Should a person's weight be factored into air fares?

JonSnuuu

This has bugged me for a while now. You're in the airport checking in at the ticket desk when you find out that your bag is over the allowed weight, so you get landed with an extra charge to actually get your bag on the plane, because apparently "The extra weight affects the fuel consumption of the plane", yet obese people weighing 10's of kilo's more than the average person pays nothing extra.

So my question is, do you think people's weight should be factored into their ticket prices?

I know some people will say it's discrimination but is it really? Prices are adjusted to things regarding Age (Student and OAP tickets to various things) and Sex (insurance prices, "Ladies Nights" at clubs), so why not weight??

tommyboy2222

Not weight , body fat % :pac:

cloud493

Only if the person was fat enough to warrant more space. Like if they needed a vacant seat next to them or something.

The Davestator

cloud493 wrote: »

Only if the person was fat enough to warrant more space. Like if they needed a vacant seat next to them or something.

Fat people need the seat belt extender - charge them for that!

Lapin

johnt91 wrote: »

yet obese people carrying 10's of kilo's more than the average person pays nothing extra.

Wrong OP. Obese people pay the same baggage allowance as perfect people like you.

eurofoxy

really large people have to pay for 2 seats, its a safety requirement apparently, in the states some airlines insist that if your love handles go over both armrests that you have to buy a second seat...

Normally though when a planes weight is calculated they take an average weight and apply that per passenger, i think its somewhere around 85 kilos not sure though...

Battered Mars Bar

They should charge a euro per 2lbs you weigh.

I'm fat so no.

Cassidy28

I'm thin so yes .

JonSnuuu

Lapin wrote: »

Wrong OP. Obese people pay the same baggage allowance as perfect people like you.

I'm not talking about the weight of their bags.

christmas2012

if they are really big and cannot sit without hogging up two seats ya charge em..

but,it could give leeway to them charging you or overcharging you by the pound.. i wouldnt be suprised if they started doing that moneygrubbing b*stards

Archeron

Only if inhaling large amounts of helium before flying results in a free journey.

AlmightyCushion

Take a dump before the flight for a cheaper flight.

desertcircus

There's certainly a case for it (and I say that as someone who'd almost certainly get stung on it), but there are two things which I suspect will mitigate against it being applied to all but the most incredibly overweight:
1. The heavier a person is, the more likely they are to be the kind of person who spends money on airline snacks and drinks, and
2. I'm not sure even Ryanair could manage to weather the reputational issues involved in telling customers they're too damn fat to fly without paying extra. That's going beyond the usual "we don't care about you" and crossing over into "we're actually going to bully you".

Thrill

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

Where To

Only the ugly ones.

RobbingBandit

Why stop there OP,why don't they charge people like you extra for your fat heads,lay down before you hurt yourself or those around you.

bnt

Thrill wrote: »

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

They have.

Ryanair, Europe’s largest low fares airline, today (22 Apr 2009) announced that it will now consider how to charge a ‘fat tax’ after more than 30,000 passengers voted in favour of charging excess weight fees for very large passengers in an online vote over the past two weeks.

Crooked Jack

I actually think this is a fair enough point. Maybe dont charge heavier people extra, just charge thinner people less. then it's a positive plus an incentive to lose weight

LaVail

I think condoms should have been factored into your conception OP

BunShopVoyeur

There should be an average weight maximum per passenger. After that you're charged a penalty. Wont ever happen of course because the fatties would feel discriminated against.

cocoshovel

No. Should be based on arse size. i.e if you need more than 1 seat because you're so morbidly obese then you should have to pay double. As far as Im aware, airlines already do charge these creatures double for the extra seat.

Although, maybe it should be factored in if its a regional flight. Im not talking about and ATR or Dash, something like a twin otter or the little plane they use to the Arann Islands.

Cassidy28

cocoshovel wrote: »

No. Should be based on arse size. i.e if you need more than 1 seat because you're so morbidly obese then you should have to pay double. As far as Im aware, airlines already do charge these creatures double for the extra seat.

Although, maybe it should be factored in if its a regional flight. Im not talking about and ATR or Dash, something like a twin otter or the little plane they use to the Arann Islands.

SHOVELLER

For morbidly obese people yes they should pay more simply because they will take up more room.

Suppose it goes back to the responsibility thread really. Its not my fault I'm fat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgIUYDToCNc

Cassidy28

SHOVELLER wrote: »

For morbidly obese people yes they should pay more simply because they will take up more room.

Suppose it goes back to the responsibility thread really. Its not my fault I'm fat!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgIUYDToCNc

Great

Mr Benevolent

Because passenger weights are standardised. OP, I'm assuming you know nothing about aviation, right?

Stinicker

Confab wrote: »

Because passenger weights are standardised. OP, I'm assuming you know nothing about aviation, right?

They have been revised up several times also and overweight passengers with lots of baggage have caused a fatal crash previously. Baggage costs in terms of fuel burn are minimum and the real reason the likes of Ryanair charge extra is gain extra revenue whilst creating the illusion of cheap airfares. They also don't want to pay the baggage handlers to load and unload the aircraft.

I always fly Aer Lingus as they are cheaper and provide a better service, flew Emirates on the A380 recently and it was very good also with a 30KG allowance for the bags.

cloud493

Standardized weights?

BigBabyTaylor

What about people that are heavy and not fat? e.g. wrestlers , bodybuilders etc. Muscle weighs more than fat:D

JonSnuuu

BigBabyTaylor wrote: »

What about people that are heavy and not fat? e.g. wrestlers , bodybuilders etc. Muscle weighs more than fat:D

Charge them more too. Weight is weight.

Agricola

No, but people who are of normal or below average weight / body fat should be awarded discounts. A great way to further the war on obesity.

Capt'n Midnight

Charging people by weight is wrong.


But should thin people have a larger baggage allowance ?

Mr Benevolent

Stinicker wrote: »

They have been revised up several times also and overweight passengers with lots of baggage have caused a fatal crash previously.

Huh?

Investigation revealed that turnbuckles controlling tension on the cables to the elevators had been set incorrectly, resulting in insufficient elevator travel, leading to the pilots not having sufficient pitch control

There's the actual reason for the crash.

laoch na mona

fat people shouldn't get bags since they have a few kg carry on

apocalypseDG

BunShopVoyeur wrote: »

There should be an average weight maximum per passenger. After that you're charged a penalty. Wont ever happen of course because the fatties would feel discriminated against.

I think it would be much fairer to pay for every kilo you weigh:

It would prevent fat people being discriminated against - there will not be a line drawn that separates people of a particular weight from the "normal" people. It would just be a gradual increase.

[LIST=2]Imagine how you'd feel if the limit was 100kg and you weighed 101kg while the 100kg person beside you paid the normal rate...
[/LIST]
[LIST=3]Alternatively think of a 40kg person and a 99kg person. Almost 2.5x heavier yet they would pay the same. Fair? I don't think so.
[/LIST]


p.s. what kind of list system is this!?:P

Where To

OP your poll confuses me

Stinicker

Confab wrote: »

Huh?



There's the actual reason for the crash.

The weight was a contributing factor to the crash as the extra weight caused the aircraft to become tail heavy and it lost control, wheras on several flights before the fatal one it had functioned but the extra weight was the straw that broke the camels back.

annascott

It's not really right to charge overweight people more, however it would be fair to give more baggage allowance to lighter people!

Posy

No, I don't think so.

But the cabin crew should have to make sure all overweight people don't sit on the same side of the plane, or it could tilt.

golden lane

maybe all overweight people, should sit in the middle....

TehDagsBass

With the price of petrol (and thus the price of flights) continuing to go up and up, I'd support anything fair that would reduce the cost of the airfare. If less weight = less petrol = less costs for all involved, then so be it.

Conduct a thorough investigation to find out the average weight per height per sex and charge anyone over that weight, or take it out of their baggage allowance.

Giving discounts to underweight people will promote unhealthy eating.

golden lane

put two of the undernourished passengers into one seat......they would then know how the overweight passengers felt.

Princess Peach

If you're going to charge by weight then those babies who fly for free on their parents' laps should be charged. This may discourage people from bringing noisy babies on board to disrupt my flight.

Also if this were the case you can be sure the airlines will charge heavier people more, and not that they are going to reduce their airfare for lighter people.

Plazaman

Sure Sure. If only they could charge extra for ego and stupid, all would be well with the world.

OP, I bet you think they should charge for black too.

TehDagsBass

Plazaman wrote: »

Sure Sure. If only they could charge extra for ego and stupid, all would be well with the world.

OP, I bet you think they should charge for black too.

Spot the fat guy.

policarp

Thrill wrote: »

Pay Per Pound. Surprised Ryanair haven't thought of this.

They have, but it's per Kilo. . .
Won't be long now. . .


There was a programme a few years ago about obese people and fuel costs.
They reckoned that big passengers should be put in the front seats. . .

ligertigon

Surely there is an alternate place for fat people in a plane? The fusilage is designed for average weighted folk, the rear needs ballast for takeoff and landing.... so a separate room with less facilities and same price should suffice.

Most of us have at some stage been stung for "excess" baggage.
Why? cause it needs more fuel for lift.
I rest my case

Classic example of reverse discrimination pandering to fat lard asses who dont have a medical reason for being fat.

Prehaps this is the motivation they need.








ps. I am not perfect either

gammygils

Should skinny people (or people who think they're skinny!) be charged more for the size of their ego? YES!!!!!!

Delta Kilo

The extra few kgs from extra luggage would not have any significance on the amount of fuel burned as it is a tiny percentage of the overall weight of the aircraft.

The real reasons airlines, especially low cost carriers, charge are;

1. They don't want your bags, it is an extra variable that could effect their turn around time.
2. You have no alternative if you really need to bring a bag, they are allowed charge what they want as a result. Great source of revenue for the airline as a result.
3. They dont want you going over a set limit, because if the bag weighs more than 25kg, it requires 2 baggage handlers to lift it on health and safety grounds. This ads further delay.

They want as much of the freight as self loading as possible, purely for time, depending on how the pilot flies the plane and atc issues are the biggest fuel consumption deciders, not the fat Yank in aisle 22 or the 1kg over the baggage allowance that they charged you €20 for.

Rabies

I had a long haul flight a few days ago. I was the aisle seat, a tiny little girl in the middle, and a massive woman at the window. She was so big her stomach blocked the tray from being put in its normal position. It rested on her gut :eek:
That woman should have had wo seats. She was spilling over on to the girl beside me. Surprised the girl didn't ask to be moved to one of the spare seats, I know I would have.

Gummy Panda

Rabies wrote: »

I had a long haul flight a few days ago. I was the aisle seat, a tiny little girl in the middle, and a massive woman at the window. She was so big her stomach blocked the tray from being put in its normal position. It rested on her gut :eek:
That woman should have had wo seats. She was spilling over on to the girl beside me. Surprised the girl didn't ask to be moved to one of the spare seats, I know I would have.

Bit awkward telling the air hostess to move you in front of the obesity