Samoa Air boss defends charging passengers by weight

[yorkie]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22001256

Samoa Air boss defends charging passengers by weight

The head of Samoa Air has defended the airline's decision to start charging passengers according to their weight.

Chris Langton told Australia's ABC Radio that it was "the fairest way of travelling".

Rather than pay for a seat, passengers pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies depending on the route length.

Samoa Air flies domestically and to American Samoa. It is thought the move could encourage other airlines to introduce similar policies.

"Airlines don't run on seats, they run on weight, and particularly the smaller the aircraft you are in the less variance you can accept in terms of the difference in weight between passengers," Mr Langton told ABC radio.

"Anyone who travels at times has felt they have been paying for half of the passenger next to them."

Under the new model, Mr Langton described how some families with children were now paying cheaper fares.

"There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything - it is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo," he said.

Air Samoa's rates range from $1 (65p) to around $4.16 per kilogram. Passengers pay for the combined weight of themselves and their baggage.

Mr Langton also suggested that the move had helped promote health awareness in Samoa, which has one of the world's highest levels of obesity.

"People generally are becoming much more weight conscious. That's a health issue in some areas," he told ABC Radio.

Mr Langton said he believed that charging by weight was "the concept of the future."

"People generally are bigger, wider and taller than they were 50 years ago," he said. "The industry will start looking at this."

I think it's a good idea actually!

What do you think?

 

[yorksrob]

I think there'll be a few Polynesian rugby players who may feel a bit aggrieved at this !

 

[overthewater]

Ryan air will be after this idea shortly. for some people I could understand why the Airlines want to introduce this.

 

[Tomonthetrain]

I'm surprised the railways haven't thought of this

 

[Clip]

I'm surprised the railways haven't thought of this

The railways wont fall out of the sky if they are too heavy though. You just cant fit as many people on during rush hour when its loaded with fatties

 

[Tomonthetrain]

The railways wont fall out of the sky if they are too heavy though. You just cant fit as many people on during rush hour when its loaded with fatties

Yeah but just think of the extra revenue First Capital Connect prosecution rates would increase on the other hand.

 

[starrymarkb]

Ryan air will be after this idea shortly. for some people I could understand why the Airlines want to introduce this.

Looks like they use small props which are VERY weight sensitive. Skybus to the Isles of Scilly also weigh passengers and distribute them accordingly.

 

[Deerfold]

The railways wont fall out of the sky if they are too heavy though. You just cant fit as many people on during rush hour when its loaded with fatties

I've been on trains where they've asked people to get off as it was too heavy (one example on East Coast, first train to Leeds in 3 hours).

 

[Wolfie]

Ryan air will be after this idea shortly. for some people I could understand why the Airlines want to introduce this.

I doubt this will ever come to Europe. Given that men are, in general, bigger and heavier than women such proposals would almost certainly constitute indirect sex discrimination and as such very rapidly fall foul of the Courts.

 

[LE Greys]

Strict weight limits used to be standard practice in Imperial Airways' times. There was only one price, but passengers were politely asked to shed weight if they were over a certain level (I'm not sure what it was). However, the machines they used were a bit flimsier than today's, a Handley Page HP42 had a maximum take-off weight of 28,000 lbs, including airframe, fuel and crew. 24 passengers ate into that quite a lot. There were several sets of scales at Croydon Airport for weighing in.

 

[Deerfold]

24 passengers ate into that quite a lot. There were several sets of scales at Croydon Airport for weighing in.

A reconstruction of which can be seen in at least one episode of Poirot as the villains try to get away...

 

[Nick W]

I agree with this too.

Each additional kg equates to more fuel being burnt, so under the current system, the lighter are subsidising the heavier.

This is not the case on the railway, where each additional kg has marginal difference that it wouldn't be worth the hassle to implement.