Emily wrote:
Mxsmanic wrote:
Does the average weight calculation for passengers on commercial
flights include an allowance for their carry-on luggage?

The reason I ask is that, if the carry-on weight is shifted to the
hold, calculations that use an assumed average weight for passengers
and their carry-ons in conjunction with actual weighing for luggage in
the hold may produce estimates of take-off weight that are too high.

For example, if the average passenger has 10 lbs of carry-on and this
is incorporated into the estimated weight used for that passenger, and
he is suddenly required to check the carry-on, the assumed weight will
be too high by 10 lbs. This, combined with the 10 lbs extra of
measured weight in the luggage in the hold, would make the take-off
weight calculation 10 lbs high. Multiply that by hundreds of
passengers, and you have a weight that could be thousands of pounds
off.

Has anyone considered this? A too-high estimate could affect flight
characteristics and might also waste fuel (since more would be loaded
than needed).


Personally, I don't care about weight and balance. I care that I can't
take my contacts out on a transatlantic flight and that the TSA would be
shuffling through company secret information if I were to check it on a
business trip.

This is a good point. The TSA apparently doesn't understand that a
person/terrorist can smuggle fluids taped to one's leg, or other part of
the body, or even shove a vial/tube up their butt.
This type of over-reaction is typical of an agency that has no idea of
what to do, or in fact what the mission is.