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Post by wilmsmeyer on Apr 20, 2009 5:09:52 GMT -5
OK...what do you think? I rarely fly (4 times in 41.92 years - 3 times required!) so I have no pony in this show.
Here's my take. The airline industry is a "shipping company" with the difference being human cargo and their belongings. A plane, passenger or FEDEX, must weigh in and not exceed a certain weight or it may not get off the ground. Once off the ground, the heavier the plane the more fuel it will take to get from point A to point B.
This decision for United Airlines isn't the same as a "fat tax" that is being tossed around some in the govt. It's a sound idea being used by a capitalistic company that is carrying an increasingly larger then average human body. A body that swells into the space of other passengers and takes more fuel to get to their destination.
Do we give a skinny 22 year old model a discount? Not necassarily.
Maybe the Airline industry treats commuter travel as a shipping container. They may decide they need X amount of $ to make a flight from NYC to LAX profitable. The plane can carry X amount of weight. Take your passenger and luggage weight and divide into the maximum cargo weight and apply a cost per pound. Make reservations on weights, and of course, verify the weight at check in and adjust accordingly.
This may seem crude, but a plane that can hold 72 people...that is chartered by 72 very large people...may not even get off the ground.
Any goats outside the fence?
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Post by edge on Apr 20, 2009 7:43:31 GMT -5
Here is my take on this. Some airlines charge and some don't so it will end up being a competitive edge for a while and then all will or all won't charge.
At first I thought that it seemed a bit offensive for a customer service business, but when you hear the rules it does not seem very wrong.
If it were just weight, then IMO that would be wrong since the skinny model does not get a break, the airlines work on an average weight and don't charge by the pound.....some have tried that in the past.
Basically if you don't fit in your seat and take up part of your neighbors seat then you need to buy two.
The only other fair way might be to make a arm rest extender which would be a little wall between seats. If you were really large you squish in and have an uncomfortable ride or you would know to buy two seats. Either way your neighbor would not be inconvenienced!
edge.
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Post by rexxer on Apr 20, 2009 18:18:12 GMT -5
Wilms-If your way of thinking is correct I should at least get a discount on a haircut!  |
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Post by huntingmike on Apr 20, 2009 19:39:23 GMT -5
My barber told me I get a discount on the hair cut but now she has to charge a finder's fee.
It all works out to the same price. Imagine that.
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Post by chuck41 on Apr 21, 2009 1:04:34 GMT -5
My barber told me I get a discount on the hair cut but now she has to charge a finder's fee. It all works out to the same price. Imagine that. Now that's just plain tacky! |
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Post by rossman40 on Apr 21, 2009 15:13:16 GMT -5
It is hard to overload one of the bigger planes like a 747 or DC-10 but with the small puddle-jumpers you can come dangerous close fairly easy. For example a 757 can carry 230 passengers, but the important figures are Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) which is 250,000lb and a Max Landing Weight (MLW) which is like 209,000lbs (if you land heavier then max landing weight you better have a lot of runway). It can carry roughly 11,500 gals of fuel (78,000lbs) and has a empty weight of a little less then 130,000lbs. If you put 80,000 of freight/people on board you can only put on a half a tank of fuel and you better be close to fumes in the tanks when you land. If every person had two bags at 50lb each, a 25lb carry-on and weighed an average of 200lbs your looking at 75,000lbs.
As Wilmsmeyer said there is a optimum weight for fuel consumption and even a optimal Center of Gravity (CG). Then you have to load enough fuel not just for the destination but the alternate destination plus 10%. Some flights can afford to be a little light going to say LAX or JFK because they will leave pretty full.
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Post by 12ptdroptine on Apr 22, 2009 18:39:31 GMT -5
On second thought.... Who is to decide the weight limit..and yeah what about a rebate for the little people of the world...
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Post by rossman40 on Apr 22, 2009 19:34:09 GMT -5
In air freight we would charge by the pound unless it was a light bulky package and then it was by cubic foot. The shipper had to provide weight and dimensions of the package/s, our software as soon as you inputed the shipping bill would catch bulky packages. It didn't help to lie on the weight, the packages were bar scanned when loaded into a container so the computer would calculate the container weight and when it was ran over a scale and the weight didn't jive then it was assumed that a package didn't get scanned or somebody lied on the shipping documents and if time was available the container was tore down and all the packages verified for scan and weight.
Basically your buying the seat on the plane and your luggage handling, if you overload your luggage and are ++size maybe you should pay extra.
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Post by edge on Apr 23, 2009 6:18:58 GMT -5
IMO, you pay "X" for a seat and the airline averages everyone's weight.
The problem is that a seat also has a "Volume" restriction!
For instance a pregnant woman generally does not overflow to an adjacent seat because most increase in size is in front of her.
IMO, the problem comes from oversize ( as opposed to overweight ) passengers infringing onto any seats that they have not paid for.
edge.
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Post by Buckrub on Apr 23, 2009 8:38:04 GMT -5
Humans come in various sizes.
Airline companies were formed for the purpose of ferrying humans.
I suggest they make X seats on a plane that are bigger than the rest (a few). Sell them for whatever they want. When they are gone, they are gone, and the next big guy has to buy two seats.
Much bigger issues in my opinion are the unfathomable array of prices, and the nickel-dime nature of the airlines. Delta just jumped on the bandwagon of charging for a 2nd checked bag. They will let you fly from L.A. to N.Y. but you can only carry a toothbrush. And don't have a pointy edge on it, either!!! And the guy next to you will NOT be charged the same amount for the same service. And don't ask how they figured it.
And then they lie to you about delays and then they strip search you because we MIGHT have a terrorist in the air.
Never mind that not a single non-commercial aircraft has to have THEIR passengers searched by TSA.
Airlines are a rip, from one end to the other. As big a conservative as I am, I'd still ALMOST agree to total government regulation.......but I'm convinced that they'd be in bed together and the regulations would do nothing.
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Post by edge on Apr 23, 2009 8:51:24 GMT -5
SNIP I suggest they make X seats on a plane that are bigger than the rest (a few). Sell them for whatever they want. When they are gone, they are gone, and the next big guy has to buy two seats. SNIP. They already do that! It is called First Class  edge. |
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Post by Buckrub on Apr 23, 2009 10:48:51 GMT -5
Ha. Guess you're right, there!!!
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Post by chuck41 on Apr 26, 2009 8:17:41 GMT -5
Snip. . . . . . Never mind that not a single non-commercial aircraft has to have THEIR passengers searched by TSA. Airlines are a rip, from one end to the other. As big a conservative as I am, I'd still ALMOST agree to total government regulation.......but I'm convinced that they'd be in bed together and the regulations would do nothing. Snip . . . . . Likewise TSA is the government. If the government can screw up the searches how much more would they screw up pricing? If you have any doubts, look at the tax code. |
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