[OrwellianChild]

Thanks for this context... I'm assuming based on the framing of the article that this particular case was based more on a concern for fuel cost than for safety. (Surely a commercial airliner can't be dangerously upset by shifting a few thousand pounds...)

Since the airlines and FAA have to operate averages most of the time and update them as the demographic of their flights changes, would it not be a simpler, more socially opaque solution to just charge slightly more for the flights that tend to carry heavier passengers? More fuel, yes, but now paid for. No one has to endure the indignity of weigh-ins, and the airline is made whole. Why is this not the solution that was presented?