Far Technologies -  http://www.fartechnologies.com has lately submitted a provisional patent application related to accurate preflight determination of passenger's weight in civil aviation (filed in the U.S.A No. 61/050,258 on 5 May, 2008). This system and method integrates the following advantages:

Increasing airline profits

1. Quantity of fuel loaded on an aircraft essentially derives from its overall weight. Accurate determination of passenger's weight allows decreasing this quantity whenever the passenger's actual weight is lower than the predicted average. The resultants weight reduction decreases fuel consumption during the flight.

2. Processing passenger's weight prior to flight enables to control their sitting distribution / location, controls the desired center of gravity (C.G). Controlling C.G improves aircraft range and endurance performance.

3. In flights when passenger's actual weight is lower than the predicted average, alternative freight or mail could be carried by the airline, allowing increased profit.

Safety improvement

4. Accurate determination of both weight and C.G improves crew and aircraft performance on diverse emergencies.

Far intends to commercialize the technology and the patents, and seek after strategic partners.