Originally Posted by
ESPECIALROB
I wish AA would consider some sort of TSA approved visible "barrier" (i.e., clear plastic curtain and/or velvet rope) between the cabins. Would probably cut down on such verboten cabin crossings dramatically.
Unfortunately it also cuts down on cabin crossings from premium class passengers (like me) who want to stretch their legs on a ~14 hour flight by pacing up and down the full aisle a couple times. The most distant lavs are actually useful for that.
And while we're on this topic, I recall one trip last summer when I upgraded to F on an MD-80. After the flight was airborne, a well behaved young man in his 20s who appeared to me might have been autistic and/or challenged in some way stepped forth from Y to use the F lav, and was allowed to do so, as the f/a up front most likely suspected he was a pax with special needs. After several minutes he left the lav, and a few minutes later I decided to use it before the in-flight snack was to be served. Upon opening the door, I noticed that the floor was all wet with what appeared to be urine. Immediately I summoned the f/a, and he veritified my suspicion, and declared the lav "out of service" for the duration of the flight. This of course meant all of F had to go to the back. Fortunately this was only a 2 hour flight, but could have been avoided with compliance to Y pax using the lav in their ticketed cabin.
Possibly, but he would have put another lav out of service regardless. (Surprisingly, the toilet seat works the same way in the first class and coach lavs.) Or he might have put the only aisle out of service as he struggled to make it in time to a more distant lav. And that would make the 2 hours a lot more enjoyable, wouldn't it?
I've got a great idea. Maybe, like elementary school, we can issue priority lav passes. Put all the lavs in the back of the plane (for "security"), but lock one of them. Then get one of those giant keyrings that's impossible to put in your pocket and let first class passengers grab the key when they need to visit the "executive" lavatory. This new tiered lav system might even help the airlines jam another couple seats onto the airplane, improving loads (no pun intended).
Oh, I've heard JetBlue and Southwest don't have this lavatory crisis. Amazing how they can permit all passengers aboard to use any available lavatory on an equal basis. Must be complete social chaos aboard every flight.
