Weighty issue of Fat Tax resurfaces

A recent suggestion by a Norwegian economist, Dr Bharat P. Bhatta, that airlines should charge overweight passengers on a “pay as you weigh” pricing system has caused the issue of Fat Tax to raise its weighty head again.

This issue is not actually new but was revived with Bhatta’s suggestion, and a recent report that Air India requires its cabin crew over the age of 40 to undergo health test or risk being grounded if they are found to be unfit or overweight. (Read Shape Up or Don’t Fly, Air India Tells Cabin Crew Over 40).

Bhatta, an associate professor at Sogn og Fjordane University College, Norway argued that a pricing model based on weight could lead to cheaper fares and reduced carbon emissions. (Read Fat tax: Obese fliers should pay extra, says economist).

While airlines, with the exception of Samoa Air, have yet to weigh in on the issue travellers, however, seem to favour the tax. A majority of international travellers polled by travel search site, Skyscanner, agreed with the economist, with 59% of the respondents voting “aye”, while 41% were against the introduction saying it was unfair to discriminate.

Samoa Air, which operates in the Pacific, has startd charging passengers according to weight in what it says is a “world first” cost-per-kilo fare system. Defending its move the airline said the policy has helped to raise obesity awareness and improve public health. (Read Samoa Air charges fat tax).

Skyscanner’s spokesperson, Sam Poullain, said: “The so-called Fat Tax is a highly sensitive issue for airlines, which clearly don’t want to cause offence to their larger passengers. However, we were surprised to see that among the general public,there is a significant majority who welcome a tiered pricing for passengers depending on their weight.”

While arguments will go on for some time on the pros and cons of introducing the Fat Tax, Samoa Air, which operates in the Pacific, is already charging its passengers according to weight in what it says is a “world first” cost-per-kilo fare system.

With reports that obesity is on the rise airlines may just have a new product to increase their ancillary revenue – they could offer certain rows of seats or a section of the planes, fitted for overweight passengers with special amenities, akin to what some budget airlines, like AirAsia X is doing with its priority seating and quiet zone offering. – Corinne Wan

Travel tastes of Malaysians evolving online

Dean Wicks

A study by metasearch site, Wego, revealed Malaysian travellers searched 900 more destinations for flights than in 2011, bringing the total number of flight destination searches to 2,500 covering some of the most remote airports around the world.

For accommodation they are searching 400 new destinations, out of the almost 2,000, according to their data trails.

Internationally Bangkok, Jakarta, Taipei and Singapore are on the top of the Malaysians’ travel list, but increasingly they are also looking for secondary destinations.

Domestically Kuala Lumpur is the top search, with one in every eight users of Wego Malaysia looking for the cheapest flights to the capital, and even more for higher proportion for the best rates in the city’s hotels.

The other destinations in the top 10 are (in order of popularity) are Langkawi, Penang, Cameron Highlands (Pahang), Port Dickson (Negri Sembilan), Johor Bahru (Johor), Genting Highlands (Pahang), Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Malacca and Kuching (Sarawak).

In tems of hotel reservations by star rating 16% of Malaysians booked five star hotels, 26% four star, 31% three star, 17% two star, 7% one star and 3% uncategorised hotels.

Dean Wicks, Wego’s chief marketing officer, said: “Users are constantly finding new routes with AirAsia, Jetstar, Malindo Air and other carriers, which soon become popular especially if they are seen to be affordable. It’s driving a shift away from the traditional selections of Bali and Phuket in favour of destinations like Bandung, a favourite weekend retreat with Jakarta residents; Hat Yai; Macau; and Perth.”

He noted that development in the aviation scene, such as AirAsia’s impending formation of AirAsia India with Chennai as the hub, and Malaysia Airlines joining the oneworld alliance would see a change in the choice of destinations, especially on the mid- to long-haul. Istanbul, for example, is another destination that is becoming popular with Malaysians.

• The study was carried out among100,000 travellers who use Wego for their searches

iPads debut on Malaysia Airlines’ A380s

Cabin crew of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has gone the iPad way, using the gadget to enhance inflight services to customers travelling on the airline’s A380 flights between Kuala Lumpur and London, Paris and Hong Kong

The iPads are part of SITA’s innovative digital cabin crew solution, CrewTablet, which enable crew members to quickly and easily access passenger and operational data. They will trial the new solution – which the airline has branded MHcrew – for six months.

“The solution will help our crew by providing lots of information at their fingertips so they can be more responsive to our guests,” said MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya,

SITA CEO Francesco Violante added that CrewTablet allows airlines to harness the power of tablets quickly and securely. “The use of tablets is exploding worldwide and at SITA, we recognise that these new mobile devices offer airlines and airports a new way of working.”

Currently MAS inflight supervisors use traditional paper-based processes for onboard services, which can be time consuming. MHCrew is more efficient as, with just a touch or swipe on the iPad screen, they are able to access a host of information, including weather reports, seat layouts, frequent flyer programmes, flight connection information and safety manuals.

Cabin crew can be trained and up and running in less than one hour, so they can immediately work with more flexibility and efficiency, as well better manage issues and improve service.

MAS said that by using the solution its crew is also able to conduct passenger surveys with the iPads, getting results and feedback daily instead of monthly, thus addressing any shortcomings or change service delivery faster than before.

These digital forms and reports also help airlines to reduce operational costs and improves inflight preparations and onboard operations. Additionally, there are fuel savings due to the reduction in he weight of traditional paper reports and manuals carried onboard is

Crews can also use aircraft downtime to access digital training and certification courses.