Dave Simon

I think it would be great, may even help not getting stuck between two large people on a flight back east. But please don't let TSA be responsible for weighing everyone we may never get to board. - Jon Erickson

Actually, I often get "electronic" tickets... I wonder if those weigh anything. - Jeremy Zawodny

This reminds me of living with roommates... you'd start out splitting the electricity bill evenly, but then someone complains that Carl has a server room that drains 70% of the power and then Carl complains that Eddie uses a lot of that server space and so on and so on... weight-based pricing sounds neat ... in theory... but could turn into disaster - Dave Dash via Alert Thingy

so how do you buy tickets in advance, or for a third person, when you can't price them until you actually show up to be weighed? - Chuq Von Rospach

It's an interesting concept ... but as mentioned above, could get messy. I've often thought about how this could be done in health care. THAT gets even messier though. - AJ Kohn

its a great idea, but people would scream discimination - that being overweight isn't their fault, not to mention it would be impractical - scales at the airport would slow things down, and if you didn't weigh people at the airport, surely folks would exaggerate their slenderness to get the best price. - Jason Kaneshiro

@Jason: You could weigh them at the security checkpoint without slowing them down too much. Hey, they even get to take the shoes off to lower the total! - AJ Kohn

@AJ, more likely it would have to be done at the luggage counter where people interact with the airline representative and pay for the additional charge, and second, all the people who don't check bags with e-tickets would then have to stand in line also to be weighed. - Jason Kaneshiro

I'm not sure that knowing the *exact* price in advance really matters. What you're "buying" in advance is a $/pound price point. Most poeple likely own scales and could easily ballpark their ticket prices. Hell, it wouldn't take long for popular booking web sites to add a little on-line calculator. - Jeremy Zawodny

Yikes, would be very embarrassing for many Americans. - Sonciary Honnoll

Here's an idea. At the airport, set up a series of poles set up with increasing distance between to measure girth. Charge accordingly depending on which posts the passenger can pass between. Essentially, if you're spilling out of your airline seat into the next one, you should pay for two. This would be similar to the "does your suitcase fit here?" type plastic boxes to measure carry ons. - Jason Kaneshiro

I'm thinking of it like in Total Recall with the wall of x-ray ... as you walk down you're assigned a weight. Perhaps it's not even a scale but simple math based on visual capture? - AJ Kohn

if you're going to attempt this in obese-nation, then ya need to seriously overhaul a ton of other crap like banning fast food, only see fruit vendors in airports and, if your feet cant reach the floor in your seat -sorry you cant lean back its felony if you do - Dan Rockwell via twhirl

Oh man I'm in trouble. Wouldn't this classify as weightism? :P - Shey

This is likely an unpopular view, but would it be a bad thing to provide some economic incentives to be a bit healthier? I mean, it's one thing if you choose to smoke, stuff yourself with fast food and not exercise and your quality of life and health diminishes. The problem is the rest of the populace pays for their care. - AJ Kohn

Weight is not always health related - some people are naturally larger or smaller. Also sometimes being overweight is a medical condition rather than the result of food consumption. So not a really fair system. - Craig Thomler

sort of understand the mass to cost to transport ratio - but surprised to see above is all about overweight - how about those of us who are genetically big, we'd be punished for our dna - mike "glemak" dunn

Final solution remedies always produce collateral damage,huh? - Mark Forman

Craig: see this response: http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog... - Jeremy Zawodny

One way around the weight discrimination is to include carry ons in the pricing. An overweight person could reduce their ticket price by bringing less crap on board, and the skinny person with three "bags" (purse and bag of food) plus a rolly suitcase could pay just as much. - Jason Kaneshiro

Jason: smart approach... sorta huge line though to weigh all this stuff...monetizing air travel really does suck - Susan Beebe

im obese and what you just said kills me "put down the cinnabon before you board" - i hope we get to meet one day and you say that to my face! - Allen Stern

Allen, perhaps you're not familiar with my story? http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog... - Jeremy Zawodny

No zealots like a convert. :) - Robert Cooper via twhirl

As someone who is bigger (tall and a bit wider) I think the only way I would agree to pay more is if they give me a bigger seat with more legroom. Short skinny people can spare the space. This is a reason I hate to fly. I would rather drive than pay more to get treated as sheep. - Dave Simon

Jeremy your system is flawed for so many reasons. Stick to coding pal :) - Allen Stern

Allen: thanks for your thoughtful analysis and advice. I'll be sure to only think and write about code from now on, for fear of a coming up with "flawed" ideas. - Jeremy Zawodny

I'm thinking Jeremy meant this like Swift's "A Modest Proposal" [satire] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A... - Sprague D

So in your plan, if I am fat, do I get a larger seat to go along with my higher price? Right now I pay for two seats, how does your system handle that? Or does everyone get the same seat but pays more because there's more weight in there? I am going to double-swipe my metrocard tomorrow on the subway because the train pulling me has to exert more force because of my weight. On a side note, congrats (seriously) on your weight loss. - Allen Stern

Allen: a larger seat would make a lot of sense, wouldn't it? - Jeremy Zawodny

i wish i had more time right now to go back and forth with you on this but 9 companies have decided to post news tomorrow at 9am and i have to write their stories - maybe we pick this up at another time - sorry - Allen Stern

This came up 6 years ago too. SouthWest decided they would force large people to buy a second ticket. http://scottkoon.org/2002/07/1... . This works out to a lose-lose situation for everyone. It does open some "slippery slope" possibilities. The real problem is that they put too many rows on the planes. Tall, skinny people would rather have one less row and some more leg room. I'd also advocate some sort of "smack in the head" policy for anyone reclining in their seat. - Scott Koon via twhirl

I would find this a lot more palatable if you also got a size-appropriate seat. If I'm 280 lbs and am paying twice as much as someone who weighs 140lbs, then I should get a chair that fits my size, and the 140 lb person should get a chair that fits their size. - Kevin Fox

This campaign was running a few weeks ago when I was in Philadelphia: http://flyderrie-air.com/derri... The first airline to charge by weight. It is coming. (No, it isn't real, but it is funny) Wasn't pay by the pound big with some small town restaurants in the 70's / 80's? I remember going to one as a kid and it was a nickel a pound for kids under 12. - Scott Schnaars

Besides larger seats for larger people you would also have to provide a bigger meal and more snacks. Ummm wait.. that's called first class. - Luis Figueiredo

A sensible idea. - Carlo Zottmann

all I know is that I just flew continental and was totally surprised to be fed... and I mean actual food not just peanuts - nick carrasco