WTF? air line to charge by weight of CUSTOMER

ttaylor68913

I saw this on my local news website this am and nearly flipped my lid : Samoa Air is now weighing passengers and their baggage, and rates start at $1 per kilo (about 2.2 pounds). The airline's website prompts fliers to "guesstimate" their weight when booking and prepay that amount. If you're off, though, no worries! They'll weigh you to double-check when you get to the airport.

Thoughts?

Vune

It will offset increasing fuel costs. I imagine it won't do much to actually provide weight loss incentive beyond dangerous crash diets and many dehydrated passengers.

I sat next to an obese man on my last flight. He looked so uncomfortable, and I actually had to lift the armrest for him to almost comfortably fit. He was a very nice man. I wish people would have more self-awareness about these things without an airline deciding they need to charge by the pound to prevent a further rise in obesity...

WVprankster

BRB packing light
BRB no fluids 24 hrs before flight
BRB flying Air Samoa because that would make my round trip ticket about $230. Suck on that, Southwest!

Acg67

As well they should

misspastry

I think the only people who would be offended by this are the overly obese. If they only charged by the pound and nothing else, people would get cheap flights.

misspastry

As well they should

Right on!

ninerbuff

Lol, it's Samoa Airlines? Probably makes sense since most people flying it are Samoans who have some of the "biggest" genetics in the world. Not uncommon to see a 16 year old male weigh 200lbs or more.

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toaster6

Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?

bacitracin

Awesome, maybe I can finally afford to fly somewhere now.

diodelcibo

Seems reasonable. I'd pay by weight.

Cre8veLifeR

Lol, it's Samoa Airlines? Probably makes sense since most people flying it are Samoans who have some of the "biggest" genetics in the world. Not uncommon to see a 16 year old male weigh 200lbs or more.

I was going to say the same thing! I lived in Hawaii for four years and was around lots of Samoans - there aren't too many little ones!

AllTehBeers

Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?

How YOU doin'?

MissTattoo

It's a small airline that only goes to New Zealand. These aren't Bowing 747's we are talking about. These aren't even huge commercial planes. It's small puddle jumpers.

Aalyiah's plane crashed because it was carrying too much weight.

SStrauss79

I think it makes a lot of sense.

cici1028

I also found it fascinating this was happening on Samoan Air... a very genetically large ethnic heritage! I would love to pay for my flight by the pound since I have hit my goal weight... but I don't think that is necessarily a valid way to charge people. You are paying for space, which is only partially defined by your weight.

My0WNinspiration

They should.

AllTehBeers

Local flights would cost more and international flights would cost less over all. I'd save a ton of money.

RunWinterGarden

I think it's a really sad reality that people are getting so obese now that the airlines have to consider the weight of their passengers

When air travel first started that's how all airlines charged

vim_n_vigor

This is a very small airline that basically specializes in island hopping flights.

Let’s not get carried away with this development, though. Samoa Air is but a small island-hopping airline that flies little propeller planes where weight and the distribution of weight have always been considerations. Besides, Samoa and the South Pacific region have obesity rates that are among the world’s highest. By imposing a fare scale based on actual weight, rather than just depending on a pilot’s observations about overall payload, Samoa got a lot of worldwide publicity.

This would be nearly impossible for an airline like Northwest or Southwest to do because the back up lines would be impossible, and they would not be able to offer the correct fitting seats to the customers paying more. I don't believe it would be a very cost effective way for a large airline to offset costs once they had to pay for more employees to implement the change.

JenRun1

As well they should

Right on!

Agreed!

ChristyRunStarr

Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?

:laugh: my thought too!

I heard about this on the radio last week-as for major airlines doing it, I don't think it'll ever happen, can you imagine the outcry?

xampx

I think its a good idea. That means that I can carry the 50lbs I lost as luggage instead of fat

sweetnlow30

I know some airlines now expect obese people to pay for two seats so they can sit comfortably. I am not sure if this is determined by a set weight or if the airline simply eyeballs the person to size them up. I do agree with the two seat charge if two seats are actually required for their comfort. I don't agree with this charging by the pound idea though. It feels a little discriminatory. There should be a set price per seat. I suppose it comes down to fuel charges. :grumble:

yanniejannie

Fabulous idea!!!!!!!!!

tjs616

I've never flown this particular airline, but flying in general has gotten ridiculous. People of any size are bringing 100+lbs in their carry on to put in the overhead bin so that they don't have to pay the overweight baggage fees. And with airlines charging baggage fees in general, almost everyone is trying to do a carry on which is causing delays on board as everyone tried to jam things overhead. While they want to carry on the largest bag they can get away with, no one wants to put it under the seat in front of them. They also want to store their coats, and largely over-sized purses up there, too, and don't want anyone else's stuff touching theirs. Oh not to mention how it takes everyone twice as long to get through security now because of all the extra stuff they are trying to juggle. If it was all by weight, hopefully it would alleviate some of the pre-flight nonsense. As an obese person (that does fit entirely in my own seat), I'm perfectly fine with this, as long as they aren't making a huge show of weighing it in a way where everyone can see what you and your baggage weight. Not that I'd care, but I'm sure some would.

misspastry

Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?

Love it! I booked an aisle seat for next month. I can't stand being close to people.

Hellbent_Heidi

Lol, it's Samoa Airlines? Probably makes sense since most people flying it are Samoans who have some of the "biggest" genetics in the world. Not uncommon to see a 16 year old male weigh 200lbs or more.

I was going to say the same thing! I lived in Hawaii for four years and was around lots of Samoans - there aren't too many little ones!

Agreed! They're happy, jolly people, but most of them are quite big!

I have no objection to this policy at all...

KilikiMom

yes please charge me by pound hahaha....I'd have some really cheap tickets!!!!


but no really I see no issue with this...I am sorry I want my flight SAFE....I do not want to fall out of the sky because there are x amount of people on board and they weigh x amount and the plane only holds y amount....and x amount is more than the y amount.....just my opinion....and I am sorry if you feel embarrassed by your weight or offended then YOU are the one with the problem and maybe you should take a look at your lifestyle and DO something about it....yes some people cannot help their weights but morbidly obese people typically do not have medical issues (weight wise) other than say being depressed, eating disorders, possibly some sort of issue with their thyroid or hundreds of other reasons....which can be controlled with meds, and all the above can be controlled with some sort of intervention medical, physical etc etc....NO ONE has to be obese...no matter what your problem is and why you came to be obese....with the advances in science and medicine there is NO EXCUSE.....only you can stop yourself from being happy and healthy....just my opinion though.....

HelloDan

I don't want to spoil the controversy but this is a small airline that operates Britten-Norman islanders and Cessna 172 aircraft, which have capacities of 9 and 3 respectively.

In a 3 passenger aircraft if 1 person is overweight, unless at least one of the others is underweight, the plane will exceed capacity.

In a big commercial jet, this is not a problem, as over 300 passengers, it averages out.

Anyway enough of the sensible facts, lets get back to the OMG on the old news!

GBOGH_5

Yep. I took one of the puddle jumpers in Costa Rica to get back to the airport from where I was staying. They weighed all passengers and luggage. Had to in order to meet regulations due to strict guidelines on the amount of weight they are allowed to carry.

SonicDeathMonkey80

You have to pay for overweight bags, so why not overweight people?