Posted on 03/24/2013 6:09:12 PM PDT by markomalley
Charging overweight fliers more would help carriers recoup the cost of the extra fuel required to carry them.
The idea has been floated in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management publication, by Bharat P Bhatta, an academic in Norway.
He suggests three methods of implementing the scheme. A straightforward price per kilogram, a fixed low fare with heavier passengers paying a surcharge and lighter passengers being offered a discount.
The third option would see passengers divided into three bands heavy, normal and light and being charged accordingly.
I think the simplest way to implement this would be for passengers to declare their weight when buying a plane ticket, Dr Bhatta Sogn og Fjordane University College told The Daily Telegraph. This would save time and eliminate expense.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
don’t they make morbidly obese people buy two seats now?”
I believe Southwest Airlines or perhaps some other airline tried that and I don’t think it flew too well. Can’t remember whether or not it resulted in a lawsuit.
It’s not just how much room they take up though, there is a real issue with how much a seat belt will really extend as well as trying to get someone down an emergency chute who is morbidly obese or even just obese. Not going to happen.
If just one time a plane had to go in wheels up and everyone had to deploy down a chute I think you might see some more attention paid to the safety aspects.
I used to be a flight attendant back in the late 50’s and early 60’s and while I may be old, I still remember my training on how to get an emergency door open and get people down a chute and am still quite physically able to do so now. So I always tried to sit on the emergency evac row. Some little twit of a flight attendant on Delta tried to move me into another “more appropriate seat”. Informed her I was evacuating people out of airplanes long before she was ever born. Guys in my row gave me a thumbs up.
good point. I stand corrected. anything is possible now.
The cost difference between carrying a 175 pound passenger and a 200 pound passenger would not amount to anything measurable.Why don’t we just make sure that everyone boarding the plane pees and poops before hand.( Of course the genius population in our government would decree that they do the business ON the plane BEFORE takeoff) It makes as much sense. Those faculty lounges in Europe are just as dysfunctional as ours I guess. God Save the Republic!
simple solution..optional gift card,
for people willing to get
on a scale
Overweights may not be socialist government welfare foodstamp munching hoodrats, but they sure are lazy bastards with no respect for their own bodies... not to mention they are the most demanding of others.
“passengers to declare their weight when buying a plane ticket,
Euhm. Yeah, I can totally see that working. Time for scales so you can herd the cattle through the weigh scale! With a big bright number so everyone can see just how much you weigh!
God, I love markets.
I suspect there is a reason this isn’t already done. Planes are MASSIVE. Did a quick calculation based on numbers at Wikipedia. If you took a fully loaded 737-300 Southwest airlines plane (so, no first class section to reduce the number of passengers) and filled every single single seat with the average adult American male, the mass of the passengers would be about 25% the total mass of everything. All machines have some start-up inefficiencies — doubling the weight isn’t going to double the fuel consumption because some of that fuel is going to overcoming inefficiencies that are already overcome (friction in the engines, wind resistance — all things that cause fuel consumption but aren’t related to weight), etc. Fuel is not the only cost of operating a plane.
Long story short, the fact that airlines AREN’T doing this already suggests that the increased cost of transporting an overweight flier is less than the cost of implementing such a policy.
Yep, there are a lot of scenarios where by rights I should be the last guy out.
Collapsed building? The skinny people first, lest I plug the hole.
it’ll be regional... most of the “fatties” are in the south... Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Louisiana, West Virginia...
no need for a big bright readout
Me.
I go for free and everyone else is assessed for the space they occupy and the weight of themselves and their luggage and a surcharge for being a lib and/or obnoxious.
Farters should be given a rebate based on their BTU output.
The frequent flier pays less per flight (via frequent flier miles), but pays more over a lifetime because of the volume of travel.
The infrequent flier pays more due to not getting frequent flier discounts, and is essentially buying on the spot market.
This may have been the initial intent, but the linking of credit card spend to accumulated miles has put the airlines into the position of giving away more free seats than they anticipated.
-PJ
LOL. U go Gyrl!
If we all flew naked, there would be a savings in weight also.
Under this policy anorexics could fly for free.
There outta be a law...
From each according to his weight
To each according to the freight....
I have a friend who used to work for a commercial aircraft manufacturer and he told me that they do their weight and balance calculations based on an average passenger weight of 170 pounds. Of course, not all passengers weigh 170 pounds, but apparently it evens out. That probably explains why the airlines don't charge passengers by the pound.
I think it rates should be based on how much you pee and poop in the br....
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