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Topics: News, US News, Weight loss
Gerrard Kaonga
Over the last few years weight loss drugs have become immensely popular and this has had a knock-on positive effect for US airlines, which will save millions.
In case you haven’t noticed, Americans are losing quite a lot of weight in a short period of time because of the massive uptake in weight loss drugs.
While it hasn’t proved a perfect fix for everyone, due to the unwanted side effects or inability to keep the weight off, it has been a literal life-saver for others.
Many have remarked that they now have the physical ability to do things they couldn’t before, which provides a massive boost to their quality of life.
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However, most people didn’t predict that the airlines would benefit hugely as well.
A recently published study by Jefferies found that American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines could ultimately save as much as $580 million per year on fuel tanks.
In case it wasn’t self explanatory, a lighter plane, due to the passengers on board, means the jet burns less fuel to generate the force needed to take to the skies.
Author of the study and equity analyst at Jefferies, Sheila Kahyaoglu, said the findings were not surprising, noting that fuel is among airlines’ largest expense.
This saved fuel could eventually see investors benefit as the study researchers estimated that a 2 percent reduction in aircraft weight could boost earnings per share by about 4 percent.
Kahyaoglu did note that she did not expect airlines to start buying less fuel as a result of the findings, however.
These benefits for airlines are only expected to continue as more people will consider using weight loss drugs as the Wegovy pill has just hit shelves at the start of the year.
While many have been fine using an injection, the less invasive pill is said to work just as well, by suppressing appetite and stabilizing blood sugar, ultimately helping people shed the pounds.
Due to how they are manufactured, the pill is expected to be the cheaper option, allowing more people to afford the costs of weight loss drugs.
Currently, the lowest dose of the pill is priced at $149 a month, though costs for the highest doses have not been announced yet.
Trials carried out by Novo Nordisk saw around a third of 1,300 participants experiencing weight loss of 20 percent of their body weight or more over a period of 64 weeks.