Dispensary Corner 13 Dec 13
December 13, 2013
Samoa Air, the South Pacific
airline that pioneered a fare
system based on passenger
weight rather than a set price for
each seat has been so successful
that the carrier is expanding and
upgrading its fleet.
Chief executive Chris Langton
said the controversial weightbased
1.34 tala (64 cents) per
kilogram charge had proved
popular over the first 12 months,
as it meant cheaper fares for
many (slimmer) passengers.
“People do the sums, that’s their
first interest,” he told the ABC.
“They compare what they would
pay on a pay-by-weight system
and just do basic arithmetic.”
According to the World Health
Organization, Samoa has one
of the world’s highest rates of
obesity, leading to soaring levels
of weight-related coronary
disease, diabetes and strokes.
Now the airline is in the process
of adding to its three-aircraft fleet
a new Cessna 208, which will
be configured with larger, wider
seats so as to ensure that larger
passengers who pay high fares are
given more space.
Unfortunately while the
initiative has helped the airline’s
bottom line, there appears to still
be plenty of people willing to pay
extra rather than lose weight.
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