A passenger stands on scales at Auckland International Airport as part of a survey to generate the average weights of people traveling on Air New Zealand flights.
Courtesy Air New Zealand
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Courtesy Air New Zealand
A passenger stands on scales at Auckland International Airport as part of a survey to generate the average weights of people traveling on Air New Zealand flights.
Courtesy Air New Zealand
It’s normal for passengers’ bags to be weighed when checking in for an international flight – but in Auckland, it’s passengers who are now tipping the scales before flying abroad on Air New Zealand.
The goal isn’t to identify passengers who may be contributing to the plane’s overload or imbalance — instead, the airline says, the process is part of a survey to gather real-world information.
For safety reasons, we need to know the weight of all items on board. says the airline. In a message to National Public Radio (NPR), the airline said the survey was commissioned by the country’s Civil Aviation Authority.
Passenger weights are recorded anonymously
“We weigh everything on board — from cargo to meals on board, to baggage in the aircraft hold,” so pilots can know the weight and balance of the aircraft, Alistair James, the airline’s payload control specialist, said. And crew and cabin bags, we use the average weights, which we get from doing this survey.”
“No one can see your weight – not even us!” James added. However, he acknowledged that stepping on the scale in public “can be daunting.”
Human weight is a private matter; For anyone worried that a digital readout might reveal their weight for anyone to see, the airline says that can’t happen: “The scales don’t display weight as this is entered directly into a computer and logged anonymously with thousands of other passengers.” “
Weight is taken before passengers arrive at the boarding gate. Anyone who does not wish to participate in the survey can simply skip it. The goal is to get reads from at least 10,000 travelers.
Passengers’ carry-on bags were also weighed in the survey, which the airline says it conducts every five years. The survey began on Sunday and will continue through early July.
The weight scan falls short of the controversial plan Samoa Air launched in 2013, when it moved to charge each passenger based on their weight. But the company was not alone.
“If they had their way, airlines would love to weigh passengers as they boarded planes, but that would be very awkward,” science writer Brian Clegg once told NPR. “Actually, they used to do it in the early days of the trip.”
Air New Zealand requires thousands of passengers to step on the scale before take off, but says no one will ever know what their weight is. Shown here is an Air New Zealand plane at Auckland International Airport.
William West/AFP via Getty Images
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Air New Zealand requires thousands of passengers to step on the scale before take off, but says no one will ever know what their weight is. Shown here is an Air New Zealand plane at Auckland International Airport.
William West/AFP via Getty Images
The data is used to calculate the balance and weight of flights
Weight affects everything from an aircraft’s rate of climb to its altitude, speed, and maneuverability, eg The US Federal Aviation Administration notes. And overloading is a major concern, especially on overseas trips.
“Most modern aircraft are designed so that when all seats are occupied, the baggage compartment is full, and all fuel tanks are full, the aircraft is heavily laden,” says the FAA.
With this in mind, airlines and pilots must ensure that aircraft have the proper weight and balance for flight safety.
“If maximum range is required, passengers or baggage must be left behind, or if maximum payload must be carried, the range dictated by the amount of fuel on board must be reduced,” the FAA says.
These concerns are vital for any airline, particularly in an island country like New Zealand, where Air New Zealand planes take off for long-haul international flights – such as a nonstop flight from Auckland to New York City. The airline is also preparing to roll out more amenities, incl Bunk beds “Skynest” on long routes.
as researchers recently highlighted12% of the country’s carbon emissions came from the aviation industry – well above the global average of 2.8%.
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