Would You Like to Be (Discreetly) Weighed Before You Board?
Jackie Reddy April 18, 2019
Aircraft tell how much passenger weight they’re carrying (and make fuel calculations) by assigning the same weight to every passenger. But a new startup has come up with a way to find out exactly how much each passenger weighs so that airlines can come up with more precise fuel calculations. But how will passengers feel about registering their weight, even if this new method promises to be discrete?
Passenger weight is always a delicate issue, but one tech start-up is aiming to put airline efficiency before personal sensitivities, reports Travel+Leisure. According to the outlet, British company Fuel Matrix offers software that it believes will help airlines and operators to adjust the amount of fuel they need by more accurately figuring the weight of an aircraft and its passengers.
Why?
As The Independent reports, carriers deploy an “assumed mass” scenario for their passengers and assign each a weight of 88 kilograms (194 pounds). If they wish, operators sometimes also adjust or refine this figure by gender, with men assumed to weigh 93 kilograms (205 pounds) and women 75 kilograms (165 pounds).
However, the outlet explains that this system isn’t perfect; at present, the estimation provided by this scenario is “typically significantly higher than the reality.” This, of course, means fuel wastage.
How?
Fuel Matrix aims to sensitively and discretely weigh passengers, allowing pilots to make more exact calculations about how much fuel an aircraft requires. This calculation would, of course, take into account passenger weight as well as the weight of the plane itself and any cargo.
Nick Brasier, the company’s chief operating officer, explained to the outlet how this process would work. “More airports and airlines are moving towards self-service bag drops, where the passenger uses a screen-based system to weigh their baggage on scales and answer questions about its contents. We’re not suggesting people should stand on the scales, but airports could fit ‘pressure pads’ in the bag-drop area in front of each screen.”
“After the bag has been checked in, the system can ask, ‘Are you standing on the pressure pad?’ If the passenger taps ‘Yes’, then the weight can be recorded and passed confidentially to the airline,” Brasier said.
The outlet reports that several carriers have expressed an interest in using this software. How would you feel if airlines adopted this policy? What if it effects ticket prices?
[Image Source: Shutterstock]
People keep saying 'weigh the plane' but at that point isn't it a bit late to make fuel adjustments and not have to hang around at the gate for the ground staff to sort it out?
Seems like people who aren't over weight don't mind and people who are, do. What a surprise. Anyone who has traveled in small planes knows this is standard practice and includes cameras, purses, etc.
With fierce competition, one airline should do something different and start charging by weight. I expect slimmer passengers and passengers not carrying too much luggage will use them whilst heavier passengers will flock to its competitors. With fuel being the highest operating costs of any airline, it will be interesting to see who's still in business at the end.
You aren't paying for inches of seat, you are paying to get yourself from point A to point B. If I have to stand on the bus, I don't pay any less than someone who gets a seat. And yet, there are accommodations made for people with disabilities, people with bicycles, etc. Somehow it works, imagine! The airlines could be kind to people of all sorts, but instead they are unkind and hurtful. That said, I wouldn't mind being weighed anonymously--NOT at the same time I'm checking in. Completely anonymously, on the jetway would be fine.
Weigh plane. Hell you could literally add scale sensors to the struts on each set of wheels and could tell exact weight of plane and general distribution of said weight. While this could give the total weight of the plane, it would not give the “center of gravity” or Mean Aerodynamic Chord. Load calculations are based on the weight and the location of the weight on the aircraft .