In a world where every liter of fuel counts and where the carbon footprint is becoming an unavoidable concern, will we have to go on a diet before flying?
The Finnish national airline Finnair has announced the launch of a three-month study at Helsinki airport by now “weighing” its passengers before boarding its aircraft.
The company says these weighings will be “
voluntary and anonymous
” to ensure better security.
Passengers will be weighed with their luggage, and only check-in agents will have access to this data.
Finnair, which celebrated its centenary in 2023, also ensures that this information will remain completely disconnected from customers' personal data.
The first weigh-ins have already started at the boarding gates of Helsinki-Vantaa Airport.
Since the start of the study on Monday February 5, the company has already recruited more than 600 volunteers.
Some have hailed the initiative as an important step towards greater safety and efficiency and have also suggested it should become standard across all airlines.
Weighing for a safe takeoff
Each aircraft has a predefined maximum weight to ensure safe takeoff, and this weight cannot be exceeded.
Phil Noble / REUTERS
Until now, pilots only had the weight of the plane, fuel, cargo, on-board catering, water tanks, baggage and of course, passengers.
These data were supplemented by standards defined by the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA).
Since 2018, Finnair has used average weights determined on the basis of its own measurements, “
but the authorities require that these figures be updated every five years,
” assures the company.
With previous measures dating from 2017 and 2018, she adds that “it
is now time to collect updated data
by emphasizing “
the importance of the voluntary participation of passengers, whether they are traveling for business or for pleasure.
These measurements aim to obtain precise information for crucial balance calculations
.”
The bigger you are, the more you pay?
Because this is not the first time that an airline has taken this type of initiative.
As early as 2012, Samoa Air, a small airline in Samoa, announced that it was establishing a price scale based on the passenger's weight, intended to combat the country's high obesity rate.
Philippine companies, which use propeller planes, also ask to weigh passengers, citing air safety.
Closer to us, in 2021, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), policeman of American civil aviation, asked airlines to weigh some of their passengers.
The reason ?
Make sure that they have not gained too much weight compared to the estimated average, for safety reasons during the flight.
Last year, Thailand's Bangkok Airways required the same of its travelers, who, when boarding, had to step on a digital scale with their hand luggage.
Still in Asia-Pacific, Air New Zealand and Korean Air had already carried out similar operations, often at the request of national regulators.
Will such a measure be transposable in France?
Will very overweight people have to buy two tickets?
Two seats for one passenger
On the Air France side, the system is well established and the rules are clearly displayed on the website.
The company thus specifies the maximum waist circumference to sit comfortably in its various seats (135 cm in Economy and Premium Economy medium-haul cabins, 150 cm in Business medium-haul and Premium Economy long-haul and 200 cm in First and long-haul business).
Large people, as well as musicians wishing to travel with their instrument, can reserve an additional seat in the Economy cabin on a long-haul flight with a 25% discount and exemption from all taxes on this 2nd seat.
Meanwhile, Finnair shares soared 2.3% on Thursday afternoon, which could indicate that investors welcome the policy choice that could help airlines save some costs.