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New Zealand is making a controversial move begin weighing passengers who are getting on a flight, in order to better understand how passenger weight can affect load and distribution on planes. Passengers who board an Air New Zealand plane from Auckland International Airport to JFK Airport, New York, from May 29 to July 2 will be forced to jump on the scales, and the measurement will be used in their passenger weight survey – though unsurprisingly, many aren’t happy about it.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.If you’re one of those passengers, take a little comfort that your weight won’t be broadcast on a screen for the rest of the queue to see. Not even the attendant will be able to see it, and instead the data will be sent anonymously straight off to the survey.
"We know stepping on the scales can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight – not even us! It's completely anonymous, " says Air New Zealand Load Control Improvement Specialist Alastair James, in a statement.
This isn’t the first time Air New Zealand has asked passengers the unaskable question – in 2021, domestic passengers were weighed before getting on their flights. Now, it’s time for international passengers to have their turn.
“We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft – from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold,” James continued.
“For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey."
