An economics scholar in Norway, researching the flight industry to address costs, has deduced that passengers should pay by the pound to fly.
Heavier passengers should pay more to get to the same location as lighter folks? Seriously mister economics scholar, have you heard of a little thing called discrimination? Are you really going to start treating people as pounds on the hoof?
Progressing to the argument at hand, it is better suited for the airlines to determine how many seats are available on a flight and cover the expenses to determine how much profit a given seat should make. If that seat is empty, then hey, figure out a way to attract more people to your brand.
Could you imagine the cost differential for a plane full of cheerleaders to go to Hawaii versus a plane full of football players? The airline would make a large profit on one and lose their rear on the other.
I understand the need to control costs in order to make a profit, but separating people into groups and treating them differently is not going to help any airline maintain a customer loyalty program. Consider, instead, the idea of treating people equal and delivering great customer service. Then, when prices increase, no one feels singled out and discriminated against.
By labeling people with any identifier, we open up the possibility for those people to be ridiculed or harassed. I do not know about you, but I do not think I would approach a heavyweight mixed martial arts fighter and point out that because he is bigger and heavier he has to pay more to sit on the same plane I do.
Equality in ticket prices should mean that the airlines are going to make more money on smaller people and children and a little less on larger folks, but in the overall picture, it should come out the same. So, why would airlines even consider opening themselves up to a discrimination lawsuit?
Buy your meat, fruit and vegetables by the pound; let’s keep treating human beings as people and equals and charge by the person to fly.