Webber said that airline fuel costs have increased since 2000 not just because of higher fuel prices, but because “the average adult passenger is carrying a bit more heft”.
Writing for Fairfax newspapers, the associate professor at the University of Sydney Business School said that the more a plane weighs, the more fuel it will burn.
He added: “As the obesity crisis worsens, …. and the price of jet fuel continues to spiral upward, such user-pay charge may be something the airlines can’t ignore for too much longer.”
In his article, Webber claimed that between 1926 and 2008, the average weight of an Aussie female adult increased from 59kgs to 71kg, and the average weight of an Aussie male adult increased from 72kg to 85kg.
He added that on a route like Sydney to London via Singapore, the extra passenger weight meant around 3.72 extra barrels of jetfuel per flight is burnt, “which at current prices cost about $472”.
“This tally may not seem like a lot of money but when you add it up over all flights for a year the extra cost can all but wipe out an airline’s profits, such is the thinness of margins these days particularly on international routes,” he claimed.
However, Aussie carriers have not responded enthusiastically to the idea of imposing a ‘fat surcharge’.
When asked whether they would consider imposing the measure by Perth Now, a spokeswoman for Tiger Airways said: “In short, no.”
Qantas also told the website: “Qantas currently has no plans to introduce a surcharge nor does it have a policy in place for customers of size.”
In 2010, Air France and KLM proposed that larger passengers pay for not just one seat, but 75 per cent of the cost of a second as well.
Webb has agreed that a weight surcharge would be difficult to implement as passengers would have to be weighed at check-in.
