Should airlines charge you by your weight?

by Grant Martin on

With all of the cutbacks and extra fees in the airline industry over the past few months, it’s difficult not to think about weight on an aircraft per passenger. That’s why airlines unilaterally increased baggage fees earlier this year — more weight requires more fuel which is makes the flight more expensive to operate. If you can encourage passengers to pack lighter or less, the carrier will save money.

But what if airlines charged by not only the weight of the luggage but also by the weight of the passenger? One analyst consulted by the popular world and economics website Bloomberg has ventured into the uncharted territory of charging by passenger weight. Robert Mann, aviation consultant at R.W. Mann & Co suggests that it’s the “next logical step”, given that airlines are basically treating passengers and their luggage alike as freight.

So you would step up to the ticket counter, weigh your checked luggage, send it away then weigh yourself and your carry on to determine your ticket price. You and your luggage weigh 200 lbs? Your ticket is 200$. You and your luggage weigh 300? 300$.

Admittedly, the article speaks with another aviation consultant, David Swierenga, who points out how unrealistic the idea is — and since Bloomberg is a careful media source I imagine they didn’t elaborate on purpose.

Why would this idea never work? America is overweight. We would FLIP OUT if a policy like this was ever adopted, the airline in question would get the pants sued off of it and the carrier would be dead before it even started. It’s not too hard to portray “charging by weight” as “discrimination against overweight people”.

Airlines will just have to keep coming up with other crafty ideas to make profit until jet fuel returns to normal. Stay tuned for the next ridiculous fees that they come up with.

Bigger in Japan

by Aaron Hotfelder on

The Japanese diet has historically been one of the healthiest in the world, consisting mainly of rice, vegetables, and fish. But the increase in “Western”-style fast-food joints has forced many Japanese to loosen their belts several notches.

Statistics from Japan’s government show that, on average, Japanese males are ten percent heavier than they were only ten years ago, and the women are packing it on almost as much.

This news has driven the Japanese government to require employers to reduce the number of overweight employees by ten percent by 2012 and 25 percent by 2015. Men whose waistlines exceed 34 inches will be considered overweight, while the limit for women is a downright husky 35 inches.

More here.

Highest and Lowest Life Expectancies around the Globe (USA takes dismal 42nd place)

by Neil Woodburn on

When I lived as an expat in Prague, I felt that I lived in a truly unhealthy environment. With all the cigarette smoke, fatty foods, beer drinking, and coal smoke that constantly surrounded me, I couldn’t wait to get my body back to healthy Los Angeles.

Well, as it turns out, America really isn’t all that much better. A recent study has revealed that people in a jaw-dropping 41 countries have higher life expectancies than those in the USA (and no, the Czech Republic is not one of them). This is quite a tumble from 20 years ago when America stood rather proudly at 11th place. Now, even people in countries like Jordan and Guam are living longer lives than most Americans.

A number of factors have naturally contributed towards this demise, with the greatest killer being obesity. Nearly 30% of American adults are considered overweight. Yikes.

So in case you are looking to extend the old ticker, you might want to click on the jump link below to check out the top ten countries with the highest life expectancies. And, of course, since we here at Gadling value the health of our readers, we’ve also included the bottom of the list as well so that you can be sure to avoid these countries.

LONGEST LIVED
• Andorra, 83.5 years
• Japan, 82.0 years
• Macau, 82.0 years
• San Marino, 81.5 years
• Singapore, 81.5 years
• Hong Kong, 81.4 years
• France, 80.4 years
• Australia, 80.3 years
• Sweden, 80.3 years
• Switzerland, 80.3 years
(#42, United States, 77.9 years)

SHORTEST LIVED
• Swaziland, 34.1 years
• Zambia, 36.6 years
• Angola, 36.7 years
• Liberia, 38.1 years
• Zimbabwe, 39.0 years
• Lesotho, 39.5 years
• Sierra Leone, 39.7 years
• Malawi, 40.9 years
• Mozambique, 41.4 years
• Afghanistan, 42.5 years