Will Overweight Travelers Be Charged More?
If you're flying - and your baggage is overweight - you get charged more.
Body weight does not factor into the equation - but will that soon change?
New Zealand's Independent Financial Review is reporting that "obese travelers are costing airlines tens of millions of dollars each year in extra fuel and one agency is predicting carriers will soon start charging overweight flyers extra."
A weigh-in of 8,000 passengers found that body weight had increased from 89kg to 93kg (196lbs to 205lbs). This equates to 1.56 metric tonnes on a Boeing 747.
The CEO of carrier Air NZ predicted the following:
...there will come a time when rather than taxing overweight people, airlines will offer trim people discounted tickets as a reward for keeping weight off the plane. (source - note: there is an interesting audio discussion here about the issue.)
There is an argument to this: Have airlines been trying to cram more people on planes over the last few decades?
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Regina,
Thanks for your comment. Of course we are heading towards a very scary future, where in the movie Fat People on a Plane, the sequel to Snakes on A Plane, Samuel L. Jackson uses his famous line: "Who let these M********N fat people on this M********N plane?!"
ReplyHey to all the discriminating people:
Some people have gland problems or serious medial problems which cause a person to be overweight so for someone to be so mean is wrong. I understand charging for two seats if the person takes up that much extra space and an extra seat belts.It isn't always the case of lifting the fork too much to the mouth that causes weight gain. I understand the airlines having restrictions they have to for safety reasons.
ReplyPeople in wheelchairs fly all of the time. Would you weigh their wheelchair too? How about the person with the hip to foot leg cast; do they get weighed too? Does the person with leg braces get weighed too?
Read on, for why I ask this...
If people will charged by weight, what about the person that's heavy due to medical problems (yes, people do gain weight due to medicines, movement problems, etc..). This would basically be a form of a disability, so would you charge them because of their disability, or just charge people that eat a lot of fast food?
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