The holiday season is in full swing, with people busy shopping, wrapping gifts, and preparing to visit their loved ones. In addition to the added costs for checked luggage and seat upgrades, some airlines are considering implementing weight-based pricing. A recent study from the University of New Hampshire explored people’s attitudes towards weighing themselves and their bags as a way to lower emissions. Findings revealed that while more than half of travelers are hesitant about stepping on a scale, there are some who are receptive to the idea, particularly if it aligns with their environmental values.
“We aimed to investigate how air travel could become more environmentally friendly, especially in terms of the weight we carry — both personal and in luggage that often goes back and forth,” explained Markus Schuckert, a professor of hospitality management. “We questioned whether reducing overall weight might lead to greener air travel and whether passengers would be willing to accept pricing based on that.”
In the study published in Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, researchers surveyed over 1,000 air travelers in the U.S. to assess their opinions on three potential fare policies designed to promote sustainable flying. The research highlighted that heavier aircraft consume more jet fuel, generating greater carbon emissions. They proposed a tiered approach, including a standard policy where all flyers pay the same price, a threshold policy charging extra fees for those over a specific weight, and a unit-of-body-weight policy where fare depends on each passenger’s total body and luggage weight.
The standard pricing method was the most widely accepted among all groups, with over half rating it as the most ethical choice. Nearly 60% of participants raised concerns about weight-based pricing, fearing issues of fairness and potential discrimination related to nutrition, income, and other factors influencing body weight.
Younger travelers aged 18-35 were more supportive of weight-based pricing, showing nearly a 20 percentage point higher acceptance than those aged 66 and over. Furthermore, individuals with higher incomes or frequent flyer status demonstrated 25% greater likelihood to endorse weight-based policies compared to lower-income individuals or less frequent travelers.
The concept of weight-based pricing presents key challenges for airlines, particularly regarding environmental responsibility and customer privacy. This idea remains controversial and hasn’t gained much popularity among airlines due to ethical dilemmas.
Researchers clarify that the study does not advocate for these policies but rather aims to assess whether such an approach could effectively reduce emissions for more sustainable air travel, and whether consumers would be open to these modifications.
“This topic has been a point of discussion for many years, yet there’s surprisingly little research on it,” remarked Schuckert. “A few airlines have experimented with or considered weight-based pricing, but concerns about ethics hinder discussions. If our goal is to create a more sustainable air travel experience, we must have frank conversations about it. This is the essence of research — to bring all ideas to light for discussion.”
Future research could explore other mechanisms to encourage lighter travel or innovative sustainability strategies that prioritize both environmental and social equity.
Co-authors of the study included Lorenzo Masiero and Judit Zoltan from the University of Bologna, Italy; Denis Tolkach from James Cook University, Australia; Stephen Pratt from the University of Central Florida; Matias Thuen Jørgensen from Roskilde University, Denmark; and Kaye Chon from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
