“No hiding behind an average weight:
Samoa Airlines charging by the pound for people or cargo, fare is fair?”
~ Cynthia G. Creel
April 26, 2013
My story:
Every year for about 20 years I gained a pound or two or three. I stopped weighing myself and just didn't want to think about it. The clothes with more modern fabrics became more pliable leaving me with a false perception I wasn't so bad.
There were few signs that gave me a clue of where I was in respects of my weight. Until I was about 37 pound overweight with only about 25 pound more to be considered obese. That was news to me and shocking. The National Institutes of Health provides a Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator for anyone to find what their numbers are. (2)
Having excess weight seem to be a common story in the world today. I had tried to lose weight before with the only motivation that worked was the fear of dying from a heart attack. I had lost my 37 pounds and it felt better. One of the best part was all the money I had started to save because I wasn't as large. I quickly found how expensive it was to carry the excess weight in daily care of my body, the toll on my health and all the cost associated with having an unhealthy lifestyle.
Discrimination or fair to base on weight?:
CBS news (1) reports Samoa Airlines began to charge passengers based on their weight. Some of the largest people are from the islands with 86% of Samoa’s being overweight today. With a dilemma created by the variation on the size of people and nowhere else to hide the increase in fair the decision was made to pay per pound for people or cargo by Samoa Airlines. The options were limited other airlines could raise prices on beverages or luggage. The Samoa Airlines don't offer beverages and their planes don't carry much cargo, so there wasn't an option to increase prices on these to help to compensate for the increased cost of transporting heavier people.
The reality is for an airplane the only factor that matters is the weight affecting the amount of fuel needed to fly from point A to point B caring x amount of weight. It not only becomes an issue of survival for an airline financially, it also alleviates a safety issues of having an actual number of pounds rather than estimate that has a possibility of showing too little weight instead the reality of weight carried being higher with the possibility of negatively affect the actual amount of fuel needed to complete a flight and the possibility how the plane many handle under a wide variety of weather conditions during a flight.
Final words:
This new trend of charging by the pound for people or cargo, if successful, will most likely travel throughout the airline industry. If the airlines don't make the ticket price fair by charging per pound than a guess on the hidden weight will most likely be attached somewhere else that may or may not be fair to paying passengers. Hiding the cost could become more costly for everyone if the guess is too high that might even over inflate the cost of a child traveling.
A company needs to make a profit to stay in business and a fair trade for money is the best business plan. The Samoan Airlines are helping to secure their ability to offer needed service by making a profit. The profit is up by 20% using the pay by weight method. There is no hiding behind an average weight policy where the company can make more profits off many or lose profits because the guessed wrong.
It is the truth that might be difficult for many to face, having a reminder in a sale of a ticket may be a needed reality check. Not being faked out by clothing that stretches to fit or paying the same as everyone else could give a new picture to find a reminder of the “real” numbers each persons carries in life.
Discover a new world. Help yourself, help the world, step onto the Path of True Health and vote with your dollars to create a world you will love to live in. I do, and I like the world I am helping to create. Together we can create a better life for all to remember over their entire lifetime Together we can protect what we have so we don't need to live in a world that is second rate.
By Design ~ “Life is good By Design”
Photo creation by Cynthia G. Creel all rights reserved ©2013
A squirrel climbing down a telephone pole after being chased up it by a cat.
all rights reserved ©2013 written permission is needed to duplicate
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of By Design or Cynthia G. Creel. Consultation of a medical professional is highly recommended before any changes are considered. This article is not saying anyone person in a leadership position is unhealthy or healthy, it is just a possibly of many and is only speaking in general terms. .Note: No company mentioned in this article is considered to serve “healthy or unhealthy” food, any examples given was only used as an example of how business works though their history and public information. The focus is only to help explain a idea. Statements and conclusions of any study authors that are presented are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Cynthia G. Creel or any means the information is published. There is no representation or warranty as to their accuracy or reliability.
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Sources:
(1) http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505266_162-57581555/plane-travel-by-the-pound-samoa-air-says-charging-passengers-by-weight-is-paying-off/
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