Air Travel: Pay By Pound?

Air Samoa, home to some of the largest players in the NFL, wants to now charge ticket price according to passenger weight. Makes a certain amount of sense and thin people who hate getting wedged inbetween fatties should love it. But you might want to think this through.

Consider families. Now large families with screaming infants can buy tickets for a few dollars a pound.

Samoa Air operates very small airplanes. Knowing the weight on board is important. Passengers walk up to the propeller-driven, nine-to-10-seat Britten-Norman BN2A aircraft and even tinier Cessna 172 parked on the short runway under the Samoan sun. Luggage is brought up by a pushcart and loaded by hand, like loading the trunk of a car.

During the flight, pilots can turn around and talk to passengers, while pointing out the South Pacific views. It’s an entirely different experience than flying on a major airline, even though Mr. Langton wants to use this pricing model in his plans to expand his business to include flights to Hawaii and Australia. Samoa Air has been in operation for a year.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/samoa-air-charges-passengers-by-the-pound/article10749259/

I think I would still come out ahead if they also weigh people's carry-ons. Pack light.

I doubt this would fly on the large carriers. They already charge for multiple bags, overweight bags and extra carry ons. They also charge you for an extra seat if you are too wide for the one you booked.

That is exactly how airlines should charge...by the pound. That is why they charge for additional bags and heavy bags...it takes more fuel to haul heavier loads.

...but since the fixed costs of the flight(aircraft costs, landing fees, fuel) are so much more than the variable costs, paying by weight and bags is deceitful. A half empty airliner still uses almost as much fuel as a full one, about the only difference is the cost of a meal, and you know they don't spend much on those.

FredHayek wrote: ...but since the fixed costs of the flight(aircraft costs, landing fees, fuel) are so much more than the variable costs, paying by weight and bags is deceitful. A half empty airliner still uses almost as much fuel as a full one, about the only difference is the cost of a meal, and you know they don't spend much on those.

True....which is why they should charge for a ticket...base price, then weigh you, and your luggage for the "premium". I've never understood why I have to pay $50 for luggage that might be 5lb over, yet a man or woman next to me who weighs 300# pays less.

Each passenger should be given a total weight allowance, him (or her) self plus their luggage. Anything over that, they pay by the pound. That seems fair.

Each airline should be given the right to charge whatever and however they want and the passenger can then decide if they want this luxury product.

Logic would say that they should come up with a formula that is proportional to costs and opportunity costs.

Prices per seat and bag seem pretty logical. Then since a seat could cost them more for a fat person, charge extra beyond a certain weight, say 150 lbs. Since babies in businesses (the inside of the plane is a business) alienates other customers and may make them not shop there, airlines need to cover this cost and should charge more for babies than adults. Perhaps they could charge the same per seat and something like $10 per minute the baby cried and $20 per puke. Then a $400 charge for those that wear perfume or odors because they cannot stand their own smell. But I don't fly, having my balls touched is not worth it to me. Plus when you drive in stead of fly, you come across 1000x the opportunity, you see and talk to regular people in stead of the flying elite.

on that note wrote: Each airline should be given the right to charge whatever and however they want and the passenger can then decide if they want this luxury product.

Sounds good in a perfect world, but in smaller towns, there aren't many flights and only one airline might fly out of that airport, you can really be taken to the cleaners in this monopoly situation. Before President Carter de-regulated the industry, prices weren't set by industry.