Two American Samoa based businessmen have filed complaints with the US Transportation Department alleging discrimination against a new localized Hawaiian Airlines seating policy.
Passengers are no longer able to select seats in advance on Hawaiian’s flights to Pago Pago, reports Radio New Zealand.
The airline cites a survey showing an increase in average weight of passengers on the route.
This has forced the airline to redistribute weight on the Boeing 767 jets used on the route, limiting the number of adults on certain rows in the cabin.
The seating policy has been described as discriminatory by Avamua Dave Haleck, who says it only applies to the Honolulu-Pago Pago route.
It is the only route in Hawaiian’s network where passengers are weighed and seats cannot be pre-booked, he said.
"Hawaiian is saying that ‘yes it is a safety issue,’ so have we been flying unsafe for all these years?" Haleck said.
Haleck was joined by businessman Daniel King in lodging a complaint over the policy with the US DOT.
Hawaiian Airlines started flying Boeing 767-300 jets to American Samoa in 2003.
