Finnair is asking for volunteers on every flight to be weighed before boarding but before you unleash the outrage, they have a pretty reasonable explanation behind the move.
The Finnish airline wants to gather updated data about its passengers to determine aircraft weight and balance, which they say will result in a more efficient operation.
Like most other airlines, it currently relies on average weight estimates from the European Aviation Safety Agency that were compiled in 2009. They put a male passenger’s weight at 84.6kg, a female’s at 66.5kg and the average child (under 12) at 30.7kg.
“This is part of having a very strong safety culture in our organisation,” the airline’s communications director, Päivyt Tallqvist, told HuffPo. “We want to see if the data we’re using for calculations is accurate. We use them for every flight, and they’re important for the aircraft’s performance. When you explain this to [passengers], they understand.”
Tallqvist told the BBC that the program, which hopes to include 2000 people, will not influence how heavier passengers are charged or treated.
“That has been a concern that some people have raised,” said Tallqvist. “For us, this has nothing to do with ticket pricing or anything like that.”
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