Booking a flight is already complex interplay of checked baggage allowances and seat upgrades, but a new study by the University of New Hampshire has examined whether weight-based pricing – for both baggage and the passengers themselves – could make air travel more sustainable.
The somewhat controversial study sought to get the perspective from travellers on whether they would be open to weighing their baggage and themselves to help reduce emissions. More than half of respondents said they wouldn’t be willing to hop on the scale, however many would be open to the idea, particularly if it aligns with their own environmental interests.
Passenger opinions
“We wanted to explore how air travel could be made more sustainable, especially considering the weight we carry — both personal weight and baggage that often travels back and forth,” commented Markus Schuckert, professor of hospitality management, University of New Hampshire. “We wondered if reducing weight overall could contribute to more eco-friendly air travel and began questioning whether passengers might accept pricing that reflects this.”
The study, which was published in the Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice journal, surveyed more than 1,000 air travellers in the US on potential aircraft policies that would lead to more sustainable flying.
Taking into account the fact that the heavier the aircraft, the more fuel it burns, three policies were put forward – a standard, uniform price for all passengers; a ‘threshold’ policy where passengers exceeding a certain weight pay additional fees; and a ‘unit-of-body-weight’ policy where each passenger’s airfare is based on their combined body and baggage weight.
Close to 60% of respondents voiced concerns about weight-based policies on airlines, with many citing discrimination and fairness issues, while those that were more in favour of weight-based pricing tended to be younger – 20% more 18-35 year olds than 66+ year olds would be in favour of a weight-based pricing option.
‘Ethical considerations’
“This topic has been widely discussed for decades, but there’s surprisingly little research on it,” said Schuckert. “Some airlines have tried or considered weight-based policies, but the main roadblock remains ethical concerns, which make it difficult to even discuss.
“But if we aim to make air travel more sustainable, we should have an open discussion. That’s really the point of research — to put everything on the table for consideration.”
Co- authors on the report include Lorenzo Masiero and Judit Zoltan, both from the University of Bologna, Italy; Denis Tolkach, James Cook University, Australia; Stephen Pratt, University of Central Florida; Matias Thuen Jørgensen, Roskilde University, Denmark; and Kaye Chon, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Read more here.
