Somehow I always figured that Southwest Airlines would be the first one to charge travelers by the pound, but a hotel in northern Germany beat them to the punch:
In the town of Norden, close to the Dutch border, guests now have to step onto the scales before moving into their rooms and fork out half a euro (35 pence) per kilogram (2.2 lbs).
What’s the logic? Innkeeper Jürgen Heckroth has your health at heart, so to speak (translation my own):
Skinny guests live longer and can come back more often — we reward that.
Very cute. And great publicity.
The airlines wouldn’t do as well on the PR front if they made passengers get on a scale at check-in. But, to play devil’s advocate for a moment: why shouldn’t they?
For the sake of the argument: Heavy things cost more to transport. The post office charges you more when you ship a heavier box. Even the airlines charge you extra if your suitcase is overweight. Why not take the passenger’s weight into account?
Heck, they already give discounts for infants. And they already charge extra for particularly heavy suitcases. Why not charge more for heavier passengers?
Any airline taking such a stand would certainly take a beating on the late night talk shows. Southwest already took the first step in this direction when they started charging “customers of size” an extra ticket if they couldn’t fit in a single seat. The policy has withstood numerous legal challenges.
The average passenger is indeed getting bigger. In the United States, the FAA recently increased their number for the average estimated passenger weight to 190-195 lbs. It’s not just an American phenomenon: In Australia, Qantas asked passengers to get on a scale (with their carryon baggage) two years ago, to “update [their] weight data.”
With the price of fuel high, and with airlines charging extra for premium seats, meals, movies, and heavy bags, are passenger-weight charges next? And would they be fair? Sound off!
RSS (FeedBurner)
Read with Amazon Kindle
Subscribe by E-mail
March 12th, 2007 at 8:01 pm
[...] raises the issue of “passengers of size” again. Charging larger customers more money is all the rage, after [...]
November 19th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
[...] on your weight. Not a particularly practical policy for advance purchases, but heck, hotels have tried it, so why [...]
June 9th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
[...] Southwest already charges an extra seat for “passengers of size.” (Notably, Canada has banned this practice.) And even hotels have offered weight-based rates. [...]
October 27th, 2008 at 8:23 am
When shipping livestock, weight/size is an issue. Except for usually third-party-payment first & business classes, the airlines have been shipping “cattle” for years. The next step is obvious: You and your luggage step on a scale, they attach a “bracelet” that encodes weight information and can only be cut off like the ones a hospital uses. First/business classes are exempt and don’t have to spend the extra hour in line at their destinations. Each payment class of coach allows a certain base weight. Over that, they charge by the pound/kilo/ounce. You do not get a larger seat. At your destination you are weighed again and if the weights don’t match w/i limits, you are charged to be allowed out, plus, if they can enact it, a good penalty. Also, toilets will require tokens which are more expensive in flight than if you purchase them in sets 2 weeks in advance–at the airport.
January 18th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
[...] – Travel by the pound – Southwest’s “customer of size” Q&A (Thanks again to reader J!) Categorized [...]