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What's the implication ? Now they talk about weight distribution. Carrying overweight luggage pay extra. Maybe next time, obese passengers pay more. Double-sized ones need to pay for 2 seats... Airline starts weighing passengers at the gate CNN — We all know what it’s like to have our baggage weighed at an airport check-in. Most of us are also familiar with the “crouch of shame” – the position adopted when rummaging through a bag to remove something heavy, when you’ve been informed your bag is just ounces overweight. But now, some brave airline passengers are consenting to being weighed themselves before boarding the plane. In a trial by European carrier Finnair at its Helsinki Airport hub, volunteer passengers are being weighed at the departure gate in order to allow the airline to refine weight estimates for planes before takeoff. And in a nightmare scenario for anyone who’s ever tried to nonchalantly sneak an overweight cabin bag onto the plane, passengers are being weighed together with their carry-on bags. Luckily for anyone carrying a bulging bag, the weigh-ins are not linked to individual bookings or passenger data. Everything is anonymous, Päivyt Tallqvist, Finnair’s senior vice president communications, told CNN, with only the member of staff at the gate seeing the weight. The trial started on Monday, and by Thursday morning 800 volunteers had already taken part, Tallqvist, said, adding that the airline was “positively surprised by the number of volunteers.” “We have communicated about this survey to Finnair customers via our social media channels and our mobile app, and the first volunteers were proactively asking to take part even before the equipment was set up,” she said. They plan to weigh 1,200 passengers for the winter season, and more for the summer. Tallqvist said that the airline is collating data about the average weight of passengers and their hand luggage “for the purpose of aircraft balance and performance calculations that are needed for the safe operation of flights. Airlines calculate planes’ weight – the weight of everyone onboard, as well as cargo and baggage in the hold, and things like catering and water tanks onboard – before each take off, along with their center of gravity. The weight and trim of an aircraft can affect where passengers can sit, and in some cases even how many passengers are allowed onboard, and how much luggage can go in the hold. Each aircraft you fly in has a set maximum weight for safe takeoff. “While airlines know the weight of all other aspects, the weight of customers and their carry-on baggage is calculated using average weights confirmed by the Civil Aviation Authority,” said Tallqvist. Airlines generally use average passenger weights provided by the European Aviation Safety Authority, but they can also use their own, signed off by the authorities. Finnair has used its own measurements since 2018, but these must be updated every five years – hence the refresh. Korean Air conducted its own weighing program in 2023, while Air New Zealand also did a weight survey last year. Finnair is collecting data for both winter and summer seasons, since passengers tend to wear heavier clothing and coats during the cold Finnish winters. The winter readings will be completed in February, with the summer ones taken between April and May. The says it airline will calculate an average weight from the measurements taken, and will send the data to the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency for verification. The weights will be used for loading calculations from 2025-30. And while many passengers would rather keep their weight a secret, Satu Munnukka, Finnair’s head of ground processes, assured nervous passengers in a statement that “the collected data is not linked in any way to the customer’s personal data.” Munnukka added: “We record the total weight and background information of the customer and their carry-on baggage, but we do not ask for the name or booking number, for example. “Only the customer service agent working at the measuring point can see the total weight, so you can participate in the study with peace of mind.”

ST Forum Jun 8, 2011 ALIMONY AND ATTRACTIVENESS Don't weigh beauty on scales of justice I WAS appalled to learn that courts can take into account a woman's prospects of remarriage when deciding on alimony ('Divorce and the attractive woman'; last Friday). As the title of the article suggests, the case in question centred on, among other things, the woman's attractiveness. That a woman's prospects of remarrying and/or her attractiveness, however defined, should be a factor in deciding the amount of alimony awarded by the courts sorely offends the dignity of any woman who may have taken the already extremely painful decision to divorce. I hope that I am right in saying that the decision to divorce is not one that is usually taken lightly. Which woman would be happy to be paid more at the expense of being judged unattractive? Yet again, being judged attractive by a court is neither a prediction nor guarantee of remarriage. In fact, remarriage is often not an easy or straightforward matter. If and when it happens, alimony will cease anyway. Furthermore, what if a woman does not want to remarry, for example, for religious, emotional or psychological reasons? I know many women who have been so emotionally devastated by divorce that the last thing they want to do is marry again. Last but not least, if she has been ditched by her husband for a younger, indeed more attractive woman, can you imagine the pain of being judged by a court and found either less attractive and awarded more alimony or more attractive and awarded less alimony? I trust that judges do look at the broader picture and weigh all the factors in each case. However, I believe laws that can be applied objectively are simpler and easier to administer. Carol Wong (Ms)

There have been more than 80 lawsuits filed against Toyota in America alone since the Japanese company's Dark Days began. A group of attorneys, representing personal and commercial clients for claims ranging from death to loss of resale value, will argue before a federal panel to have the suits consolidated into less than four score. If they are granted that action, Automotive News is reporting that a panel will also need to decide where the cases should be heard. Toyota would like the gladiatorial jurisprudence to be set in California, while at least one attorney has also mentioned Kentucky (where Toyota has a factory that is among the defendants) and Louisiana as potential locales. Fifteen jurisdictions are being considered, though, and the panel will settle the matter based on factors including convenience to the plaintiffs and defendants, and the expertise a jurist might have in such cases. A decision is expected in a few weeks on those matters. A decision on where Toyota emerges after all dust has cleared remains a long, long, long way off.

I have this question in my mind. I'm actually going to do up a bodykit for my FL N16. However, I'm afraid to see great increase in my FC. So roughly how heavy does a 4 piece bodykit, consisting of Front and Back Bumper Lid and Side Skirts, weigh? Anybody with b4 and after mildege clocked b4? =)