WHILE restaurants and fast food outlets may be suffering collateral damage as the uptake of weight loss drugs such as Wegovy and Mounjaro increases, potential winners - apart from health - include the airline industry - and the planet.
An analysis by US-based equity researchers Jefferies calculated that if the average weight of a flyer on a Boeing 737 were to go down 10% from 81kg (the average weight for US passengers) the total passenger weight would drop by almost 1.5 tonnes, which equates to 2% of the plane's maximum allowed takeoff weight.
This in turn could amount to a 1.5% improvement in fuel efficiency, saving the country's four largest carriers 900 million litres of fuel and US$579 million (A$850 million) per year, while also cutting 2.25 million tonnes in carbon emissions.
While it's a tiny drop in the ocean of total planetary emissions, it's roughly equivalent to taking 500,000 passenger cars off the road.
"A slimmer society equals lower fuel consumption," Jefferies reportedly said in a letter to clients.
"Airlines have a history of being vigilant around aircraft weight savings, from olives (pitless, of course) to paper stock," they added, referring to United Airlines' switch to lighter paper stock for its inflight magazine, saving it about 30 grams per copy and 643,000 litres of fuel.
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