submitted by M&C
New Zealand’s national airline is asking passengers to step on the scales before they board international flights. Air New Zealand says it wants to weigh 10,000 passengers during a monthlong survey to give pilots better knowledge about the weight and balance of their planes before takeoff.
The numbers from the scales won’t be flashing up for all to see. There will be no visible display anywhere, the airline promised, and the weigh-in data will remain anonymous even to airline staff.
“We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft — from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold,” said Alastair James, a load-control improvement specialist for the airline, in a statement. “For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey.”
Indeed the numbers are required by the nation’s industry watchdog, the Civil Aviation Authority. Under the authority’s rules, airlines have various options to estimate passenger weight. One is to carry out surveys periodically, like Air New Zealand is doing, in order to establish an average weight. Another option is to accept a standard weight set by the authority.
Currently, the authority’s designated weight for people 13 and over is 190 pounds, which includes carry-on luggage. The authority last changed the average passenger weight in 2004, increasing it from 170 pounds.
But health statistics show New Zealanders are becoming heavier. The latest national health survey put the adult obesity rate at 34 percent, up from 31 percent a year earlier. Childhood obesity rates increased to 13 percent, up from 10 percent a year earlier.
Customers on Air New Zealand domestic flights were asked to weigh in a couple of years ago.
James said there was nothing for passengers to fear by stepping on the scales. “It’s simple, it’s voluntary, and by weighing in, you’ll be helping us to fly you safely and efficiently, every time,” he said. The airline began the survey began this week and it will run through July 2.
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Sources: Written by Nick Perry, Associated Press. Photograph by stockphoto mania for Adobe Stock.
