Originally Posted by
megan
The performance of an aircraft is predicated on weight (mass), the heavier the given aircraft is the lower its max altitude and increases fuel burn.
I object to having to pay the same for my svelte personage as the 140kg football fullback, set the price for a ticket based on the individuals weight (mass), they do it for air freight. I'm subsidising the fatties. Life's not fair, nor the fares.
The airlines use an average weight per passenger. I'd be interested to know if they use different weights for flights within North America than say within South Asia. I do know that the average weight figures have been revised upwards over the years because of people getting fatter, though.
I'd guess that the pilot of a smallish aircraft carrying a rugby team has to allow extra fuel and take on less airfreight due to the extra weight of his passengers. Rugby players come *big*.