The head of Samoa Air has defended the airline’s decision to start charging passengers according to their weight. Chris Langton told Australia’s ABC Radio that it was “the fairest way of travelling”. Rather than pay for a seat, passengers pay a fixed price per kilogram, which varies depending on the route length.

‘Run on weight’

“Airlines don’t run on seats, they run on weight, and particularly the smaller the aircraft you are in the less variance you can accept in terms of the difference in weight between passengers,” Mr Langton told ABC radio. ”Anyone who travels at times has felt they have been paying for half of the passenger next to them.”

‘Promote health awareness’

Under the new model, Mr Langton described how some families with children were now paying cheaper fares.

“There are no extra fees in terms of excess baggage or anything – it is just a kilo is a kilo is a kilo,” he said.

Air Samoa’s rates range from $1 (65p) to around $4.16 per kilogram. Passengers pay for the combined weight of themselves and their baggage. Mr Langton also suggested that the move had helped promote health awareness in Samoa, which has one of the world’s highest levels of obesity.

Do you think Samoa Air’s pay-by-weight pricing is indeed “the fairest way of travelling?” Who says ‘Yay’ and who says ‘Nay’?

Source: BBC News

Image: Lies Angeles