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Samoa Air has become the first airline the world to base fares a passenger's weight. The national carrier the South Pacific island nation has discarded the traditional pricing model asking fliers to pay a seat and instead has moved to a price-per-kilogram structure. The airline flies domestically the country's two main islands and has started international flights to American Samoa and Tonga. Travellers pay a price US$1 per kilogram shorter routes, and over US$4 longer flights. Samoa Air CEO Chris Langton said the new initiative would help promote health awareness Samoa, which has one of the world's highest rates obesity.

Reaction to the new pricing scheme has been mixed. A spokeswoman the New Zealand-based campaign group Fight the Obesity Epidemic vehemently opposed the new fares. She said: "I think that's absolutely appalling. It's a stigmatisation people, and really, just powerfully discriminating." A Samoan community leader said he appreciated that weight was key airlines. He told the New Zealand Herald: "I weigh 200kg. I would be okay to pay the fare, provided it's reasonable, but I don't think it's a good excuse saying that they're trying to promote healthy living - that's a lame reason." Many industry analysts believe other airlines will follow suit charging overweight passengers extra.