- Air New Zealand implements passenger weighing to optimize cargo and security.
- Previous examples include Samoa Air, Uzbekistan Airways and Finnair.
- Positive results in weight distribution and flight efficiency, but criticism for the discrimination they entail.
Air New Zealand will ask all passengers to weigh themselves when boarding international flights.
This is an airline strategy that aims to improve the efficiency of aircraft fuel consumption.
According to the oceanic airline, in the following weeks more than 10,000 passengers traveling on its international networks will be asked to be part of the weighing program before boarding flights.
Air New Zealand explained that they want on-board commanders to know the total weight of the loaded plane and to be able to balance the aircraft before each takeoff.
The decision was made in the context of the sharp increase in international travel over the past 12 months since the end of the restrictions linked to the pandemic.
“Now that international travel is back up and running, it’s time for travelers to get involved,” Air New Zealand said in a statement. release.
“We understand that weighing yourself can be very discouraging for some, but we assure our passengers that there will be no way for other people to see the weight,” they explain from Air New Zealand, with the idea of bringing peace of mind to travelers regarding their privacy. .
“Weighing helps us fly in a safer and more efficient way,” warns the airline.
Air New Zealand said the plan will go ahead on some of the international flights departing from Auckland airport between June and July 2023.
It is not the first airline to ask passengers to weigh themselves. the finnish finnair It did so in 2017 with the aim of updating the data on the average weight of travelers.
At that time, it was explained that most airlines use data from the European Aviation Safety Agency dating from 2009 for fuel calculation and cargo organization.
Examples of the strategy in another airline
Before Finnair, Samoa Air, in 2013, became the first airline to implement passenger weighing. But in that case, the price of the ticket varied.
Passengers had to provide their weight when booking the flight, and were priced according to their total weight.
While it is true that the strategy has proven successful in ensuring a balanced distribution of the load on flights and greater precision in calculating fuel consumption, the resulting discrimination based on physical condition was widely criticized.
Uzbekistan Airwaysin 2015, introduced the practice of weighing passengers along with their hand luggage before boarding.
The goal was to collect accurate data on the total weight of passengers and adjust the load.
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