Air New Zealand asking travellers to step on the scales

If you're planning to travel next month or over the July school holidays, another task could be on the cards before you board your flight.

Over the next five weeks, Air New Zealand will be asking passengers to step on the scales as part of a survey measuring the average weight of their customers, including their hand luggage.

Air New Zealand load control specialist Alastair James told Seven Sharp while it "seems a little unusual", the survey is an important one "because we need to know the weights of everything that go on board our aircraft".

"For passengers or customers, crew and their cabin bags, we use an average weight and that average weight comes from this survey."

The survey, carried out every five years, needs at least 10,000 travellers to take part "to get a reasonable sample of the travelling public".

James called the weighing process "quite straightforward, really".

Passengers are asked to stand on a scale, while a second scale weighs their bags.

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The weight is then captured on a laptop — which isn't visible to the public — and "that's it, all done", he said.

The weigh-in is "purely voluntary", so anyone who wants to skip the process can do so.