The New Zealand airline Air New Zealand wants to weigh not only luggage, but also passengers for international flights in the coming weeks. The reason is that before each takeoff, the pilots need to know the weight and balance of the loaded aircraft, as the company announced.
“It’s about safety. Every time we fly, we want to know exactly what the weight of the plane is,” aircraft chief Greg Foran told Radio New Zealand on Wednesday.
Participation is voluntary, data remains anonymous
From now until July 2, the scales will be at Auckland Airport in the North Island of the Pacific state. The weight of 10,000 passengers is determined in total – but participation is voluntary. “Don’t worry, unlike the scales at home, in the gym or at the doctor’s office, no one can see the numbers, not even airline staff,” the New Zealand Herald newspaper said. The data would be collected anonymously.
Expert: “We weigh everything”
The goal is to determine the average weight of the passengers along with their hand luggage. “We weigh everything on the plane, from cargo to onboard meals to checked baggage,” said Alastair James, Air New Zealand cargo control improvement specialist. “On the other hand, for customers, crew and hand luggage, we use average weights that we get from this study.”
Meanwhile, Air New Zealand was named the world’s best airline in this year’s Airline Excellence Awards by airlineratings.com on Wednesday, replacing Qatar Airways. The company will soon introduce the so-called Skynest. Then Economy Class guests sleep in a real bed. A total of six bunk beds are placed in some machines, for which travelers can then reserve a time slot.
Source: Krone
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