美航空公司让乘客登机前称重，以防飞机事故

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American airline wins right to weigh passengers to prevent crash landings

夏威夷一家航空公司近日施行新规，要求所有乘客登机前都必须称重。难道是怕胖子太多飞机飞不起来？其实是为了均衡客舱配重，一来是为航行安全考虑，二来也是为了节省燃料。



An American airline won the right to weigh its passengers over a six-month period earlier this year to learn how it could save fuel, after discovering the average passenger and carry-on luggage was heavier than expected.

今年早些时候，在发现乘客和随身携带行李的平均重量比预期更重之后，一家美国航空公司获得法律许可为乘客称重，以进行为期六个月的节省燃料研究。

Hawaiian Airlines has now scrapped pre-booked seating for people flying the 2,600-mile route between Honolulu and the American Samoa.

目前夏威夷航空已经取消了火奴鲁鲁往返美属萨摩亚这条2600英里航线的座位预定。

Instead, passengers will be assigned seats when they check-in to make sure weight is evenly distributed around the main cabin of the plane. The airline will keep at least one seat open per row or place children under the age of 13 in those seats.

乘客将在办理登机手续时获得指定座位，以确保飞机主客舱的重量平衡。客舱内每排将至少留出一个空位，或在这些空位上只安排13岁以下的儿童。

Some passengers said the policy was discriminatory as it only affects people flying on one route, from Honolulu to Pago Pago, with most passengers being of Samoan descent. Samoans have among the highest rates of obesity in the world.

一些乘客认为这项政策具有歧视性，因为它只影响从火奴鲁鲁到帕果帕果一个航线的乘客，而这些乘客中大多数是萨摩亚人。萨摩亚人有着世界上最高的肥胖率。

Six complaints have been filed with the US Department of Transportation since 29 September, as reported by the Economist.

据《经济学人》报道，自9月29日至今已有六份投诉提交至美国运输部。

The department ruled in favour of the new policy, with airline officials claiming an even distribution of weight could prevent a crash landing.

但因航空官员称重量平衡分配能够防止飞机事故发生，运输部裁定投诉无效并对此项新规表示支持。

Hawaiian Airlines said it had conducted a voluntary, six-month passenger weight survey on the Pago Pago route, starting in February, asking all passengers to be weighed along with their carry-on luggage.

夏威夷航空称从今年二月份开始，公司对帕果帕果航线上的乘客重量进行了为期六个月的调查，对所有乘客以及他们随身携带的行李进行称重。

As a result, the airline scrapped seat pre-selection only on the American Samoa route because the other flight routes surveyed, for example in Korea and Japan, showed no evidence of excess weight.

最终该航空公司只取消了飞往美属萨摩亚航线的座位预定。因为根据调查，飞往韩国和日本等地的其它航线并未出现任何超重现象。

The airline had also ruled out other possible causes of fuel loss, such as strong winds.

夏威夷航空也已排除了强风等其它可能造成燃料损耗的因素。

Spokesperson Alex Da Silva told The Independent that no passengers will be asked to step on the scales now that the survey has been completed, and that the airline can still accommodate all parties and can sit families together.

发言人亚历克斯•达席瓦尔对《独立报》说，现在这项调查已经完成，不会再要求任何乘客进行称重，夏威夷航空欢迎来自各方的朋友，也可以把家庭成员的座位安排在一起。

Hawaiian Airlines is not the first passenger carrier to make the move. It follows Samoa Air starting to weigh passengers in 2013.

夏威夷航空并非第一家实施此举的航空公司。早在2013年萨摩亚航空就要求乘客登机前称重。

Uzbekistan Airways also began weighing passengers in 2015.

2015年乌兹别克斯坦航空公司也提出了这一要求。

英文来源：独立报