A coach passenger on board American Airlines 1883 from Los Angeles to Miami reports that a first class flight attendant decided to keep people from coming up to use the first class lavatory by parking a galley cart in the aisle, blocking their path.
That way customers on board the Boeing 737 MAX could only walk the aisle to the back of the aircraft in order to use the bathroom in their ticketed cabin. However that is not according to American policy – and is potentially dangerous in turbulence. A coach passenger can’t walk back when flight attendants are up in the aisle serving beverages to customers, since they’re blocking the path with another cart and the only way to reach a lavatory is to go forward.
@americanairlines can’t believe your flight attendant blocks the aisle. I get they don’t want people infirst class, but there must be a better andway. Feels like a safety hazard and makes this flight even more cramp. Thanks for the love. Thats what my EP status gets me. #1883 pic.twitter.com/ucE2sGbc9O
— James Nunziati (@JamesNunziati) January 1, 2024
Like the American flight attendants who created a makeshift barrier to keep passengers out of the back galley recently, cabin crew make up their own rules in the air and there’s little oversight or enforcement.
Now, which lavatory should you be allowed to use on your flight? 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 ought to be,
- 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.
American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX Lavatory
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.
(HT: JonNYC)
Unfortunately, it has come to this, but the restroom in each cabin is designated for the passengers in their respective cabins. Yes, situations occur that may warrant the use of another restroom, but that should be the exception. While I have safety concerns regarding an unattended cart blocking the isle, all the power to the FA for thinking creatively since some passengers can’t follow instructions.
This perception that flight crews are law enforcement or similar can go screw, you allow access to the can, or the aisle becomes the can.
737 and 320, 319 should not be allowed to fly for more than 3h. ALL their restrooms are in the back. After 4 hours it’s a total anti-sanitary filth with lines of people standing through half of the cabin. Flights are slower on MAX.. A flight from MIA to SEA on a tight Alaska’s MAX is averaging 7 hours these days. That’s longer than some transatlantic flights on jumbo jets. Can’t have configurations like this on such long flights just to save a few pennies on fuel.. it’s not even safe.
@ Gary — I want this FA on my next flight. I don’t pay for F to then have a parade of coach-dwellers shaking the floor walking by while I am trying to sleep.
Since full meal service is something of the past for USA airlines, it would seem that the best way would be to design a cart that is a lot narrower to allow people to get by easier. I am glad that the flight to Haneda that completely burned from the landing accident didn’t have carts blocking the aisles because a lot of the emergency exits were non operable.
Honestly I don’t even know what the rules around bathrooms is supposed to be as it’s inconsistent every flight I take so I don’t think most people actually know what the rules are, but as a Delta Diamond flying many times a year, sometimes in first and others in comfort+ sitting right behind domestic first, I’ll walk my way all the way backwards when I’m in comfort+. .
Careful what you wish for. he next step is to simply eliminate beverage services and make you use the lav in your cabin.
I travel mostly in coach, sometimes the plus sections (MCE for example) with larger legroom which are typically adjacent to First class seats. There is no difference in what the bathrooms are like in coach vs first class, except that most first class bathrooms (US Domestic) are very tight on ceiling curve height where I have to lean back just to stand there. That said, I use the bathroom that is Closest to me as my first consideration which is usually first. I’d prefer the space of the coach bathrooms but If I’m in row 8 or 9 and the bathrooms are back in 35, I’m going to first. Why? Safety – standing up and walking over 25 rows vs 2-4 rows (row 8 is not really the 8th row, usually 5th). Once crew bring out the carts, it’s impossible to get to the rear of the aircraft. Bathrooms are bathrooms and there is no difference in ‘class’ – you are not so privileged that I cannot use the first class bathroom (can you say ‘segregation’?)
Now, if first class bathrooms were actually different, cleaner, larger, nicer fixtures, better soaps, larger seats for men, other real differentiators, then I might rethink my decision, but sorry, the bathrooms are no different in either cabin so I’m going to use my other criteria as class is not a valid excuse to deny me access.
Maybe the FA is hoping for a flight like the recent “diarrhea flight”, with copious amounts of liquid brown running down the aisle?
We try a little harder every night and every day
We work a little longer til we find a better way
We’re giving you our best
Yes, We’re American and we’re giving our best
No matter where we fly, we’re out to lead the rest
Yes, We’re American Airlines doing what we do best
I’m with @C.J. and @Gene
To that FA: You go, girl!
“The first thing you notice when you draw back the economy class curtain is, well, the stench.” – Penny
And what about the location of the accessible lavatory? In some planes it’s up front.
FA’s should never block the isle unnecessarily in the case of an emergency. The blocking was not necessary operationally, and the FA had the alternative of asking the pax to use the bathrooms in the rear.
@jns, when was the last time you were on final approach and the carts were all out parked in the aisle and were going to remain in that position for landing?
Looking at the picture, I would be pissed if I was the 1st class passenger in that last row with the cart blocking my access to the aisle and potentially blocking my exit if all of a sudden an emergency took place.
Safety first. When your aircraft encounters clear air turbulence, passengers might get to experience the thrill of a 500 pound fully loaded galley and beverage cart bouncing off the ceiling and crashing into a row of passengers.
Fun fact: Passengers can help move a beverage car out of the way by pressing on the foot pedal. One foot pedal will lock and the other foot pedal unlocks. Foot pedals are usually color coded red and green. This selectively will lock or unlock the caster wheels to immobilize the galley cart when required. For safety, a passenger can move a galley cart, roll it down the aisle, and stow it safely in the galley where it belongs.
When you get injured or a family member killed by a runaway or airborne beverage cart, here is a useful link for an injury attorney.
https://www.chicagoinjuryattorneysblog.net/a-flight-attendants-broken-leg-from-an-uncontrolled-beverage-cart-is-just-the-latest-reminder-of-the-potential-dangers-in-the-air/
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20160290023A1/en
I like that United has a mid-cabin lavatory between coach and first class on their 737-900 aircraft.
I was just looking at the photo of the toilet on the airplane in First Class. I do not see any fresh hand towels, premium seating, gold sink fixtures, soothing fragrances, large open space. As a matter of fact, I think it’s the same damn toilet/lav setup as in coach. These people need to get off the First class high horses and push for a much better bathroom experience, otherwise, coach customers should feel welcome to use them, anytime.
BTW – I’m pretty sure it’s legal for customers to use the lav in any class in America, except when returning from another country to the US. Not sure why that is, but that’s what I’ve read before for FAA regulations.
I’m very supportive of this. I am tired of Main Cabin Extra humyns coming up to defecate in my presence. How rude.
So nice to see a gallery cart used as a weapon to hurt a PAX.
Alaska has all 3 lavs in the rear, so “Premium” class has an incredibly long walk. United and others that have 1 lav at the front of economy and 2 at the rear make it easy for economy pax to not invade First. Alaska is the worst in this aspect. As an AS Gold 75K, I prefer to sit in the exit row (17C or D), because it is closer to the lavs.
On airlines like Qatar Airway, the Business Class restroom has additional amenities that economy class restrooms do not have. Also, the cabin crew make sure the bathroom is clean after a passenger has used it. When I fly economy, I use the economy located restrooms, when I am in business class, I use the business class restrooms. Simple!
As FAs, we are told not to leave the carts unattended and never leave a distance of over 1m from arm’s reach. On int’l flights, we have to make an announcement to keep passengers from assembling in galleys, exit doors and lavatories. There’s nothing about enforcing the usage of the lavatories for the cabin the passengers are seated in… but we add the verbiage of kindly using the assigned cabin lavatories.
That being said, separator curtains and frequent monitoring by the front FA is usually sufficient. Abandoning the beverage cart between cabins is a no-no.
I recently flew on Alaska Airlines, my seat was row 7, two rows from first class. I have trouble walking and arrived at the aircraft door in a wheelchair as which the flight attendant acknowledged me and asked if I needed assistance to my seat so she was very well aware. Normally I don’t use the restroom on an airplane but this time I needed to. I proceeded to go forward into first class when she stopped me and told me to use the restroom in the back then made an announcement that all must use the restroom in the back. I just sat down in my seat and held it until we landed. The best part of this comment is that after she made the announcement a half dozen people seated behind me was allowed to use the restroom in the front. I mean really? Never again Alaska Airlines.
I usually have MCE seats and see the FA’s do this when a pilot needs to use the restroom. It is to prevent someone from storming the cockpit when the door opens.
@Bruce Garlock – No, they place the cart in front of the galley, at the front of the first class cabin – not at the back of the cabin
I’m a FA and work in first class. What I have noticed is that first class passenger stay in their seat to wait for the bathroom to be vacant before they go to the restroom. First class passengers don’t stand and wait in line to use the restroom. So when a person from coach comes to the first class cabin and stands next to the restroom waiting for it to become available, they are unaware that there’s already a line of people waiting in their seats and they just cut in front of many first class passengers. It happens all the time.
Sometimes I’ll ask the coach passenger to wait behind the curtain for it to become available so they don’t crowd my workspace standing in the galley with me waiting for the restroom and also in case people are waiting in their seats in first to use the restroom.
I fly frequently on Alaska Airlines and I usually sit in Premium Class which are rows 6-9. In my opinion, it is more of a safety issue to walk 30+ rows to the back of the plane when people have their feet or elbow in the aisle. Not to mention trying to pass by someone going in the opposite direction. If this is such an issue, the airlines should add another set of restrooms in the middle of the plane.
I passed on getting a beverage on one of my flights, 30 minutes later I changed my mind. I was in row 6, the row right past first class, I thought I would just ask the same FA if I could get that beverage at that time. I started to walk towards her only for her to inform me very loudly I was not allowed to be in first class. She informed me I can to go to the back of the plane to get my drink. She followed me and then asked me if I wanted her to bring it to me. Yes I do! She followed me all the way to row 6. There was no reason for the rudeness. I guess I could have pressed the call FA button instead of trying to be kind.
@Chuck: You write: “I’m a FA and work in first class. What I have noticed is that first class passenger stay in their seat to wait for the bathroom to be vacant before they go to the restroom. First class passengers don’t stand and wait in line to use the restroom. So when a person from coach comes to the first class cabin and stands next to the restroom waiting for it to become available, they are unaware that there’s already a line of people waiting in their seats and they just cut in front of many first class passengers. It happens all the time.”
When there are 8 to 16 passengers seated first-class and all waiting to use the lavatory after a meal, plus some passengers from the coach cabin, do the first-class passengers get priority peeing or pooping privileges? For example, on American Airlines, does a ConciergeKey® elite passenger get preferential priority peeing and pooping privileges over the AAdvantage Platinum Pro® or AAdvantage Executive Platinum® valued customers.
I know that ConciergeKey® passengers get priority boarding because that is a publicized benefit. But priority peeing or pooping is not currently a published AAdvantage elite benefit. Hopefully, American Airlines will publicize its unique elite toilet access strategy. To help prevent first-class clients with overactive bladders from unintentionally peeing in their seats, full disclosure of the American Airlines toilet access policy may help incentivize more passengers to develop the desire to earn the maximum benefits of top-tier AAdvantage elite status.
This is yet another example of failed management. Different FA’s deliver a different experience. There should be clear direction provided to the crew so they know how to consistently deliver the customer experience. FA’s shouldn’t have to work with ambiguous policies or lack of them for such an important topic. The cart blocking FA should probably be reprimanded for creating a safety hazard.
The American public is impossibly difficult and demanding. You come up with whatever you can complain about and that is what you do over and over. I am sick of you. I think you should take a good look at your entitled selves and figure out that a lot of the problems are caused by you. And yes, I am a retired airline employee and I see the current employees dealing with impossible situations brought on by management that doesn’t care and a flying public that should grow up.
Well in the event someone really has to go I guess itll be worst if someone pees or cramps in the floor
They say bin space does not come with your seat so toilet should be same policy
I’ve seen pretty long lines at the toilets
OK hold on hold on, was the FA blocked the aisle with cart on the entire flight or just when the pilots were coming out from the cockpit to use the lavatory ?!
When the pilots are coming out to use the lavatory, FAs have to block the aisle and sometimes people don’t understand even when FAs explain to them. Maybe you need to clarify that.