Weight-Loss Drugs Estimated to Save Airlines Millions
- Slimmer passengers would mean less fuel needed for flights
- If flyers lose 10 pounds, United saves $80 million: Jefferies
Ozempic medicine
Photographer: Dirk Waem/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Airlines and planemakers obsess about reducing jet-fuel consumption by constantly finding new ways to reduce aircraft weight. They may have new allies in Ozempic and other similar slimming medications.
United Airlines Holdings Inc. would save $80 million a year if the average passenger weight falls by 10 pounds, Sheila Kahyaoglu, a Jefferies Financial analyst, estimated in a report Friday. Her work was part of a broader Jefferies analysis of public enthusiasm for the drug and potential beneficiaries of its use.