Pre-flight routines can include stepping on scales.
After checking in at Auckland International Airport, New Zealand’s national airline asks passengers to weigh in.
Air New Zealand plans to weigh 10,000 passengers in the survey that will last a month. Air New Zealand has promised that the numbers will not be displayed on the scales and that they will remain anonymous, even for staff.
The Civil Aviation Authority (the industry’s watchdog) requires that the planes’ weight and balance be calculated before takeoff.
A passenger is weighed ahead of a flight in Auckland, New Zealand this week.
Air NZ / via AP
Alastair J., the airline’s specialist in load control and improvement, said: “It is a requirement that we know the weights of all the items that go on the aircraft. There’s good reason behind that.”
He said that in order to fly efficiently and safely, it is necessary to know the weight and balance each time you fly.
James said that passengers should “not worry.” The weight is not displayed anywhere on the screen. It’s simply captured and sent straight to the computer.
Separately, they will place their luggage onto a scale to be weighed.
It is not the first airline to ask passengers for their opinions. Customers on domestic flights were asked two years ago.
On social media, while the survey was largely supported in New Zealand by many citizens there, others expressed concerns over privacy and body discrimination.
John Cox of NBC News Aviation Expert stated that the methods and data collected Air New Zealand could have “widespread benefits” for the world.
I think other airlines may use this in the future.
The survey will continue until July 2, according to the airline.
Contributed by Associated Press
