I am really curious about this subject. I think it makes sense to charge people by weight. We all know that every ounce you put in that airplane makes it burn more fuel. But howcome they don't do that yet?

Is this against any moral or ethics form that we know of? Or is it just not feasible? I want to hear your thoughts about this subject.

So you're saying I can get a discount if I show up naked & starving.

Aaron, guys as good looking as us can show up just naked and get the discount.

Makes sense to me. They do it with freight.

Same could apply to cars - fees based on weight (due to increased wear on public roads), variable storage (parking) charges for size.

So why don't they do it? Maybe it is against the law?

I think this should be implemented. The problem is that you cannot weigh people in public. Some people would not fly with an airline that did that. So you should do it in a seperate room or even weigh people together with their luggage.
Hmm 200 pound. That small handbag of yours must be really heavy...
If you want to survive as an airline you should realy charge people to what they cost you to transport them. You will also need a base fee though. A skinny person still takes up a seat. And you might end up with lots of children in your airplanes (noisy, dirty little creatures) that require a lot of crew attention.

Road taxes in the Netherlands are already based on car weight btw.

Some states (like California) have laws which prohibit discrimination based on weight / height. Moreover, people who are genetically predisposed to obesity (and who presumably have little control over their weight) would likely file a class action lawsuit, claiming unfair discrimination.

However, if a new federal law were enacted that specifically allowed for this, that federal law could preempt state laws, and weight discrimination could fly (pun intended).

Funny you should mention that. My wife and I were just having this discussion. I think it makes perfect sense and I support the idea. Can you imagine what a uproar this would cause, though? Where would you weigh people? A certified scale at check-in? One last indignity at the end of security? Maybe just have a scale in the floor that automatically takes your weight and charges per pound to your credit card?

Wow, an obesity fee. Seriously though - a seat my 40 pound 4-year-old costs as much as the 350-pounder accross the aisle. Shouldn't she at least get an extra piece of baggage for her toys for free?

-IanC

Why not? It could be done discreetly. Have a floor scale which weighs the passenger and luggage together and displays the total weight. The public wouldn't need to see the digital display.

Well there's a scale right there at the checkout counter to weigh your luggage. Just upgrade those to handle 500 pounds (to handle most Americans) and you're all set. You can make sure only the person behind the counter sees the weight to avoid embarrassment and public humiliation.

Also, there could be rule that anyone over say, 350 pounds pay for two seats or go in first class. That would be a relief to passengers who have had the problems of people's bodies spilling over into their seats when they sit next to a morbidly obese person.

It doesn't matter if you haul 50 pounds of luggage or blubber ... It burns the same amount of fuel.

I'm in favor of this one. Maybe it will induce some weight loss, and in doing so, take some pressure off of the health care system.

While we're at it, health insurance needs to be risk-based. Charge extra for smokers, addicts, and the obese.

These will be stop gap measures. The end is near for both airlines and health insurance anyway.

People are simply cargo, nothing more. The scales might want to be able to handle more than 500 pounds.
another way to do it is charge an initial fee up front for a ton, including traveler and luggage, refund what is not loaded on the plane. There is also the advantage of less bathroom use, and its cost, on the plane as the travelers do what they can to reduce their air fare just before getting in line.

I once flew from Boston to Cleveland between two fat ladies, didn't see my arms for 2 and a half hours.

They're not fat. They're "nutritional overachievers"

Actually it would bve easy enough to do, just stand on a mat with sensors. You don't need a giant dial so everybody sees it, just the electronics used for billiing need to know it.

People have a good idea of their weight, so they cold buy tickets ahead with a minor variance allowed, and nobody would be the wiser.