Air travel regularly annoys passengers to such a great degree that it’s almost easier to drive the distance when possible. Let’s say you were to embark upon a short flight, which doesn’t serve as a mere connection between greater distances. When one takes security lines, luggage restrictions, and wait time into account, driving can be less of a hassle.
Those travelers who are unlucky enough to fly Uzbekistan Airlines will meet with an unfriendly new restriction. The airline (through its website) announced plans for “pre-flight weighing” for passengers, who must now stop at a “special weighing machine” near all departure gates. While the airline promises “confidentiality of results is guaranteed,” they do not specify whether penalties will take place if a passenger exceeds the desired weight.
Uzbekistan Airlines justifies this new policy by way of a new rule from the International Air Transport Association, which denies that the regulation even exists. The IATA says airlines are free to make their own policies, but all such guidelines must pass muster with “their national aviation regulator.”
There’s little doubt that such an invasive new rule would cause passengers to select a different airline if such options existed. However, Samoa Air has weighed passengers since 2013 and adjusts fares based upon results. They must be heavily profiting because the average body-mass index of a Samoa resident is three-to-four times that of the global average. Perhaps this rule has worked out for Samoa Air, but, as a larger trend, many passengers would choose to go elsewhere.
(Via Time)
