Spirit Airlines today announced that it will be start determining passenger fees by weight in 2011. The move comes as the US airline industry has posted over 60 billion dollars in losses over the past 10 years. Previous fees included the opaque 9/11 fee, fees for checked luggage, and most recently, fees for bringing carry-on baggage onto the plane.
"This is the next logical step for discount airlines," said Terry Tillmer who runs a blog on the industry, "it takes more fuel to fly a fatty."
Congress is protesting the move and threatening to pass a law that would make it illegal for airlines to charge based on a person's weight. "This is ridiculous," said Charles Schumer (D-NY).
In a press release following the furor of complaints about the move, Spirit announced that the move will drastically reduce costs for skinny, short people.
"I don't see what the big deal is," said Tillmer, "the airlines have been biased against tall people for decades by having seats designed for people who are under 5' 8". If you're tall and you don't want your knees hitting the back of the seat in front of you, you have to pay for 'economy plus' or business class."
Spirit Airlines isn't the only airline considering drastic moves to improve profitability. Ryanair, the flagship discount airline of Europe is considering "pee fees", charging for use of the toilet while airborne.
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