We’ve previously posted about Samoa Airlines novel pricing programs – charging heavier than average passengers higher fares than average girthed passengers – to offset higher fuel costs to haul them and protect other passengers from “seat encroachment”.
Suffice it to say that readers’ scale tilted away from the idea.
For background, see:
Samoa Air: Pricing by weight is the ‘concept of the future’
Why don’t airlines charge more for these bags?
Well, now GoAir – an Indian airline – has initiated a weight-based program that rolls back the clock to the 50s and 60s.
Back in the (very) old days – think “Mad Men” — airlines had stewardresses – not “cabin attendants”.
They were female, attractive … and subject to enforced age and weight limits.
Most guys thought the program made a lot of sense.
Then came the new age.
Hiring young, thin, females got branded discriminatory.
You think?
CNN is reporting that Indian airline GoAir “has hit on possibly the worthiest excuse yet for hiring slim women as cabin crew – to save fuel and therefore money”.
GoAir says female flight attendants are 15-20 kilos lighter on average than men … and that each extra kilo on board costs about a nickel per flying hour.
Sounds like loose change, but GoAir says the new policy will save $500,000 annually.
Industry stat: Approximately 70% of cabin attendants are female.
Besides slim female cabin attendants, GoAir is implementing other weight-reduction initiatives, including:
- The size of in-flight magazines has been reduced
- The potable water tanks are no longer being filled to capacity
Gotta like GoAir’s focus on fuel efficiency, right?
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