An Air Latest Zealand airplane waits for passengers at Wellington International airport on February 20, 2020.
Marty Melville | Afp | Getty Images
Air Latest Zealand will ask passengers to weigh themselves before boarding international flights in a trial that goals to enhance fuel efficiency.
The carrier said Monday that over the approaching weeks it can ask greater than 10,000 customers traveling on its international network to participate in its passenger weight survey before they board.
Air Latest Zealand said pilots have to know the load and balance of the loaded aircraft before each takeoff.
The move comes after a rebound in international travel over the past yr or so following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions.
“Now that international travel is back up and running, it is time for international flyers to weigh in,” the airline said in an announcement.
The corporate previously weighed travelers on its domestic flights in 2021.
“We all know stepping on the scales may be daunting. We would like to reassure our customers there isn’t a visible display anywhere,” Alastair James, an Air Latest Zealand official specializing in load control, said in a press release.
“By weighing in, you will be helping us fly safely and efficiently each time,” James said.
Air Latest Zealand said its survey would happen at the doorway to the gate lounge of certain flights departing from Auckland International Airport between May 29 and July 2.
It will not be the primary airline to ask travelers to weigh themselves before flying.
Finnish airline Finnair began weighing its passengers back in 2017, with the aim of updating over a decade-old data on average passenger weights.
That is because many carriers still use data from the European Aviation Safety Agency, now referred to as the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, that dates to 2009.
