Travellers who’re sensitive about their weight may have been asked a discomfiting question if they went to Thailand recently.
Some Thai airlines, including AirAsia Thailand, asked passengers to weigh themselves in addition to their luggage.
Source: Fly AirAsia on Facebook
The exercise is reportedly for them to gather data to improve service efficiency.
In a Facebook post earlier this week, AirAsia Thailand said they conducted a passenger weigh-in exercise from 16 to 20 Oct.
It was conducted before selected flights from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport, they added.
Source: Fly AirAsia on Facebook
They advised passengers not to panic if they saw a weighing point at their boarding gate.
The carrier also urged passengers to voluntarily cooperate with the airline staff in the exercise.
While some might find it odd for an airline to weigh passengers, AirAsia explained that it’s for data collection purposes.
The information will be used to update service efficiency in accordance with safety standards, they said.
It’s also being collected with the approval and cooperation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. Additionally, passenger weight information will be kept confidential.
The data will be used to investigate and calculate standard and average passenger weight, The Thaiger elaborated.
This will allow airlines to distribute weight more effectively on international flights.
In turn, that will help them reduce fuel consumption.
As it turns out, AirAsia wasn’t the only Thai airline that did this.
Thai Lion Air also reportedly started weighing passengers from 17 to 20 Oct, inviting them to contribute to average weight statistics for themselves and their luggage.
Source: Fly AirAsia on Facebook
Bangkok Airways is also considering checking passengers’ weight before boarding.
This trend didn’t start in Thailand, though.
In May, Air New Zealand said they would be weighing selected passengers before boarding international flights, as part of a survey.
They wanted to measure the average weight of passengers, including cabin baggage, on international flights “for safety reasons”, they explained.
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Featured image adapted from Fly AirAsia on Facebook.
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