In a tweet, Finnair announced that they are asking passengers to be voluntarily weighed before flights. The airline assures passengers that they’re not preparing to charge more for larger passengers. “For us, this has nothing to do with ticket pricing or anything like that,” says Pivyt Tallqvist, director of communications at Finnair. The Scandinavian carrier wants the data to make their weight and balance calculations more accurate. So far, 180 have volunteered, says Tallqvist. The airline believes 2,000 measurements will be sufficient to understand the range of its passenger weights.
As with U.S. carriers, European airlines are permitted to use an estimated passenger weight for calculating the takeoff weight of their aircraft. The standard passenger weights vary by season and gender, including carry-on baggage and each passenger’s pro rata share of infants under two years-old carried on laps. With more accurate passenger weight data, the airline may be able to carry additional cargo or passengers.
