Air passengers divided over moves to weigh travellers on flights and charge heavier people more
29 December 2024, 12:48
Airlines are set to ask flyers to weigh themselves before boarding, but more than half of travellers are against the idea, according to a study.
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However, those who are wealthy and fly frequently are more inclined to charge heavier people more to take to the skies.
Markus Schuckert, professor of hospitality management at the University of New Hampshire, told The Daily Mail: "This topic has been widely discussed for decades, but there's surprisingly little research on it.
"Some airlines have tried or considered weight-based policies, but the main roadblock remains ethical concerns which make it difficult to even discuss.
"But if we aim to make air travel more sustainable, we should have an open discussion.
"That's really the point of research - to put everything on the table for consideration."
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The study was published this month in the journal Transportation Research and asked one thousand travellers whether they would weigh their baggage and themselves to help cut emissions.
But more than half of travellers were not eager to jump on the scales in order to cut the amount of jet fuel.
Others were more open to the idea if it helped them cut their own emissions.
Those in the study were given the choice of a standard policy where all passengers paid a uniform price, a threshold policy which meant passengers over a certain weight paid additional fees, or a tariff, where each passenger's airfare is based on their combined body and baggage weight.
The standard policy was the most accepted approach.
Almost 60 per cent of those questioned had major concerns regarding the weight-based policies, saying it was unfair and discriminatory.
More young people aged between 18 and 35 liked the weight-based plan, compared to travellers aged over 66.
Frequent flyers and high earners were 25 per cent more likely to support weight-based policies than those in lower income brackets or who didn't travel as much.
The Finnish airline Finnair made the controversial decision earlier this year to introduce a voluntary passenger weighing system, but was accused of body shaming.
Travellers at Helsinki airport were asked to step on the scales along with their bags to help "optimise Finnair's current aircraft balance calculations".
Satu Munnukka, head of ground processes for Finnair, told The Daily Mail: "We weigh volunteer customers together with their carry-on baggage.
"In the measurement, we do not ask for personal data, but the total weight of the customer and carry-on baggage, the customer's age, gender and travel class are recorded in the database.
"No information is collected that would allow participants to be identified."
Meanwhile, in America, Southwest Airlines permits overweight passengers to fly with an extra seat free of charge.
