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Airlines may start weighing plus size passengers
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ninerbuff
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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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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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7
Replies
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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.8 -
Granted, disclosure is optional. However, this seems like a odd problem solving approach.
If passengers are getting larger (in an era where the aviation industry has been decreasing the sizes of their seats to increase capacity and profit margins) then seating room should be the first consideration.
I say bring back the seat space and leg room that was standard back in, like, the 80s.
(Picky sidenote from an aging curmudgeon: Also, the decorum of flying back then was much better than it is now. You'd dress appropriately - but still comfortably - to fly. Whereas since the 2000s, the dress code, hygiene and attitude of passengers - even in business or first - leaves much to be desired. Although this could also be because people are being packed into planes like sardines 🤷🏿♀️)28 -
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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Will they raise the prices for the overweight flyers or eliminate the last to board passengers from flying? What a mess that will be.6
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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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1 -
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.9 -
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.5
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So it's been a couple of years since I've flown, but they still charge extra for over-weight luggage, right?8
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If the average weight per person is going up in general, then they can adjust their average weight calculation accordingly. It would be ridiculously impractical for a commercial airline to handle it any other way.
Edit: Did you read the article? They are doing it as a survey in order to come up with a new average weight to use. They are not doing it to ascertain whether a specific flight is overweight.12 -
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.6
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YellowD0gs wrote: »So it's been a couple of years since I've flown, but they still charge extra for over-weight luggage, right?
They do! Most charge for any luggage and then it's an extra $$ for overweight luggage.0 -
If this is about collecting better data rather than immediate safety concerns, there should be a scale at every gate. When you go to scan your boarding pass, you stand on that scale while holding all of your carry-on luggage. Right now your carry-on luggage never gets weighed, and if airlines are serious about getting a true average, they need to account for that. The scale would then transmit that data directly to a computer bank, and your weight does not pop up on a screen for any operator to see. Theoretically your privacy isn't invaded since your name is not stored with your weight and no human sees that number in real time.
If you could tie that weight to the seat number without storing other passenger info, it would be easy to see if there's a section of the aircraft that's out of balance based on the weigh-ins. In the long run, airlines and plane manufacturers could get a true average rather than whatever they hope to achieve with these potentially offensive and invasive spot checks.
FWIW, very small planes already make you weigh in, and if you don't weigh in you don't fly because none of us want to die.11 -
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?
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(i.e. people and their weight and the airlines...)0
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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?
Accurate data. If your concern is the whole load of the plane, weigh everyone. You can see if the plane is at risk of being maxed out. And if you weigh everyone, no one can cry discrimination.9 -
(Picky sidenote from an aging curmudgeon: Also, the decorum of flying back then was much better than it is now. You'd dress appropriately - but still comfortably - to fly. Whereas since the 2000s, the dress code, hygiene and attitude of passengers - even in business or first - leaves much to be desired. Although this could also be because people are being packed into planes like sardines 🤷🏿♀️)
When I was a kid in the '70s and '80s, we'd get to buy a special airplane dress before flying across the country. I thought of being on a plane something you dressed up to do. I also loved to fly.
No more.7 -
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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Yes.YellowD0gs wrote: »So it's been a couple of years since I've flown, but they still charge extra for over-weight luggage, right?
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Lol I'm at work. Client cancelled this morning.cmriverside wrote: »
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This paragraph makes it hard to take the article seriously...To put it plane-ly, the FAA wants to gauge how much fatter Americans have gotten, to prevent things from coming apart when planes take to the skies.
I'm pretty sure that data is readily available from any number of sources in any number of industries. Pretty sure there are other motivations at play.
But taking things at face value... if they are just gathering data, then they need to do it on a broader scale. There's no reason they can't put a scale in/under the metal detector "pods" you stand in and collect weight data in mostly real time, without singling out passengers, nor delaying the check-in/TSA/boarding process any more than necessary.7 -
Granted, disclosure is optional. However, this seems like a odd problem solving approach.
If passengers are getting larger (in an era where the aviation industry has been decreasing the sizes of their seats to increase capacity and profit margins) then seating room should be the first consideration.
I say bring back the seat space and leg room that was standard back in, like, the 80s.
(Picky sidenote from an aging curmudgeon: Also, the decorum of flying back then was much better than it is now. You'd dress appropriately - but still comfortably - to fly. Whereas since the 2000s, the dress code, hygiene and attitude of passengers - even in business or first - leaves much to be desired. Although this could also be because people are being packed into planes like sardines 🤷🏿♀️)
It's just so much different now though. Flying was something that used to be quite expensive and not something your average person could do or do with any kind of frequency. I was 12 when I took my first flight to visit family in Los Angeles...so would have been 1986 or so and Southwest Airlines was just starting to really take off as a budget airline marketed to everyday people. IMO, they really had a big hand in changing the industry to more of what we see today, and that has both good and bad elements to it.
On one hand I can decide on a whim that I want to spend a long weekend in San Diego and can usually get a round trip ticket from ABQ for around $100-$150 vs driving for 12+ hours. That would have pretty much been unheard of when I was a kid (adjusted for inflation, etc). Ultimately, everyone had to come down in price to compete with lower fare carriers like SW...and the only way you can do that and maintain profit margins is putting more people in seats.
When I was a kid, it was far more common to drive to a destination or take a train...flying was pretty fancy. I only took that one flight to LA when I was 12...my next flight was en-route to boot camp when I was 18. COVID aside, it's pretty common for me and my family to fly 2-3 times per year now at least. My kids are 9 and 11 and flying is something that is just pretty normal to them...they've been on numerous flights since infancy. It's pretty much become basic public transportation. The good news is that you can buy business class or first class seats for about what it would have cost back in the day for economy (adjusted for inflation, etc)...so there are still options. My family is traveling to Miami for vacation in July and it will be for our first time treating ourselves to business class with our kiddos close by in economy.
As dress and decorum goes...well, that's always changing for all kinds of things. I have a picture of my grandfather in the 40s wearing a full suit and hat on the beach in Florida in the middle of summer...aint nobody got time for that kind of nonsense.5 -
This paragraph makes it hard to take the article seriously...To put it plane-ly, the FAA wants to gauge how much fatter Americans have gotten, to prevent things from coming apart when planes take to the skies.
I'm pretty sure that data is readily available from any number of sources in any number of industries. Pretty sure there are other motivations at play.
But taking things at face value... if they are just gathering data, then they need to do it on a broader scale. There's no reason they can't put a scale in/under the metal detector "pods" you stand in and collect weight data in mostly real time, without singling out passengers, nor delaying the check-in/TSA/boarding process any more than necessary.
Exactly, it's a click-baity topic, always has been.2 -
It's about safety. Aircrafts can only lift so much weight to get the airflow over the wings so it can lift off the ground.2
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There is nothing wrong with this. It is a matter of safety.4
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cwolfman13 wrote: »I have a picture of my grandfather in the 40s wearing a full suit and hat on the beach in Florida in the middle of summer...aint nobody got time for that kind of nonsense.
I got GIDDY at the mere thought. But then again I am a sucker for suits, no matter the time or place 😭
And your other points are well taken 😉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.
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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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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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.7 -
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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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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
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