Air New Zealand to weigh its passengers before boarding

Air New Zealand starts weighing its passengers.

 

Air New Zealand is weighing passengers before they board international flights, as part of a survey to determine average passenger weight.

 

The carrier assures the weight will be anonymously recorded in a database but not be visible to airline staff or other passengers.

 

It says the goal isn’t to single out passengers who might contribute to a plane being overloaded or out of balance — instead, the airline says, the process is part of a survey to gather real-world information.

 

“For safety reasons we need to know the weight of all items onboard the aircraft,” the airline said in a press statement.

 

According to reports, travelers will be asked to stand on a digital scale when they check in for their flight. The information about their weight is then submitted to the survey but will not be viewable on the agent’s screen.

 

As normal, they will also place their luggage on another identical scale for separate weighing which will be visible to the agent and the passenger.

 

Air New Zealand acknowledged in its announcement that some customers would feel daunted by weighing themselves in public.

 

Weight affects everything from a plane’s climb rate to its cruising altitude, speed and manoeuvrability.

 

“Most modern aircraft are so designed that, when all seats are occupied, the baggage compartment is full, and all fuel tanks are full, the aircraft is grossly overloaded,” the US Federal Aviation Administration says.