Flight Weight - Samoa Air charges passengers by their weight - Polidicks

It also means you have to pay more if you're taking your partner on vacation and they happen to be overweight It'll also result in people who are overweight because of disability having to pay more and it'll likely be deemed illegal eventually for this reason alone

"What's the nigga gonna do he's Samoan." First thing that came to mind.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130280]It also means you have to pay more if you're taking your partner on vacation and they happen to be overweight It'll also result in people who are overweight because of disability having to pay more and it'll likely be deemed illegal eventually for this reason alone[/QUOTE] Except it literally makes economic sense to charge people based upon weight. You could alternatively raise prices for the lower weight people and lower them for the heavier, at the expense of lower weight people being less likely to pick that airline.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40130320]Except it literally makes economic sense to charge people based upon weight. You could alternatively raise prices for the lower weight people and lower them for the heavier, at the expense of lower weight people being less likely to pick that airline.[/QUOTE] Or they could charge based on average weight, end up making the same amount of money as if they scaled their prices to weight, and avoid expensive discrimination lawsuits and bad PR in the process

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130238]Hey Facepunch here's a fun way for you to look at this: it's a surcharge for being male.[/QUOTE] misandry...... its finally real...... the prophecy foretold in my animes....... its TRUE

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130356]Or they could charge based on average weight, end up making the same amount of money as if they scaled their prices to weight, and avoid expensive discrimination lawsuits and bad PR in the process[/QUOTE] Discrimination lawsuits and bad PR will only come about when pressure is put on them to do so. Do recall that there will be people who will profit from being slimmer on airlines. Also averages can be skewed by extreme variations in obesity or anorexia. It makes economic sense to charge based upon weight, and unless the market does not reply well, there is no reason it should be a problem.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40130385]Discrimination lawsuits and bad PR will only come about when pressure is put on them to do so. Do recall that there will be people who will profit from being slimmer on airlines. Also averages can be skewed by extreme variations in obesity or anorexia. It makes economic sense to charge based upon weight, and unless the market does not reply well, there is no reason it should be a problem.[/QUOTE] In a lot of places the market didn't reply poorly to the lack of wheelchair ramps and the ability to throw black people out of your restaurant for being black. In most cases the market is a poor way to prevent discrimination. But given the issues with weight in Samoa I don't think this [i]will[/i] be received very well.

I don't know about the profit margins of airlines and all the costs associated with running an airline, but this makes a lot of sense. As people have mentioned over and over again, this is purely related to increased weight causing increased fuel consumption. That whole "surcharge for being male" is not really an argument in any shape or form. And think about this, even when you are travelling by car the weight affects the fuel consumption of the car. Do you make a scene at the gas station because you ran out of fuel quicker? According to [url]http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/smart-transportation-solutions/better-fuel-efficiency/how-to-maximize-your.html[/url] every 100 pounds in your car can negatively effect your fuel economy by 1-2%. Now think about a huge airplane with hundreds of passengers and now think about the speed that it has to accelerate to. [editline]2nd April 2013[/editline] A more acceptable way of doing this might be calculating the exact contribution of the weight of the passenger to the fuel consumption and adjusting the pricing of the individual ticket according to that and not making any profit out of the ticket price increase.

[QUOTE=Fetret;40130477]I don't know about the profit margins of airlines and all the costs associated with running an airline, but this makes a lot of sense. As people have mentioned over and over again, this is purely related to increased weight causing increased fuel consumption. That whole "surcharge for being male" is not really an argument in any shape or form.[/QUOTE] And charging men more for auto insurance makes economic sense too as men cause the majority of traffic accidents, yet I specifically remember the vast majority of Facepunch being [i]for[/i] laws in certain European countries that made charging different genders differently illegal.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130496]And charging men more for auto insurance makes economic sense too as men cause the majority of traffic accidents, yet I specifically remember the vast majority of Facepunch being [i]for[/i] laws in certain European countries that made charging different genders differently illegal.[/QUOTE] Ughhh, Zeke it really isn't complicated. Insurance has nothing to do with it. More weight = more fuel = more expenses on the airline company They don't run on a charity you know.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130496]And charging men more for auto insurance makes economic sense too as men cause the majority of traffic accidents, yet I specifically remember the vast majority of Facepunch being [i]for[/i] laws in certain European countries that made charging different genders differently illegal.[/QUOTE] That is completely unrelated to what is being discussed here though. Presence (or absence) of a statistical association with a gender and reckless driving and increased probability of crashing is not the same as laws of physics causing increased fuel consumption with increased weights.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130428]In a lot of places the market didn't reply poorly to the lack of wheelchair ramps and the ability to throw black people out of your restaurant for being black. In most cases the market is a poor way to prevent discrimination. But given the issues with weight in Samoa I don't think this [i]will[/i] be received very well.[/QUOTE] So should the thin subsidize the fat in that case?

[QUOTE=Fetret;40130531]That is completely unrelated to what is being discussed here though. Presence (or absence) of a statistical association with a gender and reckless driving and increased probability of crashing is not the same as laws of physics causing increased fuel consumption with increased weights.[/QUOTE] Yeah that's true, but from an economical standpoint they could achieve the same thing by charging based on average weight (what it actually costs to put that plane in the air) [editline]2nd April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Sobotnik;40130561]So should the thin subsidize the fat in that case?[/QUOTE] If that's what you'd call set ticket prices per seat then yes

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130585]If that's what you'd call set ticket prices per seat then yes[/QUOTE] Why?

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40130611]Why?[/QUOTE] Because everyone subsidizes others and is subsidized by others in multiple ways every single day and it generally works out There's value in fairness

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130631]Because everyone subsidizes others and is subsidized by others in multiple ways every single day and it generally works out There's value in fairness[/QUOTE] What is the advantage of the fat man increasing travel costs to the thin man? The thin man has nothing to gain it appears.

[QUOTE=Sobotnik;40130662]What is the advantage of the fat man increasing travel costs to the thin man? The thin man has nothing to gain it appears.[/QUOTE] Well he's thin so that's a plus My whole argument comes from a point of view that values the feelings of human beings more than the bank accounts of airlines, if you're only able to see the world as spreadsheets full of quantifiable data then we're arguing on wholly different wavelengths and it's a pointless pissing contest

[QUOTE=JCDentonUNATCO;40127100]Doesn't matter. If you're ripped as shit and you weigh 280 it makes no difference than the flabby 280 person. It's not about image.[/QUOTE] If you're ripped as shit at 280 you're too busy being demi-god to care about such trivial things as extra airline fees. [editline]2nd April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=Zeke129;40130682]Well he's thin so that's a plus My whole argument comes from a point of view that values the feelings of human beings more than the bank accounts of airlines[/quote] If planes ran on fairness and fairness was sold for feelings you would be perfectly right in what you are saying. [quote]if you're only able to see the world as spreadsheets full of quantifiable data then we're arguing on wholly different wavelengths and it's a pointless pissing contest[/QUOTE] What is so wrong about asking people to pay for what they expend? Cabs charge you more the larger the distance they take you because you expend more of their fuel traveling that distance, if you expend more fuel because you happen to weigh more what is the difference other than the mechanism by which you are expending fuel? The only problem I can see is an arbitrarily large hike in prices, a charge of which would not be equivalent to the amount of fuel you at your weight would be expending by being on the flight for the purpose of profiteering.

Maybe I'm inherently biased because despite being overweight for my body size, going by the scale alone I wouldn't be charged any extra for a seat (yes, I checked on the site and compared to similar flights) while someone who is ripped as shit but not fat by any stretch of the imagination will be charged extra It doesn't sit right with me since the airline could achieve the exact same thing by just charging an average price

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130933]Maybe I'm inherently biased because despite being overweight for my body size, going by the scale alone I wouldn't be charged any extra for a seat (yes, I checked on the site and compared to similar flights) while someone who is ripped as shit but not fat by any stretch of the imagination will be charged extra It doesn't sit right with me since the airline could achieve the exact same thing by just charging an average price[/QUOTE] Why should someone pay someone else's way?

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130933]Maybe I'm inherently biased because despite being overweight for my body size, going by the scale alone I wouldn't be charged any extra for a seat (yes, I checked on the site and compared to similar flights) while someone who is ripped as shit but not fat by any stretch of the imagination will be charged extra It doesn't sit right with me since the airline could achieve the exact same thing by just charging an average price[/QUOTE] What do you think about people having to pay more to license heavier cars? I know this is something that's done for a few states for passenger vehicles and a lot more for commercial vehicles, but like airplanes, more weight on the road means more road maintenance down the line.

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40130933]Maybe I'm inherently biased because despite being overweight for my body size, going by the scale alone I wouldn't be charged any extra for a seat (yes, I checked on the site and compared to similar flights) [B]while someone who is ripped as shit but not fat by any stretch of the imagination will be charged extra[/B] It doesn't sit right with me since the airline could achieve the exact same thing by just charging an average price[/QUOTE] It's not about [B]fat[/B], it's about [B]weight[/B].

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40126911]Yes let's cheer on yet another excuse from airlines to tack on extra fees, because everyone knows they've all basically been running a charity lately and making no money whatsoever [editline]1st April 2013[/editline] Facepunch likes it because they all weigh 110 pounds and it means they'll fly cheaper[/QUOTE] Did you even read the article? There are no extra fees, it simply replaces the cost of the fare.

[QUOTE=MR-X;40126747]Its never been an issue up until now, overweight people are nothing new. I think it is just another reason to charge more money. Though i expect a lot of people coming in saying "good", "give them a reason not to be fat lol" and other stupid sayings. We might as well just charge for other arbitrary things like eye color, skin color, height, etc while we're at it. Because it is totally okay to discriminate against people and charge them more. It isn't enough that airliners actually decreased leg-space and room to fit more chairs so they can get more people on one flight, it isn't enough that they cut out many complementary services, it isn't enough that they've added many charges that quickly add up. It is pretty asinine really.[/QUOTE]Uh, it massively inconveniences other passengers.

itt people don't know the difference between weight and fat

Take clothes for a perfect example here. A bigger person needs bigger clothes, which cost somewhat more than the smaller ones. Somehow nobody flips shit that a small shirt costs less than extra large one, however somehow planes and fuel are different?

[QUOTE=Zeke129;40126911]Yes let's cheer on yet another excuse from airlines to tack on extra fees, because everyone knows they've all basically been running a charity lately and making no money [/QUOTE] Actually running an airline is one of the riskiest businesses you can run. Many airlines go bankrupt. [QUOTE]Anticipated 2012 global airline profits of $4.1 billion sound pretty good, until you realize that carriers are operating on a 0.6 percent profit margin.[/QUOTE]