Airline to Charge Passengers by Weight
86 percent of Samoans overweight
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
A new airline in Samoa has become the first carrier to begin charging its passengers by weight—the weight of their bags and of their bodies. Samoa Air will charge passengers flying between American Samoa and Samoa between 93 cents and $1.06 per kilogram, the Calgary Herald reports. “The plane can only carry a certain amount of weight and that weight needs to be paid,” Samoa Air CEO Chris Langton said on Tuesday. “There is no other way.”
While the new pricing may be a boon to svelte travelers, it will likely jack up fares for many people in Samoa, where the population of obese people has swelled in recent decades. According to a 2011 report by the World Health Organization, Samoa is the fourth fattest country, with 86 percent of Samoans registered as overweight.