Comment: Fat tax: A big mistake

Comment: Fat tax: A big mistake
By admin


A fat tax? Seriously, what is Samoa Air thinking?

How much lower can the airline stoop in its aim to generate additional revenue?

The introduction of its fat tax, as it inevitably became known, is discrimination, pure and simple. They are charging more for heavier passengers, punishing them for their weight would be a more accurate way of looking at it. So in what way is that not discrimination?

People have excess weight for a number of reasons, health being one of them. And Samoa Air is apparently quite content to slap on an additional charge for people with potential health issues. Nice.

But regardless of the reasons, what sort of business is happy to humiliate its customers in this way?

Why don't we just sit larger people in a caged off area on the aircraft and be done with it? Maybe the airline can charge the skinny folk to throw cream buns at them? What a fabulous way to generate ancillary revenue.

The carrier can dress it up any way it likes – it said it would benefit families – but this policy has the end result of generating additional revenue from vulnerable people.

According to a Travelzoo policy, more than a few people back such a policy. Almost four out of 10 agreed with charging more for larger travellers. What a sad statistic.

Some of these people will have body odour, bad breath, a gambling habit, a drink and drug problem. Can we assume Samoa Air will start punishing these travellers for their inability to be perfect?

As for the argument that heavy people affect the carrying capacity of the aircraft. That may be true, to a point, but let's not kid ourselves this is a big problem for carriers. And it still doesn't excuse such discriminatory practice.

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