The First Airline in the World to Sell Your Flight by the Pound

Check out “the fairest system for payment of carriage or anything by air”. According to Samoa Air, they are the first airline in the world which charges you by the pound and provides a better level of comfort, customized to your needs.

The system is super simple – the price of the ticket is determined based on the sum of your weight and the weight of your luggage. The airline charges by the pound against the sector fare. The model gets even cooler when you factor in families with kids, because the rules still apply and the kids get the same rate per pound as everyone else. A pound is a pound is a pound when it comes down to sending cargo or unaccompanied baggage as well.

So, why has Samoa Air decided to create this system, which can easily be considered offensive to some people? According to the company, knowing the weight of the travelers can help the airline arrange for a more comfortable flying experience, including removal of seats or leaving areas unoccupied when needed. Also, by knowing more about actual weight the company can maximize efficiency and offer lower rates in the future.

I personally would love to be able to save up some money when I decide to travel lightly. Sounds like a fair deal to me considering that the price of the flight actually does depend on the weight of the plane. Couldn’t this even be a pretty strong incentive to shed off some pounds?

The company says profit has gone up 20 percent since they started the pay-by-weight model. So, what do you think about it?

Photo: flickr