Posted on 02/22/2025 11:07:02 PM PST by Cronos
A debate is brewing over whether airlines should adopt weight-based pricing, charging passengers based on their weight to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.
This discussion follows a broader trend of U.S. airlines implementing fees for checked baggage, which began in 2008 with American Airlines, and has since become standard practice.
While Samoa Air's 2013 'fat tax' failed to gain traction, Finnair recently conducted a three-month voluntary data collection initiative, gathering passengers' weight along with their carry-on luggage.
This anonymized data — including age, gender and travel class — will be used to refine aircraft balance and loading calculations from 2025 to 2030.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
And give skinny folks like me a discount!
Just charge people by the pound and be done with it. Babies, kids, and skinny people will fly at a discount.
The comments write themselves.
Yes.
If you spill over into other passengers personal space, you need more than one seat and should be charged for it.
Plane travel is optional and voluntary. Not a protected right.
You know, fat people always b1tch about their rights. What about the rights of the other passengers they impede on.
And they also b1tch that airlines, whatever, are biased against them because they aren’t equipped to accomodate them.
Its because historically no business had to accomodate such fat asses because hardly anyone weighed a metric ton, much less threw a tantrum because the aircraft wasn’t designed for one person that takes up the space of two or three people.
I agree.
But certainly in the previous admin, for example, the argument would be made that such obesity is a medical disability against which the airline would be discriminating illegally.
If anything close to this becomes routine at Airports each airline will need to lock, chain and bolt their desk computers at the ticket stands. Usually, when an adult throws a tantrum at the check in desk, the first thing a disgruntled customer wants to do is to put one of their arms out then quickly sweep everything off that desk. Laptops will be flying like frisbees! Unless properly secured.
We know from stats on this that over 90% of obesity is not because of medical problems like a thyroid issue, etc. Over 90% of them are because they eat too much and dont burn off enough calories.
And regardless, the airlines dont need to make such a distinction, its irrelevant. Its purely a policy that says you can’t take up the space of another passenger based on whatever size seat you are flying in, and if you would, you need to pay for a seat that accomodates you without you interfering with and taking up other passengers personal space.
Its like luggage. The airline doesnt ask why your suitcase is so big, if it exceeds certain size limits, its stowed in the hold, and not allowed as a carry-on.
They could offer fat only flights. Just for them. Like the short bus. It could be the Fat Plane. One seat on each side of a super wide aisle.
In my mind the question is: Are the airlines selling “seats” or are they “shipping companies that charge by the volume and weight of the item being shipped?”
If airlines are shipping companies, then put people in comfy boxes, charge them according to the weight and volume and stack the boxes in the interior of cargo plans.
As I said, I agree with you. I’d add that they mostly IMO eat the wrong foods, which leads to them eating too much.
But I bet employers somewhere have already been forced to give them accommodations at work.
Well they are like this.
Low self esteem. Don’t have a lot of hobbies. Aren’t athletically inclined. Because of lack of hobbies and things that would boost self worth and esteem and accomplishments, they stress eat. They pick sh1tty comfort foods. And sit around and watch crap and get fat. As they get fatter they stress eat more and it grts out of control. They “deal” (not) with problems with eating. And they just keep eating. Its the one thing they can control. What they shove into themselves.
Some others, women, in particular, overeat to deliberately make themselves unattractive to men. For one or more reasons. Its still a stress coping thing.
In the old days, people were slimmer, and airplane seats were larger.
Now, people are larger, and airplane seats are narrower.
For years, airlines have been squeezing more seats into their planes to fit more passengers.
Yes, charge by the KG.
If they do it for luggage, they can do it for blubberage.
“In the old days, people were slimmer, and airplane seats were larger.
Now, people are larger, and airplane seats are narrower.”
See my post 15
Try mandating that shipping companies operate on a flat rate basis and see what chaos looks like.
Either make the seats wider or charge people for the space they occupy.
If theme parks are allowed to restrict people of size from riding their thrill rides in the name of safety, then why aren't airlines allowed to also restrict people of size from riding in their seats in the name of safety?
-PJ
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