Here’s A New One “the bathrooms do not work until 16,000 feet”
 

GA today kept saying the lavatories do not work until you are in the air so go no. I laughed at it and figured it’s a way for people to not swim upstream during boarding.

After boarding i made made a joke to the FA’s about it and they looked at me dead serious (one did the other looked perplexed) saying it came straight from the captain not working until 16,000 feet.

I guess this is he is he one of a kind A319 with non functioning bathrooms? :)

Amazing. And totally false of course. I regularly try to use the lav before takeoff if I'm in F and not going to get in the way of pax boarding, because I know it could be a while before I can use again.

Another example of go-go dysfunctionality on the 319's.

Not merely false - totally patronizing, too. We are not preschool kids and don't need to be lied to.

If you don't want people to use bathrooms, just announce that the bathrooms are unavailable below 16,000 feet. Set the lock to the occupied position.

Don't say they "don't work" as that's an insult.

EDIT: it turns out I'm wrong

That's almost as 'good' as the one "our instruments show that seven phones are not in airplane mode"

IP I see what you did there.

I can think of 2 flights I was on where the lavs didn't flush on the ground, but they did in the air . . . .

1) TATL B763. Three toilets wouldn't flush at the gate. They called in a mechanic while we all sat at the gate. He checked EVERYTHING he could, and, I'll never forget his words . . . .

Those toilets WILL flush once you're in the air - - - I'll stake my reputation on it! <Sure enough, they did! :)>

2) I used a lav at the gate once, and, the toilet didn't flush. A319/320, I think. I commented about it to a FA and was told it would work in the air - - and it did! :)

Something about pressure. I don't remember, exactly.

Just as an FYI I checked the IFE and I flushed at 13,500-14,500 feet. That was a close one :)

Sounds like the vacuum pump which provides suction for the lavatories on the ground was unserviceable. The 16,000ft figure is from the Airbus MEL (minimum equipment list) instructions for dispatching with the pump unserviceable, as an estimate of when the differential between the cabin and outside air pressure is sufficient to provide suction to the system again.

Had this a fair few times as a pilot on A320s, we normally kept the seatbelt signs on and lavatory doors locked until they were usable again.

No, Delta considers you to be self-loading cargo.

I've only used the bathroom on the ground on 737's and an MD80. Honestly don't remember if they flushed or not, I think I remember hearing the suction but nothing else.

After doing a quick search, I found this thread that I posted in May 2010:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delt...-000-feet.html

Well...then why do many passengers get up while the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign is on? Some people need to be treated like kids because they can't obey a clearly LIT sign!