PAGO PAGO, American Samoa – A tiny Samoa airline is giving a new reason to drop extra weight before your next trip: Tickets sold by the kilogram, not the seat.
Samoa Air planned on Wednesday to start its first international flights with a pricing model that charges based on how much passengers and their bags weigh.
There are no base fares — each kilogram (2.2 pounds) costs 93 cents to $1.06, depending on the flight.
That means the average American adult man weighing 195 pounds with a 35 pound bag would pay $97 to go one-way from Apia, Samoa to Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Travelers in the region are used to stepping on scales when they fly because of small planes used between islands. But Samoa Air is the first to charge by weight.
