Has anyone been denied access to the lavs in F?
 

There is a thread on the AA board that says that the lavatories in F are being closed and that the F passengers have to use the ones in the back of the Y section. Has this happened to anyone on a DL flight?
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/006265.html

ON JFK-SLC last Thursday afternoon, I was seated next to a pilot in Biz Elite. He didn't say that I shouldn't use the F lavs, but when it came up in conversation, he did suggest that it was better ot use the ones farther back in the cabin. On both my SLC-ATL and ATL-LGA flights this weekend, F lavs were frequently used.

On 1 of my 764 flights, the lav by the cockpit door was closed, leaving 1 in FC open. I asked a FA about it and was told that they took it upon themselves to close it.

About a week after 9/11 I was on a flight from CDG to ATL and the lavatories by the cockpit were locked until after takeoff. It didn't make much sense but at that point the airlines were still trying to figure out how to respond to the crisis.


My experiences from the last week:

MD-11 LAX/ATL Captain announced that front lavs were off limits.

757 ATL/PVD/ATL No restrictions.

767-400 ATL/LAX Both front lavs open but no loitering (love that word) http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif.


The curtains between F and Y were left open on all flights, btw, but not the galley curtains. Not too smart - what's point of giving the flight attendants a clear view of the cabin if they can hide in the galley.

I have made it a habit to ring the call button and inform the FA whenever I intend to use the forward lav on an airplane. A few FAs have looked puzzled, but I explained that it was for my OWN safety. I don't want to have some gung-ho amateur Rambo in 1B trying to take me down at a most innoportune moment.

DL seems to have struck the right balance of security and convenience. It could be policy or crew discretion.
Only when a cockpit crew member leaves to use the lav are passengers chased away from the front galley in my experience over seven flights.
One guy standing there waiting his turn was told to leave when the captain emerged from the cockpit.
Not many people are lingering in the front galley these days, but I've never heard it prohibited. It makes sense not to create an issue and a new tension when it's not warranted. I like their style, a climate not overly-stressed.

Next they'll suspend beverage service and claim it to be security related.

"you know, if we serve drinks more people will have to use the restroom and that can cause all kinds of problems"

Flying from LGW-CVG, the captain said that the cockpit lav was closed for security reasons and was a "restricted area." He thanked us for our understanding. That's one in about a dozen segments since 9/11, so overall, its not too difficult to use the restroom.

Absolutely nothing restricted in word or deed on 11 of 12 flights in the past month. On our recent SAN-CVG flight, however, the pilot came into the (B/E equipped) cabin and announced that he didn't want anyone hanging about in the galley/forward area in wait to use the lav or for whatever reason. He said if anyone had to wait, to form the line in the cabin, pointing to the area next to my seat (1B), but that there were two other lavs for our use, and that NO ONE from the coach cabin should come through the curtain at all - if we noticed someone, we should call an FA immediately. The issue didn't arise, but I don't think the flight was full in the back either.

There were 10 empty B/E seats on this flight, out of 48, so there really wasn't much of an issue about waiting. As it happened, one of the FAs actually told a pax not to stand waiting, even though he was within the area the pilot had said was OK. I thought that was unnecessary, but OTOH, I was just as happy not to have people queuing right by my seat.



------------------
The Delta Flyers' Guide

[QUOTE]Originally posted by B747-437B:
[B]I have made it a habit to ring the call button and inform the FA whenever I intend to use the forward lav on an airplane.

Geez,Mother May I? That is a bad habit to get into. You gonna volunteer to be frisked if they frown on the request?

There's a proposal to have FF's screened and interviewed for a pass to use a new express security checkpoint at airports.
The interview would involve a 45-minute one-on-one session and the background check would be fairly extensive. Some airlines might opt out of the plan as the rules would be standard to all carriers.

Your status could change.
If you buy a one-way ticket or pay cash, the pass would be suspended. Any other deviations from your "profile" could also lead to a suspension. The pass, not actually a card, would be imbedded in the barcode of your boarding pass.

Such a clearance might also give you the run of the cabin, as you would present a reduced security risk. But it might also risk hostility from other passengers, so there are potential pitfalls.

Still, the advantages are obvious. A day at the airport with less anxiety from a predictably-quick clearance. I'd sign up. News reports about this aired today.

I was on a USAirways flight where a young, bearded (but not especially Arabic-looking) man in coach had to use the restroom. He started toward the back of the plane, but a cart was in the way. The FA told him to go to the front lavoratory, in F, which he did.

There wasn't any sort of incident, but I was sort of thinking that might not be a good idea. I mean, with tensions as they are nowadays, I can see some people getting twitchy if someone from the back started moving toward the cockpit. It seemed strange that a FA would proactively suggest it when the man seemed fine with returning to his seat and waiting.

In the dozen or so DL flights I've taken since 9-11, not a single lavatory has been closed.

I've commented to some of my friends that the only thing that has changed for me (outside of stupidly long security lines) since that day is the fact that I no longer go stand in the foward galley and talk to guys/gals in Carolina Blue. I do miss it on a long flight.

B747 I think you've got the right approach when it comes to avoiding the Rambo factor. Recently I flew myself and a friend up front for a little college reunion jaunt. He was checking out *everyone* in FC and stated he was ready to tackle anyone who looked suspicious. It was pretty funny, but also shed light on the attitudes of people who don't fly often. On one of my first trips after the 11th, a young arabic looking man was on my flight. He actually looked more scared than John and Jane Vacation Flyer. I would have been too. The whole boarding area looked ready to lynch him!

I do still get up and return my glass when we're deep into the flight and the FA's are trying to get some rest. Not once has anyone scolded me for that. Then again, I guess that's the glory of being a white male!

-g

[This message has been edited by balt4house (edited 11-01-2001).]

From the comments posted on the AA thread concerning the closed lavs, it seems that the majority of the flights involved were 757's.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum71/HTML/006265.html

As the cockpit doors get reinforcement, hopefully the concern will lessen.