Obese Airline Passengers Should Pay More..

...economist says.

What do you think? Now read this article and see if you change your mind!

Airlines should charge obese passengers more, a Norwegian economist has suggested, arguing that “pay as you weigh” pricing would bring health, financial and environmental dividends.

Bharat Bhatta, an associate professor at Sogn og Fjordane University College, said that airlines should follow other transport sectors and charge by space and weight.

“To the degree that passengers lose weight and therefore reduce fares, the savings that result are net benefits to the passengers,” Bhatta wrote this week in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management.

“As a plane of a given make and model can accommodate more lightweight passengers, it may also reward airlines” and reduce the use of environmentally costly fuel.

Bhatta put together three models for what he called “pay as you weigh airline pricing.”

The first would charge passengers according to how much they and their baggage weighed. It would set a rate for pounds (kg) per passenger so that someone weighing 130 pounds (59 kg) would pay half the fare of 260-pound (118-kg) person.

A second model would use a fixed base rate, with an extra charge for heavier passengers to cover the extra costs. Under this option, every passenger would have a different fare.

Bhatta’s preferred option was the third, where the same fare would be charged if a passenger was of average weight. A discount or extra charge would be used if the passenger was above or below a certain limit.

That would lead to three kinds of fares – high, average and low, Bhatta said.

From reading the article, which model do you believe would be best?

I personally believe this is a very controversial story, i do not feel that a decision will be made anytime soon. This economist has a valued point, and the strategies he has created could work, but not without a lot of arguments. 

Looking at the first model, i do not understand how this would be successful. Individuals will know how much they weigh but they wont be sure of the weight of their luggage until they have packed. Would this mean that they would charge all customers for the top limit of the bags weight? Would this not lead to customers saying ' My bag pays 4kg less than that customers so why should i pay the same'. 

The second model would be more likely to work than the first, but it is important to consider the feelings of passengers. If more and more airlines are using self service check in how would they know that the passenger was heavier until they turned up at the gate. The staff then could not turn the passenger away because they have not paid the correct weight. 

Lastly, the third model would probably to some passengers be an incentive. For customers who are of an average weight they would not be charged extra, and may even receive a discount. Could this work though?

Overall, all of the models discussed by this economist have valued points, but if an airline offends a customer they are going to loose that business for the future. Could this lead to less people wanting to fly? Will people feel self-conscious? This is a debate which will need to be thoroughly discussed by airline bosses for a decision to be made. 

http://tribune.com.pk/story/529487/obese-airline-passengers-should-pay-extra-economist-says/