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Should Airlines Charge Passengers Based On Weight?

By Robert Paul Reyes

"With soaring fuel prices, airlines have been trying to cut costs where ever they can. On Thursday, Continental Airlines announced around 3,000 layoffs.

But as CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports, there's another way airlines can make up the money by easing their load on gas. But will it fly?

What do you think of the idea of airlines charging passengers based on weight?"

Quotation from CBS2Chicago.Com

The soaring price of oil is hitting consumers hard at the gas pump, but it's also has the airlines scrambling to find ways to cut costs.

American Airlines charges $15 for one checked bag, and I think that's a reasonable fee. But I wish they would charge $50 or more for each carry-on bag. Travelers with two or more carry-on bags delay the boarding process, and they should pay a stiff penalty.

Airline passengers should also be charged $50 every time they call for a flight attendant. I've sat next to prima donnas who call for the flight attendant every few minutes, and it's always a trivial request.

If it were up to me crying infants would fly in the baggage department next to the caterwauling cats and the barking dogs. I don't think that idea is going to fly, but the airlines should at least charge parents a $500 fee for each child under three years.

But to answer the question posed by CBS2Chicago.Com: What do I think of the idea of airlines charging passengers based on weight?

I think it's a marvelous idea; a passenger should step on a scale before he's allowed to board. If Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell board the same plane, there go the airline's profits for that flight.

The heavier the cargo, the more fuel is required for the plane to fly. Weight is weight; it doesn't matter if it's a heavy suitcase or a man with a huge beer belly. It's logical and fair for the airlines to charge a passenger based on his weight.

Maybe soon you at the departure gate, you will hear the familiar words, "can I see your boarding pass please?" followed by "can you step on the scale please?"

Robert Paul Reyes is a NewsBlaze writer on Politics, Pop Culture and Pointless Pontificating. Contact him by writing to NewsBlaze.