Weight Watchers: Why a New Zealand airline will weigh flyers before boarding

A New Zealand airline is actually inviting passengers to weigh in before take-off. CNN reported that Air New Zealand, the country’s national carrier, will be weighing international passengers leaving from Auckland from 31 May to 2 July. Let’s take a closer look: Why is this happening? Air New Zealand told the News.com.Au that the survey is mandated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). According to CNN, the goal of the programme is to collect information on weight loads and how they are distributed across planes. “We weigh everything that goes on the aircraft – from the cargo to the meals onboard, to the luggage in the hold,” Alastair James, the airline’s load control improvement specialist was quoted as saying by CNN. “For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use average weights, which we get from doing this survey,” James explained.

This is known as ‘assumed mass’ as per The Independent.

According to News.com.Au, the data will help the airline work out the average weight of passengers when calculating the weight and balance of the craft – vital information pilots need prior to take-off. The Week quoted the CAA as saying the survey is essential to ensuring “the safe and efficient operation of the aircraft.” How does this work? Passengers will be requested to weigh in at the entrance of select gate lounges of Air New Zealand flights leaving Auckland International Airport, as per News.Com.Au. According to Simple Flying, two scales will be kept at the terminal – for the passenger and their baggage. The airline is even offering candy as an incentive for passengers to weigh themselves.

James also said there is no need for passengers to worry about privacy.

The weight, while being recorded, will not be visibly on any screen. “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 simple, it’s voluntary, and by weighing in, you’ll be helping us to fly you safely and efficiently, every time,” James told News.com.Au. “The scales do not display the weight as this is fed directly into a computer and recorded anonymously along with thousands of other passengers," the airline told NPR. According to NPR, anyone not wishing to have their weight taken can simply say so and skip the step. New Zealand Air told News.Com.Au that at least 10,000 passengers were required to take part in the survey. The survey is carried out every few years, as per The Week. The previous survey was carried out in 2015, as per Simply Flying. The latest international survey was deferred due to travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Cleveland.com. “If they had their way, airlines would love to weigh passengers as they get on the planes, but it would be too embarrassing,” science writer Brian Clegg previously told NPR. “In fact, they actually used to do it in the very early days of flight.” How will this help? According to the Independent, gathering data about the weight of passengers can help make flying safer and reduce harm to the environment. This, as the flight load will be figured out on actual data rather than the estimated weight of passengers. The US Federal Aviation Administration website states that the weight of the plane affects everything  – from its climb rate to cruising  altitude, speed and even its maneuverability. “Most modern aircraft are so designed that, when all seats are occupied, the baggage compartment is full, and all fuel tanks are full, the aircraft is grossly overloaded,” the FAA says. “If maximum range is required, occupants or baggage must be left behind,” the FAA says, “or if the maximum load must be carried, the range, dictated by the amount of fuel on board, must be reduced.” This isn’t the first time Air New Zealand has conducted such a survey. In 2021, the airline weighed passengers who were travelling domestically. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.