Air New Zealand weighs passengers before they board

Take off your shoes. Take your keys out of your pocket. Stand on the scale?

That’s right: New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority requires its national airline to weigh departing passengers on international flights from Auckland International Airport until July 2, 2023.

The airline said the programme, which Air New Zealand calls the Passenger Weight Survey, is a way to collect data on the weight and distribution of aircraft.

“We weigh everything on board – from cargo to meals on board, to baggage in the cargo hold,” Alastair James, the airline’s payload control optimization specialist, said in a statement. “For customers, crew and cabin bags, we use the average weights we get from taking this survey.”

However, weight is a personal thing that not everyone is willing to disclose. In order to protect the privacy of individuals, the airline says it has made the data anonymous.

Passengers will be asked to stand on a digital scale when checking in for their flight. The information about its weight is then sent to the survey but will not be viewable on the dealer’s screen.

They will also put their luggage on another similar scale of separate weight.

“We know walking on the scale can be daunting. We want to reassure our customers that there is no visible display anywhere. No one can see your weight, not even us,” said James.

This isn’t the first time Air NZ has asked passengers to stand on a scale before boarding their flights. Domestic travelers participated in a survey in 2021, but the survey for international travelers was delayed due to the pandemic.

Among the people who might be asked to take part in the survey are those who are taking a direct flight from Oakland to JFK in New York City.

Main road for 17 hours It was launched last fall As a key component of Air NZ’s post-pandemic strategy. It is also one of the longest flights in the world.