In 2012, Samoa Airways introduced a pricing scheme that charged passengers based on their weight. The company operates from Pacific islands that have some of the highest obesity rates in the world. Instead of charging for each seat, Samoa Airways started weighing passengers along with their luggage, and charging them a fee reflecting the total, depending on the length of the flight. In 2015, Uzbekistan Airways experimented with a similar pay-as-you-weigh pricing.
I debated the issue with myself.
Makes sense. Arguing in favor of charging passengers by weight is the fact that the heavier the object, the greater the amount of energy that is required to move it. For airlines that means the heavier the object, the more it costs to get the object from point A to point B.
No way. (pun intended) A primary argument against charging passengers by weight is that it is unfair and discriminates against larger people who, for purpose of argument, we will assume have little control over their weight.
While I’m not suggesting that airlines start basing ticket prices on weight, charging by weight has some appealing aspects and the discrimination argument seems invalid. It could be argued that not considering weight discriminates against smaller people who are subsidizing the cost of flying heavier people.
And discrimination is what airline pricing is all about. When I pay $200 for a ticket, I may be sitting next to someone who paid $1,000 for the same type of seat.
If airlines go to weight-based pricing, they could adopt one of three basic models:
- A straightforward price per kilogram or pound,
- A fixed fare with heavier passengers paying a surcharge, or
- A fee for people of average weight, with extra charges or discounts for people who weigh in above or below the limit.
Charging by weight builds in discounts for children. And as a general matter, women would not subsidize men.
Some airlines address the issue of weight together with the issue of space. Very large individuals have difficulty fitting in an economy class seat. So some airlines require passengers who are unable to lower their armrest or need seat belt extenders pay for two seats. Other airlines will charge very large passengers for a second seat only if there is no empty seat available for the person to be seated next to.
Forcing very large individuals to buy two seats is akin to the way airlines charge for cargo. The price for cargo is based on the greater of weight or volumetric weight, the objects volume times a standard factor. In this age of “cram as many onboard and provide as few services as possible,” the joke is that passengers are treated as self-loading cargo anyway.
What are your thoughts on this topic? Weigh in (ha ha) in the comments below.
All photos are from Samoa Airways
Salsaworldtraveler'sblog 
Fuel costs the same for everyone at the petrol station. If I load my car up with luggage and overweight passengers I will use more fuel, making the car journey more expensive the more my passengers and luggage weigh. I don’t see people arguing for fuel subsidies at the petrol station for overweight people, why should airline fuel be any different? When calculating fuel for a flight, the estimated total weight, including passengers and cargo, is used to calculate fuel, so heavier passengers and luggage means a higher fuel bill, I think pricing based on the total weight you are adding to the plane sounds fair
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It is airfare not airfair, ha ha! Pricing by total weight is logical. Some would say that in the case of plane tickets, fair pricing by weight is unfair. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
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Some of pros and cons (mostly cons) and the pros only start being worth considering with including the luggage and hand baggage. And while we are at it, I wish airlines with follow their own rules about excessive carry-on luggage. Very frustrating to board a plane and find all the overhead bin storage taken with other’s people’s multiple and bulky items.
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Total weight would be the only way the scheme could make sense. It seems airlines have given up on trying to enforce the rules for carry ons. Incidentally, were you directed to the post by another source? Thanks.
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Link came via my inbox.
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Thanks.
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I hope they try it. I would be the first in line to start the boycott. The average American woman is plus-size. It would be the end of the first airline that begins such blatant discriminatory practices.
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I get that charging by weight would be unpopular. But why would it be discriminatory?
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Great puns Salsa Traveler! Yes! I love it and it could mean that I’d almost be paying nothing for air travels because I weigh nada. Lol.
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Sounds fair to me.
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Yaaasss
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Charging by weight might be a great incentive for people to lose weight.
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I hope so.
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So punny, I love it. It’s a tough question and there are arguments to make for either side. I’m not going to lie, I always groan when I’m seated next to someone who is extremely overweight. And don’t even get me started on people’s carry-on …
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There are a lot of drawbacks to charging by weight. Still, it seems to be the “fairest” method to equate price to cost. Most people, including me, don’t object to requiring people who don’t fit in a seat to pay for two seats. That is in effect charging by weight/size.
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If people need to take over a second seat..i think they should be charged extra .
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I agree. When I’ve flown economy on long distance routes, I’ve thought about buying two seats just for the comfort sitting next to an empty seat provides. Very large people will be much more comfortable buying two seats. And in a pandemic, space between passengers is important for everyone.
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Yes it is best to have a space between passengers..during this time.
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I would completely support this; they already charge extra if your luggage is over a certain weight, not sure why it should be any different with people…
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Charging by weight and size seems to make sense from an economic standpoint. I think airlines won’t do it. But if airlines ever impose a fee for carbon emissions, those fees should definitely be calculated by weight. A passengers emissions for a flight is totally dependent on their weight plus baggage weight.
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I don’t think there’s any chance the airlines would do this. The backlash would be through the roof. But I like your idea about charging the emissions fee by weight; a good compromise…
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Charter operators that fly very small airplanes might be the only ones who would ever consider charging by weight, but I don’t know any that do so. In a small plane weight matters much more than in a commercial airliner. One passenger weighing 300 pounds could prevent filling all of the seats because of payload capacity and weigh and balance issues.
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seems only fair to the airline if they cannot have as many paying passengers because some of the passengers are heavier than others
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i think you look it from a stand of what it costs the airline in fuel primarily, and the more weight some one has – be it body weight or luggage, the more it costs. but at the same time some people are small and some are large, lets not talk about being ;overweight’ but a very tall person whos healthy could weigh twice as much as a healthy short person. or more.
in that respect it doesnt seem 100% fair. what you could consider is a total weight including passenger and luggage. just thoughts. but i doubt we’ll ever see this approach adopted widely
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Fair is always in the eye of the beholder. 😄 Because it costs more to fly people who weigh more than it does to fly those who way less, smaller people subsidize larger ones. There is some unfairness there as well it seems. I totally agree that charging by weight is very unlikely to be adopted except by airlines or charter services that operate very small aircraft where weight and weight and balance issues are more significant than on jet airliners.
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The weight issue is more germane for people’s luggage than their bodies (unless a person requires two seats for comfortable travel) Too many passengers hog overhead storage bins with huge backpacks and such that should be checked baggage instead. Of course weight is a valid concern for all modes of travel, especially aircraft.
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Samoa Airways weighed people and their luggage together to arrive at one price. That would at least make people pay for it if they want to hog overhead bins.
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♡ My View is that it’s Tough Enough for Larger Folk in Economy; yet Premium Economy, Business and, of course, Declining First Class tend to be OK for Larger Folk so I Suggest Discounting a Second Seat for Larger Folk
…♡♡♡…
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Discounting a second seat for large people is a good idea.
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An interesting question you pose. I can see both sides of the argument, but I lean toward charging the customers the same amount despite their weight differences. It’s easy to jump to the conclusion that people should control their weight if they are heavy, but many times their weight may not have anything to do with diet. I think once we begin to go down this road, we’re opening a whole can of worms. Should we have different prices on buses or Uber for different-sized people? It seems inevitable that someone will take this issue to court.
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I don’t see airlines switching to pricing airline tickets by passenger weight anytime soon. It would add additional complexity to already extremely complex airline pricing schemes. And there is the threat of lawsuits. Although weight is not a protected classification like race, sex, age, etc., it could be argued that there would be a disparate impact on groups more prone to obesity and disability could be an issue as you suggest. On the other hand, is it sex discrimination to not charge by weight because women are subsidizing the cost of flying men currently?
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I think that – with the current state of affairs and airlines struggling to even get people to fly at all….this is going to be a non-issue for a long time. They’re too happy with customers to risk offending any right now 🤣.
I always thought the two seat rule was fair though. If you can’t fit – you’re becoming a burden to the people sitting next to you.
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I don’t see airlines making a change like this anytime soon either. The two seat rule is a form of pricing by volumetric weight. Thanks for providing your perspective.
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