4 ms·

Airlines Can't Charge You for What You Wear

18 points by mooreds 5mo ago

gaiagraphia 5mo ago
Hehe, I remember doing stuff like wearing 8 t-shirts back in the day to try and travel for £1 around Europe. Currently feel like I'm living on the edge by 1-bagging an Osprey Farpoint 40. My heart races every time I'm at the gate, and I feel I've perfected a masterclass in illusion by angling my body, distracting the gate staff, moving my hands to draw attention, etc (note: I probably look like an idiot - but it's fun to dream). The optimal solution is just to weigh everybody as they board the plane and bill them accordingly, lol. But I don't think that'd go down too well. If these jackets can hold 5kg, and there's 200 passengers donning them, that's a ton of weight, which is about $100 per flight in extra fuel? Wonder if the fairest way to charge for this is aa ringfenced externality tax on the product itself; calculating the average amount of fuel such products burn in an average lifespan. Would be preferable to airlines dictating what you can and can't wear...
- genxy 5mo ago
  The next one will be a body suit so you end up looking like Santa Claus.
  - Qem 5mo ago
    Next would be taxing airways and using the resources to subsidize the costs of GLP class drugs, as they benefit directly from customer weight loss.
    - TomatoCo 5mo ago
      Vaguely reminds me of that planet in Hitchhiker's Guide that started to lose too much mass to tourists leaving. So, > Thus today the net balance between the amount you eat and the amount you excrete while on the planet is surgically removed from your body weight when you leave; so every time you go to the lavatory there, it is vitally important to get a receipt.
      - netsharc 5mo ago
        Meanwhile Dubai exports its shit: https://medium.com/@sohaibwaheed06/explaining-dubais-poop-problem-fcc62cd11890 https://medium.com/@sohaibwaheed06/explaining-dubais-poop-pr... I looked up videos on YouTube about this topic, but the few that I clicked were AI slop with the prompt of something like "Generate a video from the contents of this article, use clip art videos and English male narration".
marcta 5mo ago
There is a reason that luggage has to be weighed. If you watch Mentour Pilot, there's a not insignificant number of plane accidents (and outright disasters) that occur due to the plane weight being calculated incorrectly, and thereby running out of fuel. https://www.evionica.com/blog/blog/how-much-the-passenger-weights.html https://www.evionica.com/blog/blog/how-much-the-passenger-we...
- rationalist 5mo ago
  Wouldn't it be possible to install strain gauges in the landing gears to determine the plane's weight?
  - ooterness 5mo ago
    Systems built into the landing gear do exist, but they're not very common. There are also ground-based systems (i.e., scale-on-a-cart for each wheel). https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/16307/how-does-a-commercial-airliner-measure-its-weight-mass https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/16307/how-does-...
  - tadfisher 5mo ago
    They would have to be calibrated and cross-checked with the manifest weight
  - Markoff 5mo ago
    seems it would be easier just to have them at boarding gate for all passing passengers
- nradov 5mo ago
  Running out of fuel isn't the real concern. It's more about center of balance and aircraft performance (ability to climb with an engine out).
- lispisok 5mo ago
  Cant recall ever being weighed as a passenger and in this day and age you have passengers who are 120 lbs and 300 lbs yet you get penalized if your suitcase is 1 lbs over the limit.
rationalist 5mo ago
It appears to be a rebrand of a cheaper item: https://www.amazon.com/BVASJIUK-Voyage-Coat-Travel-Pockets/dp/B0H1X6JZM2 https://www.amazon.com/BVASJIUK-Voyage-Coat-Travel-Pockets/d... The photo on the homepage appears to be identical to the photo in the Amazon listing (on my phone). (Or whomever is manufacturing for the company is trying to undercut the company that hired them.)
netsharc 5mo ago
I was curious to see it in action, obviously it's not on YouTube yet (it's a pre-order, which makes me think vaporware), but here's a review of a similar thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU7UrhrpWGI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU7UrhrpWGI I suppose with the continued enshittification of air travel, jackets like this will be more common, and the sight of passengers with bulky clothing at airports will no longer be strange. I was travelling the last few weeks, and wearing a jacket in an airport in warmer countries would make me look very out of place.
bushwart 5mo ago
Looks great for summer. The many pockets seem especially practical for organizing wads of travel cash and supplements like creatine, protein powder, magnesium capsules, etc. They should consider producing a niqab version for Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia.
- OutOfHere 5mo ago
  I strongly advise keeping all supplements in a checked bag, with good written labels about what they are. I keep them in ziploc bags with very clear labels. For mixed stacks, write DAILY VITAMINS, DAILY PROTEIN, etc. If you carry them with you while going through security, you're just asking to be strip searched and questioned.
  - spidercat 5mo ago
    I can only speak towards TSA in the US, but they explicitly state that they do not search for drugs; their priority is to screen for explosives, weapons, things of that nature. Anytime I travel with my beloved Mystery Powder supplements, I always just put them in my carry-on luggage. I've lost count of how many times I've done this, and it's never been an issue, stateside and abroad. Of course, all of the supplements etc I've traveled with have been very much legal and mainstream enough (e.g. creatine, magnesium), in case security do get suspicious, but it has not once been an issue.
    - OutOfHere 5mo ago
      Even if that were true, if you carry bulk powders in your carry-on, at minimum it is their assumed responsibility to visually examine it for not being an explosive powder. I have had to remove these powders from the carry-on bag for them to see. After seeing the labels, they consulted a senior officer, and only then let me through. For this reason, if I have a check-in bag, I keep it there.
      - spidercat 5mo ago
        Oh, I probably should have mentioned that I almost always keep my powders capped - I just cap them myself at the doses I need. Keeping the powder loose probably does raise more flags. I'm just so used to capping them, I didn't even think about how sketchy loose powder in ziploc baggies could look.
xnx 5mo ago
This is an ad.

18 points by mooreds 5mo ago

Hehe, I remember doing stuff like wearing 8 t-shirts back in the day to try and travel for £1 around Europe. Currently feel like I'm living on the edge by 1-bagging an Osprey Farpoint 40. My heart races every time I'm at the gate, and I feel I've perfected a masterclass in illusion by angling my body, distracting the gate staff, moving my hands to draw attention, etc (note: I probably look like an idiot - but it's fun to dream). The optimal solution is just to weigh everybody as they board the plane and bill them accordingly, lol. But I don't think that'd go down too well. If these jackets can hold 5kg, and there's 200 passengers donning them, that's a ton of weight, which is about $100 per flight in extra fuel? Wonder if the fairest way to charge for this is aa ringfenced externality tax on the product itself; calculating the average amount of fuel such products burn in an average lifespan. Would be preferable to airlines dictating what you can and can't wear...

genxy 5mo ago
The next one will be a body suit so you end up looking like Santa Claus.
- Qem 5mo ago
  Next would be taxing airways and using the resources to subsidize the costs of GLP class drugs, as they benefit directly from customer weight loss.
  - TomatoCo 5mo ago
    Vaguely reminds me of that planet in Hitchhiker's Guide that started to lose too much mass to tourists leaving. So, > Thus today the net balance between the amount you eat and the amount you excrete while on the planet is surgically removed from your body weight when you leave; so every time you go to the lavatory there, it is vitally important to get a receipt.
    - netsharc 5mo ago
      Meanwhile Dubai exports its shit: https://medium.com/@sohaibwaheed06/explaining-dubais-poop-problem-fcc62cd11890 https://medium.com/@sohaibwaheed06/explaining-dubais-poop-pr... I looked up videos on YouTube about this topic, but the few that I clicked were AI slop with the prompt of something like "Generate a video from the contents of this article, use clip art videos and English male narration".

marcta 5mo ago

There is a reason that luggage has to be weighed. If you watch Mentour Pilot, there's a not insignificant number of plane accidents (and outright disasters) that occur due to the plane weight being calculated incorrectly, and thereby running out of fuel. https://www.evionica.com/blog/blog/how-much-the-passenger-weights.html https://www.evionica.com/blog/blog/how-much-the-passenger-we...

rationalist 5mo ago
Wouldn't it be possible to install strain gauges in the landing gears to determine the plane's weight?
- ooterness 5mo ago
  Systems built into the landing gear do exist, but they're not very common. There are also ground-based systems (i.e., scale-on-a-cart for each wheel). https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/16307/how-does-a-commercial-airliner-measure-its-weight-mass https://aviation.stackexchange.com/questions/16307/how-does-...
- tadfisher 5mo ago
  They would have to be calibrated and cross-checked with the manifest weight
- Markoff 5mo ago
  seems it would be easier just to have them at boarding gate for all passing passengers
nradov 5mo ago
Running out of fuel isn't the real concern. It's more about center of balance and aircraft performance (ability to climb with an engine out).
lispisok 5mo ago
Cant recall ever being weighed as a passenger and in this day and age you have passengers who are 120 lbs and 300 lbs yet you get penalized if your suitcase is 1 lbs over the limit.

rationalist 5mo ago

It appears to be a rebrand of a cheaper item: https://www.amazon.com/BVASJIUK-Voyage-Coat-Travel-Pockets/dp/B0H1X6JZM2 https://www.amazon.com/BVASJIUK-Voyage-Coat-Travel-Pockets/d... The photo on the homepage appears to be identical to the photo in the Amazon listing (on my phone). (Or whomever is manufacturing for the company is trying to undercut the company that hired them.)

netsharc 5mo ago

I was curious to see it in action, obviously it's not on YouTube yet (it's a pre-order, which makes me think vaporware), but here's a review of a similar thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU7UrhrpWGI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU7UrhrpWGI I suppose with the continued enshittification of air travel, jackets like this will be more common, and the sight of passengers with bulky clothing at airports will no longer be strange. I was travelling the last few weeks, and wearing a jacket in an airport in warmer countries would make me look very out of place.

bushwart 5mo ago

Looks great for summer. The many pockets seem especially practical for organizing wads of travel cash and supplements like creatine, protein powder, magnesium capsules, etc. They should consider producing a niqab version for Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia.

OutOfHere 5mo ago
I strongly advise keeping all supplements in a checked bag, with good written labels about what they are. I keep them in ziploc bags with very clear labels. For mixed stacks, write DAILY VITAMINS, DAILY PROTEIN, etc. If you carry them with you while going through security, you're just asking to be strip searched and questioned.
- spidercat 5mo ago
  I can only speak towards TSA in the US, but they explicitly state that they do not search for drugs; their priority is to screen for explosives, weapons, things of that nature. Anytime I travel with my beloved Mystery Powder supplements, I always just put them in my carry-on luggage. I've lost count of how many times I've done this, and it's never been an issue, stateside and abroad. Of course, all of the supplements etc I've traveled with have been very much legal and mainstream enough (e.g. creatine, magnesium), in case security do get suspicious, but it has not once been an issue.
  - OutOfHere 5mo ago
    Even if that were true, if you carry bulk powders in your carry-on, at minimum it is their assumed responsibility to visually examine it for not being an explosive powder. I have had to remove these powders from the carry-on bag for them to see. After seeing the labels, they consulted a senior officer, and only then let me through. For this reason, if I have a check-in bag, I keep it there.
    - spidercat 5mo ago
      Oh, I probably should have mentioned that I almost always keep my powders capped - I just cap them myself at the doses I need. Keeping the powder loose probably does raise more flags. I'm just so used to capping them, I didn't even think about how sketchy loose powder in ziploc baggies could look.

xnx 5mo ago

This is an ad.