entropy

I was on a UA flight last week where the rear bathrooms were out of order, they announced this at the beginning of the flight and said for the Y pax to use the F lav but to wait behind the F area.

flymeaway

The regulation, which is from the TSA and not the FAA as far as I am aware, applies only to international flights entering the US - though some airlines may have adopted the policy for all flights.

Whoever said that FC passengers have passed a higher security clearance was mistaken. (How's that for diplomatic?) That's just silly. In reality, it is just easier to monitor activity near the flight deck door when you are dealing with only a handful of people - and disturbances in the aisles leading to the flight deck might not be noticed as quickly if lots of people are constantly moving about.

Aside from that, I don't think coach passengers should be using the lavs up front on any flight unless they're about to soil my seat cushions, or unless it is someone at the bulkhead in coach with limited mobility. It ruins the atmosphere up there if people are constantly back and forth in the aisles, and it can be akward for us (and you) if we are heavily in the middle of a service. But FA's don't need to 'blame' the FAA for it...better to just smile and politely point out the lavatories in the aft to folks as they're coming forward. Keeping the mesh thingie closed and the rope up does help a bit, too.

mywifeisincoach

It is interesting how we as individuals have to "wait" to use the facilities in our daily lives.

However, on an airplane one cannot be expected to wait and use the lavs in coach when seated in coach.

Absolutely ridiculous.

Certainly there are folks who have more difficulty than others "holding it" but it is amazing how folks on the plane absolutely have to go this second!

"I will piss allover this seat and row if you do not let me by that cart RIGHT NOW!!!! Or, I am more than willing to use the lesser used facitlities in f/c so that when I blow out the bowl less people will know it was me, when I come out."

Xyzzy

I don't believe it either. It would have been all over the snooze. Plus, it would take quite a bit of time, start as a small hole and get bigger. It's utter BS if you ask me.

LondonToLA

I have been in a situation where I have been a F passenger and Y passengers come forward to use the F lav. I have also been in a situation where I was a Y and I REALLY had to go, so I went up front to the F lav. Point is . . .when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I think it's important for Y passengers to have some courtesy to the F passengers and not come forward unless it's a TRUE emergency. 99.9 % of the time, people can hold it, but when there's a rumble in the bronx, sometimes up to F I go!

flymeaway

Maybe, maybe not. It could be something (relatively) minor, like people fishing around in the lavs to see if any kind of access could be possible...or intel about bad guys discussing such possibilities, etc. No, I don't know anything specific. But I am told by folks who know that there is a lot out there that does not make the news. There's usually more to the story than most of us know.

otralot

I think there are sme instances when Y pax should be able to use the FC lav. For example, when there is service in Y on a larger palne and the y Pax would have to wait till virtually all other y PAx are serevd or somehow, and most people can't, do a dance to get around the cart.

Falcon20

I'm pretty sure all the regs went into effect after 9/11. There was a real push by the FAA to protect the cockpit environment and the airlines were forced to modify their cockpit entrance doors with hardened steel and heavy duty locks so no one could penetrate the cockpit.

They (the FAA) also came out with rules and measures that either recommended or prohibited gathering in groups around the front lav, near the cockpit for the same security reasons.

I'm not sure if it's an FAA rule or recommendation but for the airlines and their first class pax, it makes it much more comfortable up front.

NOLAnwGOLD

My recent NW flights, the FA have made a point of saying that coach passengers are prohibited from using FC lavs due to "security reasons."

flyingpharmd

On my last return trip from EWR to SEA, the first class FA was a Rottweiler impersonating a human. She did not allow one coach person to use the FC lavatory and turned away coach flyer after coach flyer.

Maybe she worked for the IRS in a previous life.

b33g

Al-mighty dollar... that is your clearance..

kilo

Similar announcement on CO 29 (LGW- EWR ) 5 days ago - twice- on both occasions FAA regulation quoted.

Good to know my 'lack of hearing' isn't a problem yet .

rangerss75

Never mind the security nonsense. Surely the whole point of First Class is that you can pretend to be exclusive. That's what the curtain (at least it's made a come-back on CO, even if it is a see-through version) and the 'no-way this lavatory is for just anyone's use' are for!

If you take these little things away how on earth are you supposed to tell the difference between someone who has paid for a cheap Economy ticket and got upgraded and someone who paid for a cheap Economy ticket and didn't?

bocastephen

There is no FAA regulation that states passengers must remain in their cabins, or determines who can use which lavatory. Staff just make things up because it's the easiest way to get a customer to accept it and comply.

You can buy a current FAR/AIM book at almost any bookstore, and hand it to the FA and ask them to show you the pertinent "Part" within the FAA regs - if it was real and they were trained on it, they would know where to find it.

I believe the TSA has security advisories (I don't believe these are regulations) which request airlines take prudent measures to avoid passengers crowding in sensitive areas. I do not believe there is any written statement which specifically addresses a coach passenger using a FC lav or passengers entering each others' cabins - especially since not all FC lavs are directly outside the flight deck.

It should be against company policy for an employee to make up a rule or transfer blame to an uninvolved party when asking a customer to comply with an instruction.

The issue with coach pax lining up to use the FC lav or moving around the FC cabin is one of comfort and privacy. Security factors are hogwash. I wish one airline (I only heard one FA announce this properly on CO) would just step up and make the announcement honest: "For the comfort and privacy of our First Class customers, main cabin customers must use the lavatories in the main cabin and may not enter the First Class cabin during our flight."

As for the terrorists getting into the flight deck via the lav? That was a BS piece of fiction made up by Bush's handlers when he was caught in another lie and wanted to send out more disinformation to confuse people...again. I believe the lie was specific to 'terrorists' using 'shoe bombs' to 'blast' their way into the flight deck. No one bothered to mention to the Dear Leader that setting off a bomb in the lav (notwithstanding anyone who overindulged at Pappasitos before boarding - that is different) would be more likely to blow a hole in the thin skin of the airframe resulting in said terrorist being sucked out...although such a blast and hole could have other catastrophic circumstances, the contention that a terrorist would enter the flight deck with that method is pure bunk.

As for "sawing or hacking" through the lav into the flight deck? Highly unlikely...the lav is a standalone unit - the wall is not shared. They need to saw out of the lav and then through the small space and into the flight deck...it would take a mighty saw and one passionate individual to pull that off. Anyway, aren't saws and other cutting tools on the TSA prohibited list?

Xyzzy

No, just nail files..;.