Step on the scale before boarding: Finnair is testing its passengers (in turn) to weigh them

The airline Finnair will weigh customers on some of its flights.

The objective? Better estimate the weight of your devices during air connection.

The company promises that this data will not be linked to passenger identities.

Weigh it before flying? If you are planning to book a seat on a route operated by Finnish company Finnair from Helsinki, you may soon be affected. Now, at the airport in the nation’s capital, where the company is headquartered, passengers on certain flights sometimes agree to step on the scale to be able to board. The reason? Finair’s desire to more accurately estimate the gross weight of the aircraft prior to flight.

Carry on luggage, on-board catering equipment, items to buy during the trip… On a plane, everything is weighed before every flight. All… or almost: Passengers are almost never weighed. Generally, companies decide to use the average passenger weight data provided by international airline agencies to get an idea of ​​the gross weight of the aircraft. Finair’s desire to weigh its customers before they board is therefore an attempt to address this discrepancy.

“Everything is anonymous”, Finnair promises

The Finnish company launched the experiment at Helsinki Airport this week. 800 people have already voluntarily weighed themselves before boarding. “We informed Finnair customers about the survey via our social media and mobile app and actively solicited the first volunteers to participate even before the equipment was installed.“, explained CNN Päivyt Tallqvist, one of the Nordic company’s managers. Hand luggage is also placed on the scale to refine the result of the plane weight analysis as much as possible.

Finnair guarantees that it does not link this weight data to the reservation number or the specific identity of the person agreeing to step on the scale. “Everything is anonymous and only the staff at the boarding gate sees the weight“, again assures the American chain, Päivyt Tallqvist. Once collected, these weight measurements will be used to update the data on the average weight of its passengers. In this way, the company will be able to, without re-weighing its customers, these new calculations. Better estimate the total weight of his devices using

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Finnair plans to continue this new process on some flights this winter, before extending the system further in the coming months. However, the initiative is not the first: Korean Air and Air New Zealand companies have conducted similar studies in recent months.