新奇事件簿 萨摩亚航空论斤卖票（在线收听）

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

萨摩亚航空成为全球首家“论斤”卖票的航空公司。这个南太平洋岛国的国家航空公司摒弃了传统的卖票方式，转而以“论斤”的方式卖票。这家航空公司往返于国内的两大岛屿，并开始增加了飞往美属萨摩亚群岛和汤加的国际航班。在短途旅行中，游客每公斤支付1美元，长途旅行的价格超过了4美元。萨摩亚航空公司首席执行官克里斯·兰顿表示称，这项新规将有助于提高萨摩亚民众的健康意识，该国民众的肥胖率位于全球前列。

Reaction to the new pricing scheme has been mixed. A spokeswoman from 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 of people, and really, just powerfully discriminating." A Samoan community leader said he appreciated that weight was key for 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 in charging overweight passengers extra.

民众对于新规却褒贬不一。新西兰公益组织“对抗肥胖疾病”发言人对这项新规表示强烈反对。她称：“这真的是骇人听闻。这是侮辱人的行为，这是严重的歧视。”萨摩亚社区领袖对体重决定票价表示赞赏。他对《新西兰先驱报》称：“我的体重是200公斤。我可以支付这笔钱，因为这是合理的，但是我不认为用促进健康的理由来收钱是个好主意，这个理由站不住脚。”许多业内分析人士认为其他航空公司也将效仿。