Assessing air traveler preferences for pay-per-weight pricing

• The study analyzes the inclusion of passenger body weight in airline pricing. • A choice experiment is used to assess traveler preferences for body weight pricing. • Body weight, age, and air travel experience affect traveler choice. In efforts to reduce fuel consumption of air travel, the inclusion of passenger body weight in airline pricing is a relevant but contested opportunity. This study aims to investigate this issue from the economic perspective; by implementing a stated choice experiment to assess the stated preferences of consumers toward a set of predefined air passenger weight policies. Three policies are tested: “standard”, where price is defined irrespective of weight; “threshold body weight”, where an additional fee is required when exceeding a certain weight; and “unit body weight”, where passengers pay according to their body weight and receive a discount for reduced luggage size. In terms of respondents’ preferences for policies, service and price attributes were found to have significant importance, while environmental concerns related to pay-per-weight pricing received only marginal consideration. The results provide practical implications to airline companies regarding pricing policies and airline choice behavior.