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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!