CDC study claims airlines burned 350 million more gallons fuel to haul overweight pax

The airlines are finally having to come to terms that the FAA weight for a standard "passenger," 170 lbs, is no longer realistic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta (GA) has published a report regarding obesity in the United States, and one of the conclusions is that airlines spent an additional $275 million for 350 million gallons of additional fuel in 2000 to carry the increasing weight of its customers. In this period of painful attention to every detail of the bottom line, it's become clear that hauling increasingly heavier passengers is costing the airline more money.

Could it be possible that the time will soon come when your baggage will not be the only thing weighed when checking in at the airport?

The CDC's study, published recently in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, claims that the average weight of a US citizen has increased by 10 pounds in the last decade. It also points out that the numbers in the study are rough estimates, published to focus attention to the obesity problem in this country.

"The obesity epidemic has unexpected consequences beyond direct health effects," said Dr. Deron Burton of the CDC to the Associated Press. "Our goal was to highlight one area that had not been looked at before." The study also points out that the additional fuel also has another consequence -- the additional exhaust resulted in an estimated 3.8 million pounds more carbon dioxide being released into our atmosphere.

The study adds that in the early 90's, 56 percent of adults were overweight in this country. Since then, the number has increased to 65 percent, a situation that has caused grave consequences for the health of the nation and the costs of health care.

The single most important factor in airline costs these days is fuel. Because there is not much that can be done about that issue, the airlines have concentrated on reducing the amount of fuel required to make each trip by reducing the weight that the airplane carries, and hence the fuel needed to complete the trip. Even the smallest weight savings add up over time, so airlines have resorted to such extremes as replacing silverware with plastic forks, spoons and knives.

In fact, entire departments of people do nothing but figure out ways to save on fuel. For example, American Airlines tries to reduce the impact of fuel costs by purchasing fuel in bulk contracts for future delivery. Most large airlines do the same, though these days the strategy has been less effective than in the past.

In many cases, careful planning takes place to reduce to a minimum any extra fuel on a flight, because the weight of the fuel itself makes more fuel has to be used to carry it. In yet other situations, however, it pays to carry more fuel because the cost to refuel at the destination is higher, and having to fill the tanks at a higher price will negate any other savings. Any leftover fuel purchased at lower prices will help reduce the cost of the next trip the aircraft is scheduled to fly.

Is the Southwest Airlines model of charging heavyset people for an extra seat bound to become the norm? Probably not, but the CDC report will certainly contribute to the airlines paying more attention to the waistlines of their passengers.

FMI: www.cdc.gov