Two American Samoan businessmen claim they were weighed by Hawaiian Airlines staff before boarding a flight from Honolulu.
A pair of American Samoan businessmen have submitted a complaint to the United States Transportation Department over their claims that they were weighed before boarding their Hawaiian Airlines flight from Honolulu, Hawaii. In response, the airline said that this new policy is required to evenly distribute weight in its Boeing-767 cabins to meet the manufacturer’s guidelines.
Hawaiian Airlines cited an increase in average passenger weight as the reason behind the weigh-ins. The new policy means those flying from Pago Pago, the capital of American Samoa, will now be allocated seats and may be asked to step on the scales. This will enable the airline to limit the number of adults per row and reserve seats in certain rows for young children.
According to Radio New Zealand, Avamua Dave Haleck, one of the businessmen involved in the incident, insists this is a discriminatory case as the policy is clearly targeting American Samoans. He told the radio station: “…of course Hawaiian is saying that ‘yes it is a safety issue’. So have we been flying unsafe for all these years?”
It seems the airline’s decision of enforcing this policy on flights only to and from Pago Pago, may be driven by the fact that American Samoa has the highest rate of obesity in the world, according to the CIA’s World Factbook. A remarkable 74.6% of American Samoans are considered obese. Obesity is said to be of epidemic proportions, with locals developing a taste for cheap, imported fast food as opposed to their traditional diets.
The United States Transportation Department says it is investigating the complaints.
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