Airline ‚Äúfat tax” wins support

Airline ‚Äúfat tax” wins support
By admin


More than half of international travellers are in favour of an airline "fat tax", a new poll has revealed, following Samoa Air's confirmation it will charge passengers according to their weight.

The Pacific airline's "world first" cost-per-kilo system requires passengers to submit their weight, including luggage, when booking their fares then to weigh in at the airport to ensure the quoted price is accurate.

Its website reads: "Booking a flight with us is as easy as inputting your approximate weight into our online booking engine (don't worry, we will weigh you again at the airport) — you then can prepay your ‘guesstimate', guaranteeing you that much weight is allocated to you for that flight … with Samoa Air, you are the master of how much (or little!) your air ticket will cost."

Samoa Air chief executive Chris Langton defended the move, describing it as the "concept of the future" and highlighting the cost benefits to families with small children.

Samoa is frequently highlighted as having a problem with obesity.

Meanwhile, the new survey by travel search site Skyscanner revealed only 41% of international travellers felt it was unfair to discriminate, with the remaining 59% in favour of such a tax.

Skyscanner market development manager Australia, Dave Boyte, said such a levy would always be a "controversial issue".

"But it is surprising to see the majority of people are in favour of the tax proving that cheap fares and reduced emissions are more important to many travellers," he said.

The debate over "pay what you weigh" ticketing has been gathering momentum once again after Norwegian economist Dr Bharat P Bhatta stated a pricing model based on passengers' weights could benefit airlines by creating cheaper fares and reduced carbon emissions.

A Travelzoo survey in January 2012 revealed that one third of Australians supported "pay per kilo" charging.

Latest News

  • Aviation

Air Vanuatu cancels all flights to Australia, files for insolvency

Hundreds of passengers have been stranded across the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand after Air Vanuatu cancelled a slew off flights across the region. Riddled with technical faults over the last year, Air Vanuatu filed for insolvency on Monday and has cancelled flights to and from Sydney, Brisbane and Auckland until at least Sunday. The Vanuatu […]

  • Destinations

Tropical North Queensland action-packed events calendar for adventure enthusiasts

Sporting enthusiasts and adventure seekers are gearing up for an action-packed year in Tropical North Queensland, with a lineup of sports events and adrenaline-pumping experiences set to take centre stage in 2024. Leading the charge is the highly-anticipated return of the Crankworx World Tour ‘Paradise Edition’ to Cairns from 22-26 May 2024. The mountain biking […]

  • Travel Agents

Disney Days returns with Inside Out 2 showing in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Auckland

Time is running out for agents to register their Expression of Interest to an exclusive screening of the much-anticipated Disney and Pixar film, Inside Out 2, hosted by Disney Destinations Australia/New Zealand team and partner United Airlines. Places are limited and applications must be in by 17 May. In addition to the screening of the […]

  • Cruise

Aranui Cruises slashes prices with No Single Supplement and Half Price offers

French Polynesian cargo cruise line Aranui Cruises is slashing thousands off its 2025 Austral and Marquesas Islands cruises with an autumn sale offering 50 per cent off the second guest in a twin share room and no single supplement for solo travellers. On sale until June 21, 2024, Aranui’s 12-day roundtrip voyage from Papeete to […]