Belt Auction

Should people who weigh less get a discount on airline tickets?

I know the idea of charging fat people more is unpopular, so why not do it the other way round. When you get to the airport you can have the option of being weighed, and if you come under a certain weight you can get some money back, or a voucher for food on the flight or some other kind of reward. I just feel that those of us who are using up less fuel should be rewarded in some way for not being so fat. I mean weigh the people, not the bags! Carl, thin people should pay less because less fuel needs to be burned by the plane's engines in order to transport us.

Public Comments

1. lol... i think excess baggage fees for overweight bags are enough to cover the extra fuel costs.
2. I thought the purpose of air travel is to get you from A to B. The same objective is achieved whether you are fat or thin so why should thin people pay less.
3. What about cramming two skinny people in one seat for a 50 percent discount for each.
4. I think that you may misunderstand how airlines determine costs and set fares. It's not your weight that determines if an airline charges you more for being obese. It's how much space you take up by volume. An airline needs to fill as many seats as possible to be profitable. The controversy over charging extra for obese people is because some are wider than a standard seat. If someone takes up two seats, that means that the second seat has to remain empty. Unless the airline charges the passenger extra, it receives no revenue for the second seat as they would if they could sell it to another passenger. It has nothing to do with weighing more and "using more fuel". You still need a full seat to yourself whether you weigh 100 pounds or 150 pounds, so the airline doesn't care that you may be a little lighter than the next person.
5. Then consider not just weight, but volume too. How much space do you take up? I guess you're o.k. to charge for toilet use onboard--since that uses resources. You're o.k. for paying per each checked bag--since that uses resources. You're o.k. for personal check-in and personal service on ticketing and boarding--since that uses resources. Should a heavy person travelling without any baggage, shorter in height, same width, no toilet, and e-ticketing with no service needed, e-check in be charged the same as a lightweight person who schlepps loads of junk onboard and in the hold, uses the toilet, leaves rubbish behind, is demanding with customer service and fussy with flight attendants... should they pay the same as a heavy customer who doesn't need the extras and hand-holding? Where does it stop? What's really fair?
6. What a good idea. I think us skinnies should efinately pay less as we fit in the seats better and take up much less room. Or perhaps we can have a better baggage allowence!
7. Only if ten of you can fit in a box and ride as cargo....
8. thats a really stupid idea! why would you even think of that?