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25th Mar 2013

Plane tickets should cost more for fat people, says professor

Good news everyone! If you're currently carrying a few extra kilos then you might have to pay a fortune in airline costs if a Norwegian professor has his way.

Oisin Collins

Good news everyone! If you’re currently carrying a few extra kilos then you might have to pay a fortune in airline costs if a Norwegian professor has his way.

It might seem like a crazy plan concocted by the professor from Futurama, but a Norwegian professor, by the name of Dr Bharat P Bhatta, has actually proposed a pay-as-you-weigh pricing scheme that would see fatties heavier passengers paying more.

Dr Bhatta said: “Charging according to weight and space is a universally accepted principle, not only in transportation, but also in other services.

“As weight and space are far more important in aviation than other modes of transport, airlines should take this into account when pricing their tickets.”

Dr Bhatta has proposed three different methods for calculating the weight/fare ratio and “his most suitable idea” would see passengers paying three different fare types including: an average-weight fare for people of average weight, an overweight fare that costs more for fat people and an underweight fare that costs less for people under the average-weight.

It’s certainly a novel idea and we’re sure a certain cost cutting airline would jump at the bit to implement this style of pricing. What do you think? Should airlines charge more of overweight folk? Let us know below or over on Facebook

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Topics:

Travel