Airline introduces charges based on people’s weight

It may sound like an elaborate April Fool's Day wind-up but a small island-hopping airline based in Samoa has become the first airline to start charging passengers based on how much they weigh.

Samoa Air has flown into a storm of controversy after confirming its new policy which is sure to attract the interest of some no-frills airlines closer to home.

"Airlines don't run on seats, they run on weight, and particularly the smaller the aircraft you are in the less variance you can accept in terms of the difference in weight between passengers," the airline's chief executive Chris Langton told ABC radio in Australia.

The new rates range from $1 (€ 0.81) to around $4.16 (€ 3.39) per kilogram. When The Irish Times attempted to book a ticket today we were asked to submit our weight, including our luggage, when booking.

"We at Samoa Air are keeping airfares fair, by charging our passengers only for what they weigh," its website says. "You are the master of your Air 'fair', you decide how much (or little) your ticket will cost. No more exorbitant excess baggage fees, or being charged for baggage you may not carry. Your weight plus your baggage items, is what you pay for. Simple."

The airline also asures passengers that they will be reweighed at check-in desks to ensure they have submitted the correct details.

Samoa Air flies to more than a dozen domestic routes and as well as other islands in the region and the weight move could hit locals hard with 80 per cent of Samoans over 15 reported to be overweight.

Mr Langton said that in addition to making his airlines fares fairer the move would help to promote health awareness in the region, "People generally are becoming much more weight conscious. That's a health issue in some areas," he told ABC Radio expressing his belief that charging by weight would become "the concept of the future."

"People generally are bigger, wider and taller than they were 50 years ago," he said. "The industry will start looking at this."

And it's not hard to guess who might be at the front of the queue in Europe when it comes looking at it closest.