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Basing Airfare On Passenger's Weight [Weigh-in at the ticket counter]
WTVW ^ | 6/4/08

Posted on 06/04/2008 9:04:55 AM PDT by mngran2

Basing Airfare On Passenger's Weight Possible Given Surging Fuel Costs

Setting passenger airfares the same way air freight charges are calculated -- by weight -- may not be so far-fetched as the airline industry grapples with surging fuel costs.

Bloomberg.com reports an Air Transport Association official says airline CEOs are considering everything in efforts to cut costs and increase revenue.

That's because airline fuel costs have nearly tripled since 2000. U.S. airlines had combined first-quarter losses of one-point-seven-billion-dollars and could end up with losses totalling six-point-one-billion-dollars in 2008.

(Excerpt) Read more at tristatehomepage.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airlines; fares; transportation; travel
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You plus your baggage times miles equals airfare. If you think fatties were mad about paying for two seats, wait till this idea catches on.
1 posted on 06/04/2008 9:04:56 AM PDT by mngran2
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To: mngran2

I’ve always been in favor of overweight people having to buy two seats. It’s not a pleasant flight next to someone who’s 400 lbs squeezed into coach.


2 posted on 06/04/2008 9:06:50 AM PDT by Slapshot68
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To: mngran2

Guess I picked the wrong week to stop binge eating! /airplane


3 posted on 06/04/2008 9:08:26 AM PDT by ovrtaxt (This election is like running in the Special Olympics. Even if McCain wins, were still retarded.)
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To: mngran2
You've gotta wonder how airlines in other countries have managed to stay afloat.
I mean do they pay the same type of taxes on airline fuel that they pay on gasoline?
If so, how have they managed to stay in business?
4 posted on 06/04/2008 9:08:46 AM PDT by Just another Joe (Warning: FReeping can be addictive and helpful to your mental health)
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To: Just another Joe

That’s the question I’ve had for the last 6 months! And then, who really wants to fly anyway. The service sucks, the help is hostile, the airports are ugly, crowded and downright dangerous, the racist goons they use for security hassle anyone lighter than Mohammed Ali, the food is over priced and it sucks as well.

It’s time to dump the airlines for short haul and bring back the trains. At least with trains you’ve got some breathing room.


5 posted on 06/04/2008 9:12:49 AM PDT by glide625 (Protest Election '08, Neither Free nor Fair)
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To: ovrtaxt
Guess I picked the wrong week to stop binge eating! /airplane...LOL!
6 posted on 06/04/2008 9:14:13 AM PDT by skinkinthegrass (just b/c you're paranoid,doesn't mean "they" aren't out to get you..our hopes were dashed by CINOs :)
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To: Slapshot68

I ran into a guy once who told a tale of a fellow sitting next to him who had bought two seats.

The problem was that the guy actually needed two-and-a-half seats.


7 posted on 06/04/2008 9:15:36 AM PDT by DuncanWaring (The Lord uses the good ones; the bad ones use the Lord.)
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To: mngran2

Hmmmm.... I think this would be difficult to get passed.

A woman 5’ 3” 130 lbs, 1x 40 lbs bag
A man 6’ 3” 250 lbs, 1x 40 lbs bag

The man is going to be additionally dinged (120 lbs x distace) just due to he being born genetically tall and muscled?

Maybe if they set an upper max limit, and beyond that additional fee. Say, beyond 300 lbs total? 350???

I just see it as being headache material for the airlines and a bevy of lawsuits. (We Americans, we love our lawsuits.)


8 posted on 06/04/2008 9:17:07 AM PDT by WarToad
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To: mngran2

As long as my two kids get me a significant discount, no problem. Both of them combined don’t weigh half of what an average adult female weighs, much less a male. Should just about round us back to even.


9 posted on 06/04/2008 9:18:01 AM PDT by IYAS9YAS
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To: Just another Joe
You've gotta wonder how airlines in other countries have managed to stay afloat.

Many of them are nationalised and receive subsidies from the rate payers.
10 posted on 06/04/2008 9:18:15 AM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: mngran2

So, men will pay more than women? Asians (generally smaller) will pay less than blacks (generally larger)?

This policy is ripe for multiple lawsuits.


11 posted on 06/04/2008 9:18:40 AM PDT by Hoodlum91 (I support global warming.)
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To: ovrtaxt

12 posted on 06/04/2008 9:20:06 AM PDT by ConservativeStatement
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To: Just another Joe

Big Government payouts.

I think its about time really. Being fat and lazy is good for no one, and frankly I don’t appreciate having to pay extra money so obese people don’t get their feelings hurt. Sorry but BS! You did it to yourself, don’t ask me to drag your extra weight, like it so much, carry it and pay for it yourself.


13 posted on 06/04/2008 9:21:18 AM PDT by Danae (Remember: Obama = Pull out from Iraq. PLAN on voting, or accept responsibility for the consequences.)
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To: mngran2
Well, there is some logic to this approach. The more weight in a plane, the more fuel it uses. So, it might seem reasonable that the more weight a passenger and their luggage weigh, the more they should contribute to the fuel portion of the cost of flying the plane.

This doesn't bode well for us tall folks who tend to out-weigh shorter folks without being obese. For me, I'd rather they charge by the cubic foot. That way, I could pay a little more and get some actual hip room and leg room.

14 posted on 06/04/2008 9:22:28 AM PDT by meyer (Still conservative, no longer Republican)
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To: IYAS9YAS
You bring up an interesting point. A weight based fare schedule might be a loser for airlines during the summer vacation season if big families start filling seats with little kids

I think I will start writing a new book. The Going to be Flying in Two Weeks Crash Diet.Maybe need to think of a title without the word "Crash" in it....

15 posted on 06/04/2008 9:23:02 AM PDT by USNBandit (sarcasm engaged at all times)
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To: Danae

Bite me.


16 posted on 06/04/2008 9:24:08 AM PDT by pgkdan (Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions - G.K. Chesterton)
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To: Just another Joe

Fewer fatties than in the US?


17 posted on 06/04/2008 9:25:10 AM PDT by SengirV
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To: MassRepublicanFlyersFan

“The auto pilot is deflating....”


18 posted on 06/04/2008 9:26:50 AM PDT by meyer (Still conservative, no longer Republican)
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To: mngran2

is that before or after you get on a plane?? If you fly business class, it really should be called “gorging” class.


19 posted on 06/04/2008 9:27:06 AM PDT by Perdogg (Four years of Carter gave us 29 years of Iran; What will Hilabama give us?)
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To: mngran2

Interesting that this article on overweight is separated from the UN complaint about fat Americans by only one other article.

Something like this is always politically motivated.

Politics = Wickedness in High Places


20 posted on 06/04/2008 9:27:44 AM PDT by RoadTest ( Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. But he spake of the temple of his body.)
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