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Airline Begins Weighing Passengers For 'Safety'
New submitter Lopsemily writes to note that passengers on Uzbekistan Airways may face a new pre-flight check: In a recent statement, the country's flag carrier announced it will weigh passengers and their carry-on luggage prior to flights to determine how much weight they'll be adding to the plane. 'According to the rules of International Air Transport Association, airlines are obliged to carry out the regular procedures of preflight control passengers weighing with hand baggage to observe requirements for ensuring flight safety,' says the airline's statement.
Seriously, has this ever been a problem?
When was the last time that a plane had to make an emergency landing or a flight delayed because the plane simply weighed too much due to obese travelers?
This looks more like a precursor for charging extra fees for tickets based on a person's weight... kind of like charging extra for bandwidth usage or bottled air.
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There's no detail in the article - they may be doing this only for very small aircraft (the cited Samoan airline for example, is flying small 4 seat single engine aircraft where weight and balance is absolutely critical, and an unexpected fat passenger will mean necessarily having to leave someone or luggage or fuel behind).
For larger aircraft, standard passenger weights are used. However this can sometimes be wrong. A friend is a senior FO flying the MD-11, and his airline takes military contracts from time to time. One time leaving Hawaii they discovered they were carrying a full plane load of Marines armed to the teeth, although they didn't know that until they started coming through the door. He said the aircraft didn't climb as well as usual, and when he estimated their true takeoff weight, he reckoned they took off some 12,000 lbs overweight.
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Of course the quotes are in the original article.
Sounds good to me, why should people who don't have as much weight in their luggage or their stomachs have to subsidize those that do?
I've never really understood the stupid luggage limits, I'm a fairly light guy so why do I have to pay more for a few kilos of extra luggage while the person next to me weighs 30 kilos more? It's never really been about the weight but just about adding costs... and this should have happened a long time ago ;)
I hope data is accumulated and presented summarised to the crew. Otherwise, some people may find it a privacy violation.
"Hello, this is your Captain speaking from the cockpit! As soon as we reach cruising altitude, we'll be serving drinks and dinner. Except for the passengers in rows 7, 16 and 25. You guys are a bunch of fat fucks, and will just get water!"
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I've read through the early comments here, and I see a lot of vitriol for "obese" people, and statements that people should only be allowed a weight limit of 100kg, or worse, 200lb, beyond which there should be extra charges.
Go to hell, each and every one of you that supports that idea. I'm 6'3", and my body fat percentage hovers around 15%. I _sink_ in fresh water. And I weigh 240lbs, before any luggage is included. I am healthy and fit. I already suffer with airline seats that are far too small for my frame, with my knees in the back of the seat in front of me, and the headrest sitting firmly between my shoulder blades. And now you have the temerity to think that I should pay _more_ for the privilege of flying, because you think people that weigh more than 140 pounds are fat and unhealthy, and it's their own fault?
Get real.
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I'd be all for that.
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The Nepal Airlines once sacrificed a goat to appease a Hindu God. But like this story, it says more about Nepal than it does about Airlines.
Other airlines will no doubt ignore Uzbekistan, just as we ignore Nepal Airlines.
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I bet this is all about fuel costs and nothing to do with safety.
It's mostly about fuel costs though there is a safety component to it. You have to know the weight of the plane with reasonable accuracy to put in the right amount of fuel. There also are issues on smaller planes regarding proper distribution of weight. If you've flown in puddle jumpers you very likely have been asked to move seats to even out the weight distribution. I've had to do it a number of times and it is entirely about safety.
If they can more accurately weigh the plane, they can put just enough fuel in to reach the destination, and save millions in jet fuel over the course of a year.
Quite true but there is also the issue that travelers currently aren't charged accurately for the weight they bring on the plane. They sort of do it by guessing the average weight of a passenger and then charging extra fees for luggage. But it would be much more sensible to actually charge each customer a fuel surcharge based on weight (themselves + their luggage). Bring more on and you pay a bit more. Travel light and you save a bit. Since weight is the biggest variable in fuel use it makes perfect sense to charge customers based on weight. Plus it would create an incentive to pack light AND it would reduce the number of people trying to cram an elephant in their carry-on to avoid baggage fees.
working for an airline that rhymes with town crest, passenger and luggage weight is an issue thats usually handled automagically by a combination of pilots and flight crew. you'll rarely see it, but very large passengers will generally not get on a flight until they buy the adjacent seats for their row. Its a call made by the captain and crew to ensure drinks service and emergency procedures work. you might be refused a wing seat in an exit row, you might not get to sit in front. we try to avoid it because fat passengers are typically angry passengers.
passengers generally have been getting larger. the obesity epidemic makes flights heavier, fuel costlier, and boarding and deplaning slower. jetways have to handle more load and they see their pantographs serviced more frequently. and the bathrooms (or as we call it lav service) become a bigger issue thanks to the poor diet we're all subjected to and the confined nature of the space. its more frequent and the equipment ends up being serviced more often. passengers also pack more crap than they did 30 years ago, and in response we're trying to lighten flights by giving an economic incentive to 'pack light.' That turns out, in my opinion, not to have worked. instead more people are just forcibly insisting their checked luggage be treated as carry-on. Trust me, if its a packed flight and youre not boarding with a light backpack and a jacket, that bags getting checked no matter how quickly you try to shuffle through the line.
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I remember a crash of a small twin engined turbo-prop, around 2006. The plane took off and crashed within seconds of take off, it just pitched up and up and up, stalled, rolled in and crashed into a hanger. The cause was the use of average weight for passengers to estimate the take off weight to set the elevator tabs. Compounded by unusual number of heavy bags. The plane was tail heavy, the center of gravity was beyond the allowable limits and the elevators could not generate enough aerodynamic force to pitch the plane down.
The captain of the plane, the leader of NTSB investigation team, the air traffic controller, the emergency crew leader that went into the wreckage looking for survivors, and the baggage handler who provided the clue that cracked the case were all women.
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The funniest part about your comment is believing that airlines serve any sort of food without purchase required.
Meals and alcohol are still 'free' on most international flights... Pro-tip - Always request the Indian or Hindu meal when making your reservation (if offered). It's usually the best tasting airline food you can get, and goes well with the cheap beer/wine that's offered :)
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I recently flew from Phoenix wedged between to women who both weighed close to 300 lbs. if they weighed a pound. I couldn't get my elbows un-wedged from my ribs for 2 days following the flight. I can see being embarrassed if you weigh that much and still can't see over the top of the seat, but why should I be forced to suffer the invasion of the seat I pay for because of someone else's' health/size issues ?
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