First airline to charge passengers by weight says trial a huge success
The world’s first airline to charge passengers by weight claims the experiment, launched almost a year ago, has been a "huge success".
Samoa Air’s chief executive Chris Langton says the airline will continue to reduce the number of seats in its aircraft to make them better suited to the pay-by-weight system.
He told Australian journalists the next aircraft will have nine instead of 14 seats to accommodate larger passengers who will pay more for their flights.
Langton said customer feedback during the first year of the policy has been positive. Under Samoa’s pricing module, a passenger’s body weight and bags are combined to give a total weight and price.
Langton told reporters: "We find that generally speaking if you look at any operation anywhere between any destination worldwide, a person that comes in at about 120 kilos or less will always be better off to travel on a pay-by-weight system."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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