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“Future aircraft seats built to size” predicts Samoa Air

A big passenger who pays more in fare because of bigger weight is entitled to a comfortable seat on an aircraft.If more airlines adopt Samoa Air’s pay by weight system it’ll create a greater variety of seat sizes on board, Chief Executive Officer, Chris Langton said.“What we can do with a small aircraft is to use the side by side seats as a comfort zone and remove a row of seats to give leg room,” he said.“Again because we have plenty of seats and we are carrying more mass per person than the original seats were designed for (being about 74 kilos) then it makes sense to provide for the heavier person who is paying more because they have to buy more kilos.”Langton said there’s not a lot they can with what designers of aircraft offer at present.“But that will change.”Designers have started to remodel seats and sell them as a special sale item, said Langton.But to remodel seats with that aim is not what Samoa Air’s system is about.“The aircraft is only ever operating at 100% efficiency when its carrying its maximum payload and that’s all about weight and not seats.“Weight you don’t sell is wasted and irretrievable once the aircraft takes off.“I can easily see a system where two key parameters are provided so that a computer can judge a style of seat which is good for that person.“Based on weight primarily and height as a second indicator.“The spread of seats available for you will pop up when you log on and you make your selection.“The systems already offer window seats and identity rows and aisle seats and also spaced seats such as those in exit rows – and people are paying extra for the comfort.“But it’s all about weight and not seats as you can see.“Within a very short time there will be a spread of seats for 80 kg and then for every 30 kg upwards as a solution in terms of both width and forward open space or leg room.“Computers can assign a seat combination where a group book together (i.e. a family or couple or others) to provide the best solution.“It might not be 100% all the time but it will be fair all the time because everyone will pay the same rate per kilo.“Already with the benefit of having weighed people for the past few months we can predict what our most likely passenger combinations are weight wise – and larger aircraft with that information obtained by weighing people all the time – will end up with a very good picture as to what spread of seats will likely work for them.“It makes the calculation of aircraft payload accurate to a kilo and every spare kilo can be accommodated with the benefit of knowing how much weight is left and not how many seats.“Samoa Air does that now… the computer helps calculate the balance of weight available as long as we have accurate knowledge of people’s weight and weight of the baggage and such they want to carry.“Then we can offer the lowest cost per kilo possible… can’t do better than that.”To charge passengers airfares based on their weight was a concept that Chris Langton said came to him a long time ago.“I could never understand why the focus on seats or lack of proper seats,” said the veteran pilot.So when he formed his own airline, Samoa Air, the intention was always to use the pay by weight system for passengers and cargo.