussing their feelings about that potential change. One obvious difference is that it's easy to choose to take less baggage, but I cannot simply choose to get a foot shorter. My girlfriend is a foot shorter than me, however, so in some ways my size is offset by hers! Almost like people are different and airlines have chosen to sell to the average instead of selling on a per-resource-used basis. If the average has changed, and they want to continue their current pricing model, then they need to adjust it to the new average. If they want to change their pricing model, which is what some people in this thread are discussing, then people are...going to discuss it, some people are going to disagree with the change.
- MrQuincle 10y ago
  Those Euro airlines also make you fit your suitcase through a frame with preset dimensions. To stop this conversation about width versus height, we will have to have frames on the airport through which you have to fit in case you want to pay for only one chair. Maybe those Japanese 1-person sleeping bunks would be an idea.
- plafl 10y ago
  Airlines don't charge you to cover any extra cost. They charge you just because they can. They will try at all costs to know how much are you willing to pay and offer you that price minus one cent. If they think you are on a business trip they will try to charge you more, if they think you are on an emergency they will charge you more, if they think you are without options they will ask for your soul. It's true that fuel cost is a huge part of airline costs but your extra weight is going to change that very little. What really costs airlines money is operating half empty aircrafts, something that sometimes they are forced to do. Ticket prices are determined by the market, and airlines markets are very special.
deleted 10y ago
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cm2187 10y ago

This is a very slippery slope. Think health insurance.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
viraptor 10y ago
Health insurance is supposed to average the costs though. In many places we have crappy system where that's not really the case, but in general the whole business of insurance relies on the fact that more healthy or lucky people cover the expenses of the less healthy or lucky. If we asked people to really pay for resource usage, why would anyone go with insurance to begin with?
wcummings 10y ago
Insurers can legally discriminate against smokers, discriminating against people who drink 4 liters of cola everyday would at least be consistent.
nradov 10y ago
Some US health insurance plans already offer discounts to members who keep their BMI within the normal range.
antisthenes 10y ago
This is a good slippery slope and the only problem is that we're not at the end of it yet. Why are healthy people forced to subsidize obesity? 99% of overweight issues are something that is under direct personal control, unlike cancer or genetic diseases.