do you believe airlines should charge for tickets based on a person's weight?

Question

airlines charge for extra luggage, so why not extra body weight?

Answer 1

Well I could see where you're getting that from, but I think it wouldn't be possible.

First, you'd have obese people complaining to several sources (including the airline they are flying on) that their ticket prices have one up and that it is unfair to them.

Next you'd have to charge for almost everything that a person takes on a plane. This includes their body weight, their luggage, the weight of their carry-ons and everything else.

Finally you'd have issues with lighter people since if they weigh less they wouldn't have to pay as much. Since girls are on average lighter than guys it would be considered a sexist act too.

I wouldn't mind a system like that but I have to say I oppose it from the view of people who weigh more. They deserve the privilage to fly at the same rates as the rest of us do, you just buy a ticket and the ticket price pays for the average weight a person takes on to a plane, that's how it has been for a long time.

Answer 2

No, I don't like weight charges because I'm fat. If I was skinny, I'd think they're a great idea.

Do you charge by the gram or ounce? If you do, then all flights will leave late because everyone will be in the washroom trying to shed that last drop. Do you only charge extra for people over some weight limit, say 100 kg (220 lbs.)? If so, then you should give a significant discount to people under a certain weight, say 40 kg (88 lbs.). Maybe there should be a limit on the combined weight of passenger and baggage. Then skinny people could carry more clothes. How about families? Should we let them use their avaerage weight? How about girth? Some airlines now make fat people fly in first class or buy two coach seats.

This may all come to pass, but I hope I'm not around when it does.

Answer 3

Sure. While we're at it, let's charge more for the person in a wheelchair, because that wheelchair adds weight to the plane.

Let's also charge more for the person who has a stroller for their child for the same reason.

And, hey, don't forget about the pregnant lady - after all she is carrying an extra person and should pay for the extra seat.

Do you have any other discriminating questions? Like, maybe we should charge differently for different races because we all know that black people are lazy so we need to help motivate them and hispanics are theives, so we should charge extra in case they steal from someone and Polish people are stupid and wouldn't figure out if we were charging them more or not anyway.

Answer 4

Yes.
And I do not mean to be disrespectful to people who are overweight.

From a practical standpoint, I would advocate a stringent standard of weight limits for both luggage and passenger.
And fuel costs (especially at today's going rate) are the primary reason.
A jet needs so much more fuel when the weight (payload) increases.

It makes little sense to charge the full fair for my 45 pound five-year old son and a 300+ pound 28 year-old person.
I am subsidizing the cost of the additional weight.
We should be charged the payload cost...the actually fuel consumption based on what we bring on-board (be it luggage or body weight).
That is only fair to ALL parties.

I would also argue for wider seats, as I do not care for an overly large person to overflow their body into my seat space.
I'm not very big (5'9", 165lb) and even I find the seating to be too damn small.
I feel sorry for those persons bigger and/or taller than me...they've got to be miserable.

As for carry-ons, I would advocate an extreme size/weight limit, with zero tolerance.
How many more times can passengers tolerate the person who brings on too many big bags, tries to cram them into overhead bins only to have the bags fall on others?
*ouch*

Answer 5

Can you imagine how many would be absolutely mortified by first having to weigh their luggage, and then jumping up on that scale themselves? It's a good idea, but you know what, there would be so many accusations about discrimination, etc, that the airlines would never want to put up with. So, they will probably just continue charging all of us at the rate of 500 lbs per person, to cover their expense.

Answer 6

Yes definately, it would motivate alot of americans to lose weight, I noticed on an international flight into Gatwick, London from Philadelphia once that there were lots of repulsively large people taking up lots of space that could've been used for more passengers, but on the way home, where it was more english people coming into america, the large people were not nearly there as much , so that tells me foreign countries don't have our obesity problems, hell in London you can't get a burger at McDonalds now, its all chicken sandwiches!

So yes charge the fat people, lets be fair, why should we suffer and pay the same as you because your eating disorders? That's not a disease, it's a lack of getting up off your *** for a change and doing something

Answer 7

It works in theory but it would be impossible to actually do it. It already takes entirely too long to get a plane full of people to actually get in the plane and sit down. Someone is always trying to carry on something that is too big for the bin or one bag too many. Someone is always trying to change seats or show up late. Could you imagine what a freakshow it would be if every passenger had to step on the scale and count out some extra dollars? We'd be in line for 12 hours!

Answer 8

I had this discussion with my father in law. He is very over weight, the doctors put him in the obese category. I asked him why he has no interest in loosing weight and his excuse is he likes real food not rabbit food. His problem is he does not know what moderation is and every meal he eats is HUGE. He said diet was a swear word to him... my reply was and heart attack and diabetes not? The ONLY thing that has made him want to loose weight is he could not fit on a ride at Alton Towers! He is going to Florida in a years time and he want to go on all the rides! That is the only reason he wants to loose weight (but hes seems to have forgot about his ordeal in Alton Towers and is eating like a horse again!) He is a penny pincher so if he had to pay more on a plane for being overweight then he might be encouraged to diet!

We went on holiday with him this year and had to pay £96 in excess baggage. When we got there my father in law opened his suitcase and he had 8 pot noodles, 4 boxes of cuppa soup, a box of porridge oats, 500g jar of coffee, 160 teabags, 4 bottles of cordial, a box of wheetabix, 4 packs of biscuits and a partridge in a pear tree! I know this does not have much to do with your question but yes is my answer if you are overweight for your height you should pay excess to fly. Even I would have to pay something but it would only be a little!

Answer 9

Definitely if the person cannot fit in just one seat. But just extra weight? I don't think so. I mean you wouldn't charge a pregnant woman for carrying on a second passenger would you?

Answer 10

Charge for extra body width, not weight - you take two seats, you pay for two seats Tubby! That's already the typical policy, though not often enforced by most airlines.

Charging by weight is a logistical nightmare.