ALBAWABA - Airlines sometimes make Western decisions in their dealings with passengers, including imposing fees based on weight and requesting passenger weights on international flights for a certain period. What's the story behind these practices?
Airline Requests Passenger Weights
The New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority has requested that the national airline, Air New Zealand, collect the weights of departing passengers on international flights from Auckland International Airport until July 2, 2023. The airline refers to this program as a "passenger weight survey," aiming to gather data on aircraft weight and distribution.
Alister James, a payload control specialist at the airline, stated in a statement, "We weigh everything on the aircraft—from passengers to cargo to meals to the luggage in the aircraft hold—so that we can know the weight and balance of the aircraft."
Passengers will be asked to step on a digital scale during check-in for their flight, and the weight-related information will be directly sent to a computer program. The data will be recorded anonymously along with thousands of other passengers and will not be displayed on the scale screen for the public to see.
The airline acknowledges that weight is a personal matter that not everyone wants to disclose, and to protect individuals' privacy, they have made the data anonymous.
Among the individuals who may be asked to participate in the survey are those traveling on a direct flight from Auckland to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.
This is not the first time the New Zealand airline has requested passengers to step on a scale before boarding their flights. Local travelers participated in a similar survey in 2021, but the survey for international passengers was not implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weight's Impact on Aircraft Performance
Recent reports in aviation have shown that weight impacts everything from the aircraft's takeoff rate to its altitude, speed, and ability to fly. Overloading is said to be a significant concern, especially on international flights.
