At United Airlines the top published elite tier is 1K, named back in the days when flying 100,000 miles in a year was the way to earn this status and when computers only allowed two characters to designate the level. Premier Executive was designated “1P” while Premier was “2P” – and the mostly forgotten “Premier Emeritus” was “3P.”
A MileagePlus 1K passenger had an “absolute meltdown” seeing another passenger come up from economy trying to use the lavatory in first class. Are they actually permitted to do this, though?
Here’s what happened, according to a United Airlines captain,
Deadheading to work and had the displeasure of watching a 1K member have an absolute meltdown when a passenger from row 10 dared to use the first-class lavatory. The drink cart was out in the main cabin, and this poor soul in need of the bathroom came up from the back. OMG, this idiot 1K Member went bonkers, and told the woman the upfront bathroom was exclusive to first class only, and she should wait until the bathroom in her cabin class was available. Unfortunately, me in uniform and desperately trying to not get involved while I enjoy the latest episode of Tulsa Kings gets sucked into the mele, when Mr. 1K tells me to remind the offending passenger she is not allowed up here.
I explain to Mr. 1K that when you gotta go, you gotta go, and this particular passenger could not reach the rear lavatory due to the aisle being blocked. This logic was unacceptable to him, and I politely told him that while the airline appreciates his business, the aircraft was owned by United Airlines, and not him.
I felt sooo bad for the passenger in Row 10. She looked like a deer in headlights.
If you’re a coach passenger, can you use the bathroom up front in first class? What if a flight attendant’s drink cart is blocking the aisle and you can’t make your way to the back and you really have to go? In general the correct approach for a U.S. domestic flight is:
- Passengers should use the lavatory in their ticketed cabin first
- First class passengers should have priority for the forward lavatory
- However during drink service on a single aisle aircraft passengers blocked from walking back to the lavatory should be able to use the closest lav.
- And in an emergency you use whatever is available.
United had a long-standing policy to use the lavatory in your ticketed cabin, which they relaxed during the pandemic to simply encourage that practice but to allow coach passengers to use the first class lavatory to reduce crowding in the aisle and at the back of the aircraft.
American Airlines does not have a policy against coach passengers using the first class lavatory for domestic flights, or for flights departing the U.S. of course in the moment ignoring crewmember instructions not to leave your ticketed cabin isn’t likely to end well even when that order is contrary to company policy.
Other airlines – and jurisdictions – treat the matter differently! For instance a coach passenger was arrested for using a business class lavatory on a Vienna – Abu Dhabi flight.
The bottom-line is that a coach passenger can get up to use the first class lavatory on a U.S. domestic flight, but should follow crewmember instructions if turned back around to economy.
(HT: Live and Let’s Fly)
Good for the pilot – as someone that has traveled for 40 years and flown about 8 million miles plus spent around 3000 nights in hotels who is lifetime elite on AA, DL and UA plus lifetime elite with a number of hotel chains I HATE these self absorbed, entitled “elites” that feel they are better than other people. There is a special place in hell for guys like this!
I would add that passengers with limited mobility should be expected to use the Lav that is the closest to their seat. It’s just common sense.
Using the lav in your ticketed cabin was and I repeat was a requirement flying from international to the US post 9-11. That is no longer the case. Tell that idiot passenger if he wants his own lav then buy a business jet.
I think what you kinda fail to mention is the primary reason this happens is firstly that there’s a flimsy curtain instead of an actual partition of some kind.
Secondly, from a passenger standpoint, the primary reason people come into first is because United flies so many 737-800s, 737 Max 8s and even A319s and they have no fore lavatory for economy. So the people in the first 12 rows who actually pay more for economy plus seats (or have status) are forced to walk back 25 rows to the back of the plane to pee.
It’s really the fault of the plane for missing that front econolav and for United for not enforcing the curtain.
I’m a 1K as well and even when I’m 5 rows away from the first class lav in economy plus, I wouldn’t dare cross the curtain. There are fewer and fewer benefits to domestic first class, keeping everyone else out of there should be the bare minimum.
The captain should have whispered to the Y passenger to pee on the 1K!
I’ve been in plenty of airplane toilets where there is pee everywhere on the toilet and on the floor, too. The most likely offenders are males like Mr. entitled, not females. If he is worried about the toilet getting messy, he should examine his own actions first.
Someone should tell the 1K traveler, “…go pound sand.”
@ Gary — Coachdwellers should remain in coach.
Reminder to all
1K, Diamond, etc. are marketing classifications. Airlines give them to unimportant people. If you mistake 1K (etc.) with actual real-world status, you’ve been played for a fool. Not to mention, a truly high status person would not act in the boorish manner described.
If somebody who is not an airline official tells you to do or not to do something on the airline, you have the option of ignoring them.
Was on an Alaska Air flight last week (DEN-SEA) and the FA making onboard announcements more or less listed out the 4 same rules that Gary notes above for use of F/C lab. The attendant even added something like, “I’m not going to glare at you or tell you to go back to your seat if you need to use the front lavatory but I am going to ask you to stand at row 6 and wait your turn.” I really appreciated the FA going off-script and addressing the issue directly… “If you are in economy, and the cart is blocking the aisle, and you have to go, it’s okay to come up front.”
@ Gary — From our resident narcissist, SFO/EWR…
Since there’s not much to do on airplane while in flight, I don’t mind walking to the rear to use the lavatory.
It stretches my legs.
I only cross the DMZ if I have to really go and the back facilities are occupied.
As someone who suffers from IBS routinely, I dread flying anywhere. My biggest fear is the limited bathrooms on most flights. You better believe that if the bathrooms in economy are occupied, I’m using whatever available, even if that’s a trash bag from the flight attendant.
These elite snobs need to learn some compassion for people with medical or mobility issues
Didn’t the 757’s have a mid-cabin toilet? I always thought that was a nice accommodation. But of course, you can’t monetize that seat.
And life goes on…
Years ago I was in the front row of coach and absolutely had to go. The male FA had put the cart in front of the lav but I am slim and got past it. Unknown to me he lurked until I came out and told me off.
3P was almost assuredly named “Premier Associate”, right?
Is this from a United pilot who gets an upgrade to a First
Class seat before United’s top fliers such as this 1K does?
@Charles – actually Premier Associate came later.
Up until February 2000 United used to offer ‘soft landings’ to elites that didn’t requalify for status, and had a level called ‘Premier Emeritus’. That way elites continued to get them priority services like Premiers did but without the 25% bonus on flown mileage. It meant using premier phone lines, getting elite check-in and boarding, and in fact did include upgrades at the gate and eventually 24 hours prior to departure by the late 1990s. The code for this level was ‘3P’.
Between 2006 and 2010 United offered ‘Premier Associate’ status — a level that elites who reached certain mileage thresholds during the year could gift to others. It was like Premier Emeritus, more or less the first tier of status excluding upgrades, that gave recipients access to Economy Plus seating.
Give her an adult diaper and arrest her on arrival for trespassing in first
those who get upset from non-First using their ‘loo also stay up all night, tossing and turning, can’t sleep, worried sick, ‘does anal retentive have a hyphen?’
From the back of the United Airlines aircraft to the sea, I only want to deposit first-class pee.
(unless the first-class lavatory is once more out of service).
Who wants coach cooties on the first class bathroom toilet seat??? Keep them out!
If you have to go, you have to go. I think this is a basic human right, and I fly 1st all of the time. My issue is only when there is a kid who is not in a hurry, you can tell, lol. And obviously when I have been waiting patiently for it to be unoccupied, only to see someone sprint from the back… but as I write this, maybe they really needed to go more than me. No accidents yet, thank goodness… these are really 1st world problems.
If anyone gave me any flak and I had exhausted all options, I would ask for a Feminine Urinary Director.
Domestic is fine to use first class lav. International no. Especially if you’re in international first class you don’t want 12 people from business class congregating around the lavatory before landing.
I fly First Class all the time due to a health condition and fly about once a week. Unfortunately, it usually has to be on Diarrhea Delta because of their monopoly in my hometown hub, Atlanta. But I fly all the majors.
I couldn’t care less where any passenger chooses to do their business. It doesn’t bother me if somebody from Coach comes to First Class.
This is not the same way that I feel about overhead bins. Those are rented spaces and should be for the exclusive use of First Class when the bin is in First Class.
I have seen Diarrhea Delta’s haggardly FA’s escort Coach passengers out of First Class. It was Diarrhea Delta’s way of feigning “premium” status for its First Class customers. Whatever.
The 1K was probably some 30k/year earning corporate drone working 51 weeks a year for his corporate overlord.
Let him be, his life is sad
It’s not an upgrade for pilots. For ‘deadhead’ travel they are booked in FC from the outset. That may prevent you from getting an upgrade, but technically they didn’t get an upgrade ahead of you.
Riding the airlines is like dying and going to hell. It aint going to get better.
If the aisle is blocked for whatever reason or it’s urgent I have no problem. BUT; I pay a lot more for Business or 1st Class for a reason. I’m not better than some in coach (far from it!). But if u want to use Business Class facilities, and absent a rational reason, then you should pay. Not willing to pay the extra? Well then I’d prefer you use the facilities you did pay for. Simple
When I’m in Economy Plus, in the row literally right behind First, in a seat that I’ve paid extra for, I’m using the first class toilet. I’m not walking to the back of the plane and standing in a line. If you’re a person who has a problem with that, all I can do is laugh at you for finding your sense of self worth in a toilet.
I usually fly first class because I frequently have to use the lavatory due to a medical condition. Blocked aisles only seem to increase the urgency. I sympathize with coach class passengers who need to use the lavatories in First Claas. We should give them some consideration.
Unless there is a service cart blocking the aisle in coach, or a passenger is experiencing an emergency, it makes sense to reserve the FC lavatory for FC passengers. The convenience of a more available, less trafficked lavatory goes with the premium experience. Equally important is the fact that an endless parade of people walking through FC is disruptive. There is a reason it is at the front of the aircraft. That being said, I only fly FC. Most often on Delta. Always full fare even though Platinum status includes unlimited free upgrades. I don’t want to risk having none available. I fly a few times per month, and I tend to ignore these petty annoyances. There is no upside to conflict or complaining during a flight. It never ends well for anyone, no matter how right you are. Both sides always end up looking ridiculous for not being able to just deal with other people for a few hours for the time it takes to get from point A to point B.
As for
Some years ago, I was on a flight containing a seriously clueless couple with a baby. They used both coach loos in succession, tried to flush a disposable diaper down each of them in succession, and plugged both of them up. So everybody HAD to use the First Class loo. I don’t remember anyone complaining – but the cabin crew made an announcement as to the problem, and asked waiting coach passengers to bump First Class people to the front of the line.
I fly Delta more, but UA enough to be Silver this year. On domestic flights I’m confident Delta says “Please use the restroom in your cabin of service whenever possible.”
Asking an FA to move a drink cart maybe 20 rows so you can do what’s necessary seems not “when possible.”
If the aisle is clear, then sure, turn ’em back unless the alternative is a wet cleanup in the aisle. You can usually tell of someone waiting that much too long!
What a bunch of axxholes live in the US. Disgusting!
In this situation, it was perfectly understandable. And there are others, as mentioned in the article. But there should be reasonable limits. I remember once on an Alaska Air flight, there were perhaps three rows in first class. They did nothing to stop coach passengers from using the first class lavatory. The result was that I spent most of the flight sitting next to the never ending line for the lavatory. If I had wanted to use it, I never would have gotten to it.
@Gene? Really?
Using the bathroom is generally a fundamental necessity and that need outweighs class privilege. The use of first class overhead space by coach passengers is another issue entirely and should not be allowed to happen by FA . Use the space above your seat or stow your bag unsure seat. If you have too much crap gate check your bag!
I hate it when they make the announcement that we’re expected to use the cabin in which we were ticketed. Well, I’m off in ticketed and coach but upgraded to first class. I hardly think I’m expected to go back and use the coach toilet.
@ Dan
“There are fewer and fewer benefits to domestic first class, keeping everyone else out of there should be the bare minimum.”
Your FC ticket entitles you to a seat and certain other things. The lavatory, however, is a convenience, not an entitlement. Most people flying Econ or Econ Premium will respect the FC passengers’ having first-call on the forward lavatory. There are times — set out in the article and some of the responses — when it’s not possible to access the rear lavatory.
Your attitude shows a lack of consideration for your fellow human beings, i.e., passengers. Your parents failed in teaching you that, no matter how hard they may have tried. I, for one, hope they did try.