Pay-as-you-weigh: how future airfares policy should be?

CNN on Monday delivered the news of Samoa Air introducing a policy that charges passengers only by their weight. According to the airline’s chief executive Chris Langton, Samoa Air would be the first airline in the world to issue such a fare structure.

The tiny South Pacific air carrier owns just three aircraft, including two 10-seaters and one four-seater. Samoa Air serves Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Niue, Tokelau, the North Cook Islands and Wallis and Futuna islands in French Polynesia. 

The company is planning to purchase a larger Airbus this year for service to international destinations in the region including Australia, New Zealand and Fiji.

Such a small-sized airline should not have a large influence on supply and demand with its controversial policy. But it argues that the pricing system is not only fair but the future for other airlines. 

"What makes airplanes work is weight. We are not selling seats, we are selling weight," said Langton. The airline’s website also states that, "your weight plus your baggage items is what you pay for. Simple."

To book online, travelers enter their approximate weight and that of their luggage and prepay based on that "guesstimate." Passengers and their luggage are weighed again at the airport.

As people are getting heavier and bigger, flight seats and fuel are becoming major issues. Airlines are consuming more and more fuel each year because of people’s increasing weight. Forbes cites government statistics to say that "the average weight of an American has increased 24 pounds since 1960." Writer Emily Stewart then does the math: 

 

Airlines flew 735 million passengers last year. Multiply that by 24 pounds and airlines are flying 17.6 billion pounds of extra weight around. It takes roughly a gallon of jet fuel to move 100 pounds on a domestic flight. That means 176.4 million gallons of fuel, costing $538 million (at an industry average price of $3.05 a gallon).

Airlines and experts have been arguing if there should be a fat tax, i.e. heavier people should pay more to fly. Last month, Dr. Bharat P. Bhatta, associate professor of economics at Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway, recommended that air ticket costs be calculated according to a passenger’s weight in a published research. 

Some major U.S. airlines have policies for passengers of size, requiring those who do not fit into a seat comfortably to buy a second seat.

Some travelers have criticized the weight-based fare concept. They argue that they should get a larger seat if they pay more than someone who weighs less and pays less for the same type of seat. 

Anyway, as a 5-feet, 100-pound person, I totally support this “pay-as-you-weigh” policy.

By Clara Tran