5 ms·

This raises a question, shouldn't a ticket price component has some relationship with your weight. Discounts/extra prices depending on your how much away you ar

This raises a question, shouldn't a ticket price component has some relationship with your weight. Discounts/extra prices depending on your how much away you are from design assumptions.

bartread 6y ago
Many airlines already require obese passengers to pay for two seats.
randycupertino 6y ago
This would be great but how on earth would we get people to comply? We can't even get people to wear masks in stores right now without throwing a tantrum. People would like lie like crazy regarding their weight. Heck, my driver license is 25lbs lower than I currently am. I guess you could alleviate the embarrassment factor by making it a total passenger + baggage max so people could weigh themselves AND their carryons at home before they arrive to confirm and offset anything. Interesting idea though!
- avh02 6y ago
  the same way they enforce baggage requirements. When money's involved, the enforcement will happen. Maybe you buy "x kg plus or minus 5 kg" and they weigh you and penalize/refund if it's changed since buying the ticket.
  - majewsky 6y ago
    > refund Ha, good one.
    - TwoHeadedBeast 6y ago
      Not sure why you're getting the downvotes. If I pay for a 25kg bag instead of 20kg, and I don't use the extra, I definitely do not get a refund.
- Symbiote 6y ago
  On tiny planes, like the ones that go between islands in the Pacific, they weigh everyone (with hand baggage) when checking in. This is in order to load the plane evenly.
  - jethro_tell 6y ago
    Absolutely. They don't have baggage scales there, they have bathroom scales.
- pseingatl 6y ago
  Passengers are weighed in Samoa.
- torresmo 6y ago
  Interesting ... weighting yourself could be optional. And if you are below some mark/average, you'd receive a discount voucher for future flight. As a result, this airliner would be attracting lighter/leaner customers, which would save fuel costs.
glutinouspigeon 6y ago
I would be okay with this only if they also gave me appropriate seating for my height. Being tall has had some benefits, but I'm constantly annoyed by the consequences.
542354234235 6y ago
I think it should be. It is an industry where the weight of the goods is very closely tied to the cost, which isn’t really the case for car or train travel (obviously weight is a factor but 30 lbs plus or minus isn’t changing the cost to get you there by 10-20%). They already weigh your bags and charge you based on that (usually $30 for anything under 50 lbs and something like $70 for over 5o lbs). I think the backlash to them charging extra if you and your total bags comes in “overweight” would be too high to work. Even if people weren’t offended, you wouldn’t really be able to have a good idea how much extra you’d be hit with until you were at the gate. But if they did some sort of discount refund or maybe a voucher for future flights, that might work. Start weighing the checked bags and noting the exact weight (instead of just over-under 50 lbs) and then stepping on a scale with your carryon luggage (with no outward display) and totaling them. If you are under the average, you get a voucher credited to your account on a sliding scale by how much you are under. If you are over the average or you choose not to be weighed, nothing changes and you have only paid the full fare like normal.
danpalmer 6y ago
This would obviously be socially unacceptable, but airlines do already charge for weight in other ways – baggage weight, large item surcharges, hand luggage charges, etc.
- jojobas 6y ago
  And overflowing into a neighbor's seat is somehow socially acceptable. Go figure.
avh02 6y ago
I lost 40 kg at some point - then you see what they charge for baggage (yes, yes, baggage handling has costs) and think you should get a discount
- nickff 6y ago
  The reason they don't want you to take much baggage is that the airlines are major freight carriers. Your baggage is competing for space with parcels.

This raises a question, shouldn't a ticket price component has some relationship with your weight. Discounts/extra prices depending on your how much away you are from design assumptions.

bartread 6y ago

Many airlines already require obese passengers to pay for two seats.

randycupertino 6y ago

This would be great but how on earth would we get people to comply? We can't even get people to wear masks in stores right now without throwing a tantrum. People would like lie like crazy regarding their weight. Heck, my driver license is 25lbs lower than I currently am. I guess you could alleviate the embarrassment factor by making it a total passenger + baggage max so people could weigh themselves AND their carryons at home before they arrive to confirm and offset anything. Interesting idea though!

avh02 6y ago
the same way they enforce baggage requirements. When money's involved, the enforcement will happen. Maybe you buy "x kg plus or minus 5 kg" and they weigh you and penalize/refund if it's changed since buying the ticket.
- majewsky 6y ago
  > refund Ha, good one.
  - TwoHeadedBeast 6y ago
    Not sure why you're getting the downvotes. If I pay for a 25kg bag instead of 20kg, and I don't use the extra, I definitely do not get a refund.
Symbiote 6y ago
On tiny planes, like the ones that go between islands in the Pacific, they weigh everyone (with hand baggage) when checking in. This is in order to load the plane evenly.
- jethro_tell 6y ago
  Absolutely. They don't have baggage scales there, they have bathroom scales.
pseingatl 6y ago
Passengers are weighed in Samoa.
torresmo 6y ago
Interesting ... weighting yourself could be optional. And if you are below some mark/average, you'd receive a discount voucher for future flight. As a result, this airliner would be attracting lighter/leaner customers, which would save fuel costs.

glutinouspigeon 6y ago

I would be okay with this only if they also gave me appropriate seating for my height. Being tall has had some benefits, but I'm constantly annoyed by the consequences.

542354234235 6y ago

I think it should be. It is an industry where the weight of the goods is very closely tied to the cost, which isn’t really the case for car or train travel (obviously weight is a factor but 30 lbs plus or minus isn’t changing the cost to get you there by 10-20%). They already weigh your bags and charge you based on that (usually $30 for anything under 50 lbs and something like $70 for over 5o lbs). I think the backlash to them charging extra if you and your total bags comes in “overweight” would be too high to work. Even if people weren’t offended, you wouldn’t really be able to have a good idea how much extra you’d be hit with until you were at the gate. But if they did some sort of discount refund or maybe a voucher for future flights, that might work. Start weighing the checked bags and noting the exact weight (instead of just over-under 50 lbs) and then stepping on a scale with your carryon luggage (with no outward display) and totaling them. If you are under the average, you get a voucher credited to your account on a sliding scale by how much you are under. If you are over the average or you choose not to be weighed, nothing changes and you have only paid the full fare like normal.

danpalmer 6y ago

This would obviously be socially unacceptable, but airlines do already charge for weight in other ways – baggage weight, large item surcharges, hand luggage charges, etc.

jojobas 6y ago
And overflowing into a neighbor's seat is somehow socially acceptable. Go figure.

avh02 6y ago

I lost 40 kg at some point - then you see what they charge for baggage (yes, yes, baggage handling has costs) and think you should get a discount

nickff 6y ago
The reason they don't want you to take much baggage is that the airlines are major freight carriers. Your baggage is competing for space with parcels.