WTF? air line to charge by weight of CUSTOMER

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ttaylor68913
ttaylor68913 Posts: 324 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
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?
«134567

Replies

  • Vune
    Vune Posts: 672 Member
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    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
    WVprankster Posts: 430 Member
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    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
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    As well they should
  • misspastry
    misspastry Posts: 109 Member
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    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
    misspastry Posts: 109 Member
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    As well they should

    Right on!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,646 Member
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    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.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
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  • toaster6
    toaster6 Posts: 703 Member
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    Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
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    Awesome, maybe I can finally afford to fly somewhere now.
  • diodelcibo
    diodelcibo Posts: 2,564 Member
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    Seems reasonable. I'd pay by weight.
  • Cre8veLifeR
    Cre8veLifeR Posts: 1,062 Member
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    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
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    Does that mean I'll get to stop sharing my seat with whoever is sitting next to me?

    How YOU doin'?
  • MissTattoo
    MissTattoo Posts: 1,203 Member
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    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
    SStrauss79 Posts: 124 Member
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    I think it makes a lot of sense.
  • cici1028
    cici1028 Posts: 799 Member
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    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
    My0WNinspiration Posts: 1,146 Member
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    They should.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    Local flights would cost more and international flights would cost less over all. I'd save a ton of money.
  • RunWinterGarden
    RunWinterGarden Posts: 428 Member
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    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
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
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    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
    JenRun1 Posts: 212
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    As well they should

    Right on!


    Agreed!
  • ChristyRunStarr
    ChristyRunStarr Posts: 1,600 Member
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    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?

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