baggage allowance

sounds like everytime the issue of baggage allowance comes up, people start ranting about it.
from the airlines' point of view, more baggage=means more fuel needed to carry every single extra kg on board. meaning the airline has to spend more money on fuel, so thats why they charge us for the extra baggage.



example:

we have 2 travelers:
Mr. X who weighs =80kgs -------------has 25 kgs worth of baggage weight
Mr.Y who weighs=140kgs--------------has 20kgs worth of baggage weight

the airline's baggage allowance limit is 20kg .
 this implies that Mr.Y ,wont pay any extra penny for extra baggage because his baggage alowance didnt exceed 20kg.  while Mr.X will have to pay for the 5kgsextra  he is carrying on board. 

this is how ithas always worked. now the arguement comes..

 is it fair that Mr.X and Mr.Y pay same price for the ticket when knowing  that MR.Y's body weight which  is almost double Mr.X's, (and therefore is gonna cost the airline extra fuel)?

we always see people who are big , taking more than 2 spaces on a plane , costing the airline more money  becuase of their extra weight. however, this person pays  the same plane ticket price a normal sized person would pay. is this fair? i think its discrimination against ~the normal sized person~ (although i dont like to use the term normal) (any better term out there?)

why dont they get a scale and weigh the traveler and their baggage all together ?
i remember once i had to pay 100pounds because i had 6 extra kgs ... i got really pisssed seeing all those people around who are big  who will cost the airline more money to carry them than to carry my 6kgs!!!
i feel its pure discrimnation against  people... but people are too shy to talkabout it becuase they dont want bigger people to feel bad. however irts bot about thin or big people , its about carrying a total X amount of weight in the sky and about the more or less amount fuel its going use.

(not that i have anything against big people and i dont want to start an arguement against big poeple and nor i i want to encourage discrimnation )
im really sorry if i caused any annoyances from my post....

im really sorry if i caused any annoyances from my post....

Really? 

yes i am...
oh well... sounds like people are gonna be annoyed...
 
i hope i explained my point well... cos i all im doing is  having a go at the airlines...
doh...

Some "big" people are charged for two seats by the airline.   You may want to check which airlines have this policy, this way you will not have ill feelings towards "big" people and the baggage allowance. 

I am a "big" person who fits in one seat.  I also travel with my children who do not take up the whole passanger weight allowance, so I guess my extra weight makes up for my child's full price ticket, though my child is a small weight.

thanks for your input.
infact i never knew Some "big" people are charged for two seats by the airline.
thanks for sharing!
maybe i need to do more reading on that ....

You say you don't want to start an argument, but what exactly were you hoping for?  Everyone to calmly discuss the merits of being skinny vs packing too much?

You bring up two different airline policies as if they were related.  But they aren't.  Baggage fees can be applied across the board without discrimination on height weight or any other physical attribute.  Bags don't have feelings.  Excess fees for being a big person affects an actual Human being and their feelings. 

Sure it seems like it's unfair, but it's a lot harder to control your body weight than the weight of your case.  Airlines have rules.  They may suck, but they are the rules of that airline.  If you don't like it then switch airlines.  If I were big, I wouldn't fly Southwest Airlines in the US (Who I believe were one of the first to implement a two seat rule for bigger people - not sure if it's still in effect).  Likewise, I don't fly Ryan Air or Easy jet, because I think their baggage allotment is ridiculous.  I could back 20 K in shoes alone. 

Yeah, I would say this is much more of a grievance then any sort of informative travel information as well...

Again, the point is unclear.  There are a lot of wrongs in this world and it appears the OP has a little bit of a hangup about weight.  Should we just plop a scale down at the check-in counter?  What about buses and other forms of transportation, start charging everyone for haulage weights?  What about the all you can eat buffet?

If anything it isn't discrimination against the "average" person, it is not discriminating against the overweight person.  Also at what point does someone become overweight and should be charged more than the "normal person"?

Personally I find screaming kids on a plane offensive and annoying.  The flight attendants spend more of their time handling those as well as rude customers.  I think we should place a surcharge on children and rude people if I were to use the same logic!

What about people who snore?  They bother the hell out of me.   

Or people who get up to use the toilet too much.....

I am often WAY over my baggage allowance, and have only been charged extra once.

One clerk told me:  "We charge when the plane is really full, or if the passenger annoys us".

I was probably annoying that one time...

Hi,

I beleive the 'thinking' that it costs the airline money to take a 'heavier' person is boll)cks. Even 'IF' every passenger was 'large' planes can carry alot of weight - I doubt all those 'peoples' weight would approach the weight 'capacity' a plane can take. Yes, it 'would' take more fuel but I really doubt it would be to the extent of having to charge more. Planes always carry 'reserve' amounts of fuel in order to accomodate possible delays in the flight approach tree.

I'm not an aviation expert and really, there may be a 'viable' reason for this charging a larger person double thing - the only thing I can think of is the price/cost per flight Vs the number of passengers on board - but that doesnt really fly because of the few times I've flown trans atlantic and found 30-40 seats free at the back of the plane..

The fact they can charge you extra for a measly '6KG' is because it's a 'can get away with in business' type thing - similar to the 'contents may settle during transit and so exact wieght may not match that printed on the box' (think cereals here) and the 'Up to 8 MB download for the internet' - (which really means you may end up with just 2 or 3 MB as I've found!) - Also, we are used to getting 'taxed' extra in allsorts of areas in our lives when the 'guideline' is passed.

My opinion on 'mass transportation' is that ineveitably (sp?) you will come across ALL sorts of shapes, sizes, colours, of people and some of those people may have some sort of characteristic which may be found to be unpleasant - so just get on with your own thing and stop worrying about others is what I say! You've paid your money to get where you're going - why be interested in what others have/haven't etc?!

It's only an 'issue' when you 1. take personal offence or make a judgement to someone becuase of some characteristic 2. if someone else is overbearing in some way to you.

Cheers ! Dennis ! West London UK!!

So you think that because the airlines find a way to charge more money that those of us who weigh more than we should should have the embarrassment of stepping on a scale at the ticket counter? Are you joking?? It's hard enough at the freakin doctor's office.   You are not on the right train of thought in your response to being charged more for your baggage. At least i know i will continue to be entertained on shows like airport and airline
Take your extra 6kg of luggage and put it on- add that to your body weight- you'll walk right through.