Originally Posted by
paterwdb
I find it incredibly annoying when people in Y come forward and use the F toilets. Again, considering that we pay for a different experience (in dollars, miles, or loyalty), I think it reasonable to think that the lav be reserved for us. And when I'm Y (including Y+), yes, I walk all the way to the back of the bus. If the service cart is blocking the aisle, I wait.
How long is reasonable to wait? Part of the problem is service starts before the pilots turn off the seatbelt light due to American pilots being extremely risk-averse. This doesn't happen in Europe where KLM and others shut off the seatbelt light as soon as the plane hits 10k feet.
I remember a specific flight from RIC-LGA where I was sitting in 1A (F, probably upgraded but I don't remember exactly). We sat on the runway for 20 minutes or so waiting for clearance to take off due to timing into NYC airspace. I tried to follow the rules and wait for the seatbelt sign to go off before getting up to use the lav. Unfortunately, I didn't realize I was on a CR7 and not a CR9; the former doesn't have a forward lav. By the time service finished and the cart wasn't blocking the aisle anymore, we were on approach and the seatbelt sign was back on. I've never been more relieved to make it into a terminal than after that flight.