Should Airlines Price Seats by Body Weight?
 

Just heard on CBC News that since 1990 airlines burn up to 25% more fuel because passengers are considerably heavier

Thus should airlines price seats by passenger weight?

Seems only fair - and i'd perhaps have to pay a tad more?

Should there be a wide-rear seat surcharge per kilo?

I suspect you've opened a can of worms!

I think so. I'm tired of paying for one kilo of extra luggage when half the passengers are twice my size.

And can I get a discount because my luggage is always WAY under the limit?

Why not have separate flights for big people and little people? The big people would get bigger seats, meals, lifejackets and washrooms but pay more. The little people would get smaller seats, meals, lifejackets and washrooms but pay less.

The planes could race …

I have no problem paying by the kilo for me and my luggage... as long as the seat I get is adjusted accordingly. For instance, I am overweight, and my luggage is usually pretty average (but I only check one bag). If I pay for 300 lbs of weight on myself, I want room for it on the airplane seat... paying by inch :)

I think it could be solved with bench-style seats and moveable armrests (moving back and forth). That way little people (weightwise) and kids get a discount, because they don't need as much room.

I'd love it if we paid for our seats by body weight. I'm tiny, my boyfriend is big. But..I think it would never work - its discriminating against people who weigh more. No? Or penalizing them for weighing more. That sounds really sad to me.

The show the Biggest Loser could do a whole special on this one.
"Help the overweight travel for less!" "Who will get to do the world tour for less?"
LOL
colduphere "let them race" LOL That cracked me up!

"The planes could race …"

LOL! :-)

I like the idea only because I'm on the small side, but overall, I can see it not being fair in some way. I figure I have to pay if my luggage goes over a certain weight, then why not?

Well I am downright fat so it would cost me a lot. If the seat was comfortable then fairenough, but to pay extra and still risk DVT I think not.

However if they do introduce it maybe airlines could then also charge extra for screaming kids - a soundproof compartment maybe so the rest of the passengers don't end up deaf? (Not to mention bruised by the little monsters kicking the back of your seat)

I like it. I weigh 105. I can also manage with a 21" roll aboard (can pack alot of small clothes in there. My friend is 5'10" and her shoes are twice as big as mine! Takes up her whole bag!

my son just flew back from Paris and on the flight he said he tons of screaming kids - several huge families from India with kids sitting ahead of them and constantly bothering

there should indeed by a child-free section - good for both i think

I once flew with a small airline that weighed the passengers with their luggage.
It would be simple to have a maximum weight for passenger plus baggage and would mean that the slimmer folk could take more clothes with them.
That makes sense.

Would they take your word for it, as at the driver's license office, where I hear that men routinely add an inch, and women subtract 10 pounds?

Least embarrassing fair solution: you and your baggage stand on the scale together.

Or they could charge extra for a discrete weigh in

"Would they take your word for it, as at the driver's license office, where I hear that men routinely add an inch"

My God, where do you live that that information is on your drivers license?

Yup.
to clarify: that would be height and weight. Not the other.

Such a policy would really suck for people who are tall. I mean, if you are 5'2", you almost certainly will weigh less, even if substantially overweight, than someone who's 6'2", no matter how lean and fit that person is. So this would also amount to discrimination by height.

Although, if paying more would get you more leg room (you guessed it, I'm on the tall side), I'd go for it in a heartbeat.

Now if they weigh the person and their luggage together, I might not come out badly - I always travel in carry-on only and am perplexed by folks checking two massive suitcases in addition.

They should weigh and charge for everything you bring onto the aircraft--body, clothes, luggage, babies, etc.

The whole idea of charging per pound just makes me think "yikes". I'm a small person and I pack light so I'd benefit, but it does seem very discriminatory to me. As long as my neighbor isn't taking up any of my seat room, I feel no need to charge him/her more to benefit myself as a reward for my 120lb weight and 35lb suitcase.

I think the interesting ruling that just come out in Canada was the one person one fare policy, where the airline can only charge one fare to people who would require more than one seat. These were identifed as passengers who require caregivers to travel with them as well as obese passengers who require more than one seat. It was ruled discriminatory to charge double fares to these people. Costs would be passed along to all passengers.

You also haven't consider the problem that all those croissants and macaroons would cause when you appeared at the airport for your return fare and find yourself in another price bracket!

Colduphere - thanks for the belly laugh :-)

I think sit any children in a separate area at the back where the kicking, screaming and tantrums could be better ignored.

Kay

Oooooh, I like this idea! But then, I weight less than most people's luggage!:)

I can see some cheap skates taking diuretics and laxatives before weigh in and sweat it out like boxers and wrestlers trying to meet weight

weigh...not weight!

I'll vote for the "pay by weight". And my luggage is light weight too because I travel by train and travel light.

This is quite funny - PalenQ and AGM Cape Cod. :)

I am small and travel with a small suitcsse. What I cannot stand is when a large person puts the arm rest up to bubble over into my space. If you cannot fit into a coach seat with the armrest down then pay for two! And, when I travel domestically betweeen homes, do not charge me for being a couple pounds over when the person sitting next to me weights more than me and my luggge combined! Thanks for letting me vent, I feel so much better!

I'd vote for pay-by-weight, and I'm not light. It's a safer way to go, since precise payload weights improve flight safety, whereas guesstimates used for the sake of political correctness introduce unknowns into the equation.

In the old days, passengers were actually weighed prior to a flight, but that practice disappeared soon enough.

Get a life!! What's a 747 weigh, 900,000 lbs? What do 300 people weigh, say at 170 lbs avg, 51,000 lbs? That's 1/18th. Most of the plane's fuel is used lifting itself. Your effort to be logical ran aground on the shoals of irrelevance.

Familes everywhere who have 40, 50 and 60 pound 4, 5 and 6 year olds would rejoice over such a policy. Right now, their kids have to pay the same price as adults who weigh two, three or more times what their children weigh.

I'm overweight, but in the next decade, I will probably have young grandchildren scattered across the US. I'd love to see airplanes filled with toddlers who don't have to pay as much as those MUCH larger 106-pounders!

Oh, and let's charge by age too... most 60 year olds have at least twice as much net worth as the average 30 year old!

Best wishes,

Rex

I've done 2 cross country flights in the last year - one was a red eye - where I only had the use of 2/3rds of my seat because the person next to me spilled into it. I don't necessarily want to penalize heavy people, but I should get a discount if I don't get to use 100% of my seat.

Rex

charge by weight and net worth-

There will be so many people trying to hide their ass etts.

re: <<...ruling that just come out in Canada was the one person one fare policy, where the airline can only charge one fare to people who would require more than one seat. These were identifed as passengers who require caregivers to travel with them...>

What, a caregiver isn't a person?

I don't believe it would be discriminatory to charge extra for very large people - they pay more for clothing which requires more fabric...

Personally, I think people over a certain size should be required to book larger seats - business or first class, so they are not spilling over into the seats of others. I truly emphathize with overweith people, but having suffered a few dreadful flights, I just don't think it's fair to normal sized people to have to endure that on flights.

How about paying by the inch ? Add waist size to hip size and charge by the total inches.

After all it is the "spread" that takes the room.
That way tall people wouldn't be penalized.

As for screaming kicking children they should be put on separate planes.

and then what about boring seatmates who can see you are reading or trying to doze ? can we determine a boredom quotion ?

All small price to pay for the priviledge of travel.

Lucky us that we should have such complaints !!

buon viaggio and happy seating.

susan

Personally, I am tired of airlines nickel and diming on the cost side and constantly taking away on the service side. I am opposed to any surcharges, fees, etc of any sort based on weight or anything else.

The whole flying experience has already degraded to the extent that flying has become something to be endured, whereas when younger it was something to be anticipated.

And those of you who are light or have children, you likely would not save a dime-the airlines would structure such fees to penalize heavy people only, not to give anyone else any sort of deal whatsoever.

Instead of having the box to fit your carry on luggage into (to see if it fits), we could all have the ass fitter. If your butt does not fit in the ass fitter, then you must pay extra for another seat. This will prevent the spill over from one seat to the next. It would only penalize people with big butts.

We could also have the quiet section of the plane, (like the library). No talking. So, if you don't get stuck with the person who thinks you are Dr.Phil and will listen to all their problems.
Let them sit with the people with kids.
Have an indoor play area like Mc Donalds. Everything could be bounced off of so that if there is turbulence, the little kiddies won't get hurt. But they can play in a sound proof area while mom and dad enjoy lattes and listen to their seatmate's latest crisis.
:)

Those of you who complain about other passengers spreading into your seat should maybe target the airlines. Average body size, height and weight has been steadily increasing across the board for generations. Maybe it's time airlines increased the size of their seats, without increasing prices.

Some airlines are now starting to introduce "premium economy" with a slight bit extra leg and seat room, but it's still at a cost.

speckles. I was just kidding. I wish they would make everything about the seat area larger and more comfortable no matter what your size. I am average weight, but have long legs and it is hard to fit between those little seats! :)