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Airlines may start weighing plus size passengers
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Possibly. They already charge extra for overweight luggage.janejellyroll wrote: »
It's not about raising the price, it's about how much weight can be allowed on a plane to fly safely. If they don't stop passengers, then the next thing they may nix to reduce weight is LUGGAGE. So your luggage as a passenger on that flight, may come on another plane arriving later.L1zardQueen wrote: »Will they raise the prices for the overweight flyers or eliminate the last to board passengers from flying? What a mess that will be.
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Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the past behavior of airlines makes me understand why some people might feel like this could be used as a justification for tiered prices based on weight. They haven't exactly acted in a way that inspires confidence that this WOULDN'T be used that way at some point.
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So I flew just recently, and I've always wondered why they would charge for extra/overweight luggage. I've been in line to check baggage multiple times only to find that the person in front of my was overweight on luggage so they move stuff from that bag to their carryon to avoid additional charges. The weight of what was being placed on the plane did not change, just distributed to a different bag. I finally asked. A big part of this isn't for reducing weight on plane though it does encourage people to think twice about what they bring with them to avoid line delays, but also safety for employees. Reducing the weight of the bag that is handled by airport employees can reduce risk of injury, which is also why they throw that "HEAVY" sticker on over weight bags as well.
Sorry this may have been a bit off topic. I will say that at the end of the day I feel that safety should come first, but it can start with bags and reducing flight capacity if this is truly their biggest concern.
The weight limit used to be 70 lbs before incurring a fee, but after OSHA got serious that a single person shouldn't lift more than 50 lbs regularly, that changed across the board. If your luggage is overweight, they're charging you as a deterrent so they can protect their employees, to help offset the cost of maybe needing an extra person tending to baggage, and to offset the cost of an employee injury (or lawsuit). I think there's a charge over 50 lbs and a hard limit of 70 lbs, plus you pay per checked bag to deter you from bringing your whole house with you on vacation, so I don't think putting any more caps on checked luggage is a solution. As far as design calculations go, that's pretty baked in.
Carry-ons are out of control. You're only supposed to have one stowable bag and one personal item, but I can't count how many times I've seen someone waddling down the aisle with 4 or 5 bags hanging off them, and no airline worker did anything. These never get weighed, so the only constraint is the space they can fit in. Of course, many don't actually fit and end up getting gate-checked for free, so all those deterrents they set up for regular checked luggage have no effect. But the carry-ons are the one "luxury" airlines have continued to allow, so there will be outrage if they start weighing them and charging for overweight bags. There's already a ridiculous amount of grousing and entitlement over not being allowed to bring an oversized carry-on onboard with you.
Airlines have managed to reduce the number of carry-ons by selling Basic Economy seats. You're not allowed a carry-on with that fare, so while Basic Economy primarily exists to compete with ultra-budget airlines, it also has the effect of giving regular-fare passengers more storage, and it reduces the total weight carried into the cabin.
What this article doesn't mention at all is that almost all commercial airliners carry freight with them. That box of cookies that you're mailing Express to your Aunt June 5 states away might be going on a Delta flight. If airlines are going to rebalance the weight they carry because people are fatter, they're much more likely to keep packing us in like sardines and give USPS a little less square footage because we pay more.3 -
I like the idea. I’d so much rather be safe than take the chance. Maybe it will give people even more of an incentive to lose weight. I know it would make me want to lose weight to not be pulled out and weighed.2
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It's not about raising the price, it's about how much weight can be allowed on a plane to fly safely. If they don't stop passengers, then the next thing they may nix to reduce weight is LUGGAGE. So your luggage as a passenger on that flight, may come on another plane arriving later.L1zardQueen wrote: »Will they raise the prices for the overweight flyers or eliminate the last to board passengers from flying? What a mess that will be.
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Washington State Ferries reduced their capacity a few years ago because the average passenger weight has increased. We don't weigh passengers, our ferries run on time. 🙂 We know what the average person weighs and with the number that go on a ship (probably on a plane too?) the law of averages works pretty well. As far as safety goes, WSF has a flawless record.5 -
Possibly. They already charge extra for overweight luggage.janejellyroll wrote: »
It's not about raising the price, it's about how much weight can be allowed on a plane to fly safely. If they don't stop passengers, then the next thing they may nix to reduce weight is LUGGAGE. So your luggage as a passenger on that flight, may come on another plane arriving later.L1zardQueen wrote: »Will they raise the prices for the overweight flyers or eliminate the last to board passengers from flying? What a mess that will be.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Not to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but the past behavior of airlines makes me understand why some people might feel like this could be used as a justification for tiered prices based on weight. They haven't exactly acted in a way that inspires confidence that this WOULDN'T be used that way at some point.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
A big part of this isn't for reducing weight on plane though it does encourage people to think twice about what they bring with them to avoid line delays, but also safety for employees. Reducing the weight of the bag that is handled by airport employees can reduce risk of injury, which is also why they throw that "HEAVY" sticker on over weight bags as well.
Yep employee safety is huge. My boss worked at a small airport while going to school. He's taller and the luggage compartment of many planes doesn't allow one to stand up straight (especially if taller) so especially hard on the back.
Also, be nice to airport employees. He said it was common practice to route the luggage of a difficult passenger to another location vs where the passenger was going. Like Cairo Egypt instead of Orlando.0 -
Maybe they'll have a weight limit for both your luggage and your body weight? So that if you are overweight, you have to pack light, that way, they can make sure no one goes over the limit (this is of course if the person themselves doesn't outweigh the limit).1
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From the article:
"In order to update guidelines on “standard passenger weight,” airlines will have to up the weight of an average adult male passenger and carry-on bag to 190 pounds in the summer and 195 pounds in the winter — a 20-pound increase from the current guidelines, Fox reported. Meanwhile, female passengers and carry-on bags will increase from 145 pounds to 179 pounds in the summer, and 150 pounds to 184 pounds in the winter."
I admit, it's been a while since I've flown anywhere. Last time I did, I checked, and the max weight for a carryon on the airline I used was 50 pounds. Since I was going to a big bead/jewelry event, I was packing a bunch of tools, so my carryon was close to 50 pounds. I'm not a very large woman, these days, at 125 pounds. Right there, that's 175 pounds, and I'm not going to fly nude, so 179 pounds is only marginally achievable in that scenario. 145 is highly, highly improbable.
Yeah, most people don't have 50-pound carryons (and some of the sweet young men who wanted to help me put mine in the overhead bin didn't think this li'l ol' lady did either, from their body language when they grabbed it 😆😬).
But still. It's hard to believe those average weights, when carryon (last I knew) allows for not just the (maybe) 50-pound bag, but also a personal item (purse, daypack, briefcase), and the bodyweight of a person who stands decent odds of being overweight or even obese.L1zardQueen wrote: »When at a ticket counter checking in our bags on a domestic flight, we were next to a really tall and obese couple. The bags they were checking were the twice the size of ours. I thought the must have some really big clothes in their bag to boot.
This is sort of an aside, but I was astonished how much less space my clothes took up in a suitcase, when at healthy weight, vs. obese. And I was just barely over the line into obese BMI (BMI 30.4, at 5'5", 183 pounds), not severely obese. I'm gauging this from weekend trips to races, so the quantity/type of clothing was quite consistent, in the cases I'm comparing.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
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I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.2 -
From the article:
"In order to update guidelines on “standard passenger weight,” airlines will have to up the weight of an average adult male passenger and carry-on bag to 190 pounds in the summer and 195 pounds in the winter — a 20-pound increase from the current guidelines, Fox reported. Meanwhile, female passengers and carry-on bags will increase from 145 pounds to 179 pounds in the summer, and 150 pounds to 184 pounds in the winter."
I admit, it's been a while since I've flown anywhere. Last time I did, I checked, and the max weight for a carryon on the airline I used was 50 pounds. Since I was going to a big bead/jewelry event, I was packing a bunch of tools, so my carryon was close to 50 pounds. I'm not a very large woman, these days, at 125 pounds. Right there, that's 175 pounds, and I'm not going to fly nude, so 179 pounds is only marginally achievable in that scenario. 145 is highly, highly improbable.
Yeah, most people don't have 50-pound carryons (and some of the sweet young men who wanted to help me put mine in the overhead bin didn't think this li'l ol' lady did either, from their body language when they grabbed it 😆😬).
But still. It's hard to believe those average weights, when carryon (last I knew) allows for not just the (maybe) 50-pound bag, but also a personal item (purse, daypack, briefcase), and the bodyweight of a person who stands decent odds of being overweight or even obese.L1zardQueen wrote: »When at a ticket counter checking in our bags on a domestic flight, we were next to a really tall and obese couple. The bags they were checking were the twice the size of ours. I thought the must have some really big clothes in their bag to boot.
This is sort of an aside, but I was astonished how much less space my clothes took up in a suitcase, when at healthy weight, vs. obese. And I was just barely over the line into obese BMI (BMI 30.4, at 5'5", 183 pounds), not severely obese. I'm gauging this from weekend trips to races, so the quantity/type of clothing was quite consistent, in the cases I'm comparing.
Which doesn't make any sense
The average weight of American men in 2015-16 was 197.9 pounds; for women, it was 170.6 pounds. This is up from 189.4 pounds and 163.8 pounds, respectively, in 1999-2000.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/health/us-average-height-weight-report#:~:text=The average weight of American,respectively, in 1999-2000.
Pretty small allowance for weight of carry on items. Plus the average weight shown for men and women have most likely gone up since 2015-16.2 -
GummiMundi wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.
Unless you were going to miss a connecting flight to your vacation and would miss a day or 2 , or you were travelling for work and your company got any air miles, vouchers for travel you were given, etc.
There would generally be hands raised though. It wasn't uncommon for passengers to ask for a better deal than was offered.0 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »GummiMundi wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.
Unless you were going to miss a connecting flight to your vacation and would miss a day or 2 , or you were travelling for work and your company got any air miles, vouchers for travel you were given, etc.
There would generally be hands raised though. It wasn't uncommon for passengers to ask for a better deal than was offered.
My company's travel policy specifically states that we can't volunteer for this kind of delay.3 -
janejellyroll wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »GummiMundi wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.
Unless you were going to miss a connecting flight to your vacation and would miss a day or 2 , or you were travelling for work and your company got any air miles, vouchers for travel you were given, etc.
There would generally be hands raised though. It wasn't uncommon for passengers to ask for a better deal than was offered.
My company's travel policy specifically states that we can't volunteer for this kind of delay.
Our company policy is the same - the only excuse accepted for not being on the booked flight is a delay/cancellation by the airline (for weather, maintenance, etc). No volunteering for discounts, etc is allowed.
As for the original topic, most of the smaller regional airlines have had this policy in place for years. It is a safety issue and the passenger weights are usually used to help balance the weight distribution evenly thru the plane. I don't have any issue with the major carriers doing the same thing.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »GummiMundi wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.
Unless you were going to miss a connecting flight to your vacation and would miss a day or 2 , or you were travelling for work and your company got any air miles, vouchers for travel you were given, etc.
There would generally be hands raised though. It wasn't uncommon for passengers to ask for a better deal than was offered.
My daughter had a short layover in Fiji and ended up with a 3 night free resort stay because she "raised her hand" to take a later flight when hers was overbooked. It can sometimes work out pretty well.1 -
Theoldguy1 wrote: »GummiMundi wrote: »Theoldguy1 wrote: »I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
I've been on numerous small commuter planes (30 passengers or less) and after everyone was boarded the attendant said they were overweight and asked for volunteers to get off and get a later flight and a travel voucher for their trouble or move people around to balance weight.
Heck we were even on a Airbus 200 or so seat plane where they didn't fill the last 8 rows because it would have been too heavy for the runway at Maui Airport headed to LA.
I'm thinking it will ultimately result in a surcharge (user fee) for heavier passengers. But it will be a *kitten* storm.
I'd be raising my hand even before the attendant finished their sentence.
I understand that if a policy like the one being discussed was implemented, it would raise all sorts of questions and some uproar. But, considering that potentially the plane either lands safely or doesn't land at all, I know which side of the argument I'd support.
Unless you were going to miss a connecting flight to your vacation and would miss a day or 2 , or you were travelling for work and your company got any air miles, vouchers for travel you were given, etc.
There would generally be hands raised though. It wasn't uncommon for passengers to ask for a better deal than was offered.
Obviously, there are specific circumstances in which people can't volunteer for a later flight, as you noted.
Maybe I should have added that I get painfully anxious before flying, that can help explain my knee jerk reaction if something like that happened. It's not about a "better deal", it's about safety.2 -
janejellyroll wrote: »DeterminedDivaMN wrote: »Realistically, they should be weighing all passengers. Think of some of the athletes who are muscular... It wouldn't bother me as much if everyone was weighed.
If someone appears to be at or under the average weight, what's the point of weighing them?
no doubt...I am quite underweight - can I get a discount?🤣3 -
One dollar per pound.1
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BS meter triggered
a) they already have magical weight calculations taking place and the need for the calculations and balancing of the aircraft and fuel requirement calculation it is *one* of the reasons given for early check-in and especially for "no exceptions" early departure gate closing requirements some airlines have implemented.
b) you can have a scale embedded in the ground at the gate that weights everyone and everything that goes through the ramp. If that's too expensive you could have it at security. Right where the little temperature check thingy takes place. automatically connected to the scanned boarding pass and transmitted to the airline. Universal. Simple. No questions or discussion or selection or discrimination choosing of participants.
c) how does this jive with "you can fill your carry-on with whatever you want as long as you can lift it and handle it and it fits within the space requirements"
d) average means average. if the overweight passenger needs to be weighed so does the underweight passenger since one would offset the other.
e) really? It is a survey? which you can't already handle with existing population data? Remember the spot where you take the temperature of the people? Where they file in one by one or two by two to start the process of entering the secure sections of the terminal? That's right--b above!
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I don't like it, but I also don't have a good solution. I don't mind the actual flying part, but for me all of the logistics involved with taking a trip by air are just too much. My family hasn't flown in years, because even on "cheap" airlines we're priced out. We do like to travel but we stick to the ground for now. I actually rather like car trips.
I haven't figured out what we might do for overseas travel. Do people still go by boat or is it all just freight? We'll have to travel like they did in the old days when you were gone for months or years.
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penguinmama87 wrote: »I don't like it, but I also don't have a good solution. I don't mind the actual flying part, but for me all of the logistics involved with taking a trip by air are just too much. My family hasn't flown in years, because even on "cheap" airlines we're priced out. We do like to travel but we stick to the ground for now. I actually rather like car trips.
I haven't figured out what we might do for overseas travel. Do people still go by boat or is it all just freight? We'll have to travel like they did in the old days when you were gone for months or years.
You can travel by ship say from NY to London but economy class flying is much cheaper.1 -
I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
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Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
It's a piece of information. Where is the debate side of it?2 -
Apparently they would weigh them out of sight (maybe right after security check?) so that other passengers don't see it. What I think is odd is that there may be an "opt out" for passengers who get selected. But how then do they cover keeping those passengers from boarding?janejellyroll wrote: »It'd be embarrassing to be pulled out for a weight check before boarding a plane, but I'd rather be embarrassed than be in a plane that crashed due to the overall weight being too high.
This seems like the case of a sucky solution to a real problem . . . but there may not be a better alternative solution.
I would say that they could ask people to self-report their weight at time of ticket purchase, but I don't know if you could count on accurate self-reporting, especially if people felt it might increase ticket price.
I've seen FAMILIES of large people boarding a plane at one time and knowing that they exceed the average weight limit (200lbs for adults and 100lbs for children) by several hundred pounds.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Why do you see it as boarding/not boarding? Is it not more an issue of how they sit people so that weights are better distributed? A few years back they used to allow more luggage allowance. On international travel at least it has decreased. Maybe because passengers' weights are already accounted for?1 -
I'm not against it because it could be a discrimination issue for overweight/obese people.I heard about this yesterday. Unlike a vehicle or ship, WEIGHT matters much much more when traveling by air. How the weight is dispersed on a plane matters much more than vehicles by land travel or by ship for obvious reasons. For the longest time now, aviation has used an average weight per person to decide on passengers and luggage for capacity on a plane. But with the ever growing waistlines of many, it's becoming more of a concern for safety issues. While a few hundered pounds don't matter as much to other vehicles, with planes is does matter much more.
So now airlines are possibly looking at random weighing of passengers who likely exceed the average weight. Personally I do see this a couple of ways: it is a safety issue. If they do institute this, they better have a great back up plan for those that they may deem may not be able to board a flight due to weight overload.
Okay, let's hear it.
https://nypost.com/2021/05/18/airlines-to-weigh-passengers-before-boarding-airplanes/
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It's a piece of information. Where is the debate side of it?
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1 -
The average weight estimated for say a male is 200lbs. Say you have a 300lbs male waiting to get on board. And now 9 others who are over 100lbs of the average board as well. We're now 1000lbs over the average. That's half a ton. That DOES make a difference in flying because it can affect things like takeoff.
Apparently they would weigh them out of sight (maybe right after security check?) so that other passengers don't see it. What I think is odd is that there may be an "opt out" for passengers who get selected. But how then do they cover keeping those passengers from boarding?janejellyroll wrote: »It'd be embarrassing to be pulled out for a weight check before boarding a plane, but I'd rather be embarrassed than be in a plane that crashed due to the overall weight being too high.
This seems like the case of a sucky solution to a real problem . . . but there may not be a better alternative solution.
I would say that they could ask people to self-report their weight at time of ticket purchase, but I don't know if you could count on accurate self-reporting, especially if people felt it might increase ticket price.
I've seen FAMILIES of large people boarding a plane at one time and knowing that they exceed the average weight limit (200lbs for adults and 100lbs for children) by several hundred pounds.
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Why do you see it as boarding/not boarding? Is it not more an issue of how they sit people so that weights are better distributed? A few years back they used to allow more luggage allowance. On international travel at least it has decreased. Maybe because passengers' weights are already accounted for?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
5 -
In 2004 I flew on a very small plane in Costa Rica and all of the passengers and luggage were weighed. I had no problem with this, possibly because while in the USAF I had cargo aircraft load planning training, and so was well aware of the need.
The article is a little confusing because it mentions weighing both plus-sized passengers and choosing passengers using random selection.
I'd be against weighing plus sized people only, as it would then be mathematically impossible to achieve the stated goal of getting an average weight, and this practice would be ... fraught. I think it would be better to weigh everyone. Or if sampling is done, to make it perfectly clear that random selection is being used.4 -
The average weight estimated for say a male is 200lbs. Say you have a 300lbs male waiting to get on board. And now 9 others who are over 100lbs of the average board as well. We're now 1000lbs over the average. That's half a ton. That DOES make a difference in flying because it can affect things like takeoff.
Apparently they would weigh them out of sight (maybe right after security check?) so that other passengers don't see it. What I think is odd is that there may be an "opt out" for passengers who get selected. But how then do they cover keeping those passengers from boarding?janejellyroll wrote: »It'd be embarrassing to be pulled out for a weight check before boarding a plane, but I'd rather be embarrassed than be in a plane that crashed due to the overall weight being too high.
This seems like the case of a sucky solution to a real problem . . . but there may not be a better alternative solution.
I would say that they could ask people to self-report their weight at time of ticket purchase, but I don't know if you could count on accurate self-reporting, especially if people felt it might increase ticket price.
I've seen FAMILIES of large people boarding a plane at one time and knowing that they exceed the average weight limit (200lbs for adults and 100lbs for children) by several hundred pounds.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Why do you see it as boarding/not boarding? Is it not more an issue of how they sit people so that weights are better distributed? A few years back they used to allow more luggage allowance. On international travel at least it has decreased. Maybe because passengers' weights are already accounted for?
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Does the plane only have ten passengers? If it's a normal sized plane I would expect it to have several people over the average weight, like you just described, and several more who are under the average. That's how averages work, and why you need to look at the entire picture. 🙂2 -
Many years ago I took a helicopter tour while visiting Kauai. I had done research, and I knew which company I wanted to fly with. I called to book a reservation. They told me they did reservations for couples, not singles. Bummer.
They called back later and said there was space for me if I could come that day at a certain time. One of the booked passengers was overweight, so he had to buy two tickets. That left a spot for a solo customer. I took it.
The companies tell you that all the seats have the same view. I'll tell you it's not true. You can even ask for the "ono" seat, but they put passengers in the aircraft so that it's balanced. I was chuffed when they put me in that front side seat. Spectacular.
I don't remember seeing a scale, but they did ask your weight when you made the reservation. Planning purposes.
I don't know how much mass it would take to affect the balance of a modern jumbo jet. Certainly it matters for smaller planes. I seem to recall being on a short hop, and they even announced that they might have to move passengers if the plane wasn't balanced.4 -
Many years ago I took a helicopter tour while visiting Kauai. I had done research, and I knew which company I wanted to fly with. I called to book a reservation. They told me they did reservations for couples, not singles. Bummer.
They called back later and said there was space for me if I could come that day at a certain time. One of the booked passengers was overweight, so he had to buy two tickets. That left a spot for a solo customer. I took it.
The companies tell you that all the seats have the same view. I'll tell you it's not true. You can even ask for the "ono" seat, but they put passengers in the aircraft so that it's balanced. I was chuffed when they put me in that front side seat. Spectacular.
I don't remember seeing a scale, but they did ask your weight when you made the reservation. Planning purposes.
I don't know how much mass it would take to affect the balance of a modern jumbo jet. Certainly it matters for smaller planes. I seem to recall being on a short hop, and they even announced that they might have to move passengers if the plane wasn't balanced.
Not the topic of this thread (maybe topically closer to the bike/car & environment one? 😉), but it seems quite likely that fuel consumption becomes higher with larger fractions of the population being overweight and obese. If so, seems like that would have environmental implications (flying being one of our more high-polluting activities for an individual, as I inexpertly understand it), and would require a higher weight of fuel on the flight (or use of shorter-hop flights) to compensate.1 -
Weights are much higher per average than 20 years ago for Americans overall.Many years ago I took a helicopter tour while visiting Kauai. I had done research, and I knew which company I wanted to fly with. I called to book a reservation. They told me they did reservations for couples, not singles. Bummer.
They called back later and said there was space for me if I could come that day at a certain time. One of the booked passengers was overweight, so he had to buy two tickets. That left a spot for a solo customer. I took it.
The companies tell you that all the seats have the same view. I'll tell you it's not true. You can even ask for the "ono" seat, but they put passengers in the aircraft so that it's balanced. I was chuffed when they put me in that front side seat. Spectacular.
I don't remember seeing a scale, but they did ask your weight when you made the reservation. Planning purposes.
I don't know how much mass it would take to affect the balance of a modern jumbo jet. Certainly it matters for smaller planes. I seem to recall being on a short hop, and they even announced that they might have to move passengers if the plane wasn't balanced.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
3 -
Weights are much higher per average than 20 years ago for Americans overall.Many years ago I took a helicopter tour while visiting Kauai. I had done research, and I knew which company I wanted to fly with. I called to book a reservation. They told me they did reservations for couples, not singles. Bummer.
They called back later and said there was space for me if I could come that day at a certain time. One of the booked passengers was overweight, so he had to buy two tickets. That left a spot for a solo customer. I took it.
The companies tell you that all the seats have the same view. I'll tell you it's not true. You can even ask for the "ono" seat, but they put passengers in the aircraft so that it's balanced. I was chuffed when they put me in that front side seat. Spectacular.
I don't remember seeing a scale, but they did ask your weight when you made the reservation. Planning purposes.
I don't know how much mass it would take to affect the balance of a modern jumbo jet. Certainly it matters for smaller planes. I seem to recall being on a short hop, and they even announced that they might have to move passengers if the plane wasn't balanced.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
My personal observations are in agreement with that fact. There's SO many people I see every time I'm away from home that I think, "I'm so fortunate to not have had THAT MUCH to lose."2 -
There's SO many people I see every time I'm away from home that I think, "I'm so fortunate to not have had THAT MUCH to lose."
I lost almost a hundred and yet I still think every day it coulda been worse.
We were going to do a helicopter flight on our (COVID cancelled 😭😭😭) trip to NZ last yeat, but hubs was borderline for their weight limit. I figured it was too risky being non-refundable and booked something else instead.
His dad was so tall and so big that he booked and paid for two seats when we took him on his dream trip to Scotland to visit the ancestral castle. There was a minor crisis when we got on the plane and there was a stationary armrest right in the middle of his two seats and the stewardesses didn’t want to move him. We absolutely killed them with kindness. Thank god we got that sorted out. There’s nothing like a nearly seven foot, 400 pound, seventy something year old, perpetually grouchy man in a major sulk to get a trip off to a rocky start.
(Naturally, his nickname would be…… “Tiny”. )
8 -
Many years ago I took a helicopter tour while visiting Kauai. I had done research, and I knew which company I wanted to fly with. I called to book a reservation. They told me they did reservations for couples, not singles. Bummer.
They called back later and said there was space for me if I could come that day at a certain time. One of the booked passengers was overweight, so he had to buy two tickets. That left a spot for a solo customer. I took it.
The companies tell you that all the seats have the same view. I'll tell you it's not true. You can even ask for the "ono" seat, but they put passengers in the aircraft so that it's balanced. I was chuffed when they put me in that front side seat. Spectacular.
I don't remember seeing a scale, but they did ask your weight when you made the reservation. Planning purposes.
I don't know how much mass it would take to affect the balance of a modern jumbo jet. Certainly it matters for smaller planes. I seem to recall being on a short hop, and they even announced that they might have to move passengers if the plane wasn't balanced.
Not the topic of this thread (maybe topically closer to the bike/car & environment one? 😉), but it seems quite likely that fuel consumption becomes higher with larger fractions of the population being overweight and obese. If so, seems like that would have environmental implications (flying being one of our more high-polluting activities for an individual, as I inexpertly understand it), and would require a higher weight of fuel on the flight (or use of shorter-hop flights) to compensate.
There's certainly an optimal weight for the plane to be as far as fuel goes. They want to carry enough to get the plane from point A to point B, with a certain percentage as reserve for having to circle, getting diverted, and general safety. They don't want to carry more fuel to move more weight which then means they might have to carry even more fuel to deal with the fuel weight - the weight of fuel becomes an interesting calculation for those ultra-long haul flights, and some don't fly at full passenger capacity because of it. That said, on your standard 737 flight going from Chicago to Miami, it's doubtful that a few hundred lbs of passenger weight are going to have a big effect on your fuel load.
Here's a fun table with the max weights for various planes. "Cargo" is crew, passengers, bags, in-flight food and beverage service, freight - anything that's not tied down, basically.
https://pilotteacher.com/how-much-do-airplanes-weigh-with-20-examples/#:~:text=The Boeing 737 can weigh,2,400lb/1,11kg.1
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