The specter of airlines weighing passengers is again on the prowl with a company proposing the practice as a way of cutting fuel costs.
British software company Fuel Matrix has proposed weighing passengers to allow airlines to better tailor their fuel loads to flight plans.
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The company says it has tested related fuel calculation software with major airlines and this could be modified to take into account the weight of passengers.
People in many countries are now heavier than the average weight assumed for passengers and Fuel Matrix says airlines can save fuel by getting a better handle on what they actually weigh.
The company is proposing that either passenger can provide their weight before they reach the airport or that that they could be “unobtrusively” weighed as they pass through security.
Fuel Matrix chief executive Roy Fuscone told CNN Travel: “You stand in a scanner that goes round you — now, clearly while you’re standing there being scanned, you could also be weighed — very discreetly — if you haven’t wanted to supply your information ahead of time.
“It would be very discreet, very private and very confidential.”’
Fuel Matrix is obviously aware some people will be reluctant to share the information and has been working with data protection consultants to head off accusations of invasion of privacy.
Fuscone pointed to the increasing use of biometric data by airports and airlines.
“So there’s no problem with us introducing this, it can be done at various places during the journey through the airport and so we’re starting to discuss with people involved in those various phases of the airport,’’ he said.
Fuscone argued the fuel savings could lead to lower ticket prices and noted that airlines would still need to carry enough fuel for emergencies.
But the proposal raises questions about how airlines would use the information as well as the potential of a “fat tax” on airlines.
There is a precedent for that: Samoa Air in 2013 started charging passengers by what they weigh instead of by the seat, albeit on smaller planes where weight was a bigger issue.
Southwest Airlines also has a policy where bigger people unable to lower the armest must buy a second seat.
However, airlines are wary of the potential backlash to singling out people because of their size.
