While airlines weigh passengers for safety reasons, experts say fuel efficiency may be a bigger reason.
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Starting Monday, Korean Air passengers may be required to get on the scale before boarding.
A representative for Korean Air told CNBC that the exercise will last about three weeks, is required by law and applies to all South Korean airlines.
The law requires airlines to weigh passengers and carry-on baggage at least every five years, which is “critical to the safety of air travel,” a representative told CNBC. .
In response to the announcement, backlash According to local media, from the public.
A notice outlining the details of the exercise — which will begin at Gimpo International Airport on Monday and will begin at Incheon Airport next month — It was deleted From the airline’s website due to “adequate notice and media coverage,” according to the airline.
“Definitely not,” said Vance Hildermann, chief executive of aviation safety firm Afusion.
At least not for safety, he said.
“If you’re in a small Bombardier or a small Embraer jet and you have 10 super obese people…it might make a small difference,” he says. “In commercial aviation, we’ve had it in 120-passenger aircraft since the 737.”
Aviation software can adjust for changes in weight, air density and other factors, making it safe even in situations with unusual passenger composition, such as early morning flights with many businessmen who tend to weigh more than the average traveler. is not compromised. , He said.
Overall, Hildermann said the significant increase in weight per passenger will be covered by fuel, cargo and the weight of the aircraft itself. “Fuel is 20 times the passenger weight,” he said.
Afusion CEO Vance Hilderman said it was more important to adjust the number of additional cargo and passengers than focusing on passenger weight.
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But Shem Malmquist, a lecturer at the Florida Institute of Technology Aeronautical College, said a random weight sample is a good idea.
“We use the average passenger weight, but people weigh a lot more,” he said. “With 300 people weighing more than average, the weight of the plane can be significantly overweight, and all performance calculations such as runway length, climb, obstacle clearance, landing distance, altitude capability, etc. It depends on weight.”
Hildermann said he agrees people are bigger, but passengers are different in other ways.
“Americans are gaining weight too. So are Chinese, so are Koreans,” he said. “But we’re flying young, so we’re actually offsetting the average human’s weight gain.”
Studies published in 2019 The Journal of Transport & Health found that in areas with high obesity rates, “continued weight gain trends could start to significantly erode safety margins.”
José Silva, an associate professor of engineering at RMIT University in Australia and one of the study’s authors, told CNBC that he believes airlines are reluctant to weigh passengers because of the sensitive nature of the issue. said.
“There’s also a lack of understanding of the increased safety that would come from having a more accurate means of ascertaining passenger weights, rather than relying on standards,” he said.
a Whistleblowing filed in 2021 The Federal Aviation Administration has failed to recognize the safety hazards caused by relying on average passenger and baggage weights that no longer reflect the U.S. population, it argues.
Air New Zealand said it weighed its passengers in June for reasons related to safety and fuel economy.
Finnair did the same in 2017, and Hawaiian Airlines weighed passengers multiple times on board. Between Honolulu and American Samoa. (The now defunct Samoa Airlines was once charge according to passenger weight, according to Reuters. )
Hilderman said U.S. leaflets likely won’t be weighed. FAA Recommendation Circular A paper published in 2019 said airlines could weigh passengers.
In Europe it’s a different story. In Europe, airlines follow European Union Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) regulations.
Hilderman said U.S. airlines follow International Civil Aviation Organization regulations, which do not require passengers to be weighed.
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EASA weighed about 23,000 passengers in 2008 and 2009 and found that the average passenger weight increased by 3-5 kilograms (6.6-11 pounds). A subsequent report, published in 2022, found that: Average passenger weight increased slightly Since 2009, the average weight for men is 82 kg (181 lbs) and for women 68 kg (149 lbs).
Regular weight assessments of passengers and other on-board items will help determine whether weight estimates are still accurate to offset the amount of cargo the airline carries, Hilderman said.
But “there is a little more to this mystery,” he added.
“Europe is a little more strict about individual rights with privacy,” he says. “In the case of EASA, they want to protect their passengers, and they say, as passenger numbers are increasing, airlines want seat pitch to be minimized.”
Hilderman said commercial airline seats were based on average passenger weights from the 1950s to the 1970s. People have grown up since then, but plane seats continue to shrink, he says. “Sometimes 29 inches is just ridiculous.”
Airline passenger count is a controversial topic – in oversized flyer Complaint of Accommodation Discrimination Small plane aisle and seat sizes, and small travelers publicly expose seat intrusions.
But unlike other industries that serve overweight people, from chair makers to toilet makers. amusement park rides — The airline industry is not expanding seats.
Nick Gausling, a consumer services business consultant and managing director of Romy Group LLC, said: “There are proposals to ask obese passengers to pay for two seats so as not to offend other passengers. , which would absolve the airline of liability.”
While other industries are under pressure to prioritize the customer experience, Gausling said that when it comes to airlines, “consumers have little choice to move their business to other industries.”
Tigress Osborne, executive director of the National Fat Acceptance Promotion Association, told CNBC that most major airlines offer three options for overweight travelers. You can either pay for an expensive ticket with a bigger seat, buy a second seat, or stay home.
“Fat people have the same right to travel for pleasure as anyone else. Also remember that air travel is for work, family obligations and other responsibilities. hmm,” she said. “Our tax money helps support this industry and we are entitled to accessible seating, safe and comfortable accommodation at all price levels.”
Hilderman said airlines can sell second seats to plus-size travelers at deep discounts.
Airplane seats are getting smaller as people get bigger, which is a frequent complaint from travelers of all sizes.
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Alternatively, six seats can be reserved for larger people, and passengers can personally register online using their height and weight details from their driver’s license, he said.
These seats could be sold for a small surcharge and could be released to those willing to pay if no eligible passengers booked them the week before the flight, he added.
As for whether airlines would increase seat sizes for everyone, Hilderman said it was mathematically possible but not practical.
“The diameter of the fuselage is predetermined,” he said of the body of the aircraft. “There are 29,000 commercial aircraft in the air today, but we only build about 1,500 per year, so it would take 20 years to replace the entire fleet.”
Upgrading aircraft to wider seats means narrowing the aisles, which are already cramped, he said. To widen the aisles, one seat from each row would have to be removed, which would increase ticket prices overall by 20-25%, he said.
“Most people don’t see the type of plane they’re flying, and they don’t even know what the pitch and width of the seats are,” says Hildermann. “They’re just buying based on price, and the airlines know that.”
Arnold Burnett, professor of management science and statistics at MIT Sloan School of Management, told CNBC that most travelers are willing to settle for current seat sizes in exchange for cheaper fares.
If the seats were changed, “airfare would have to go up, making it impossible for passengers on a tight budget to fly.”
For many people, a narrow seat on an airplane is better than a seat on a bus, he says.