I took my first flight at the age of 9, so I’ve been utilizing air travel for over 40 years. From the years of 2003-2013, I was on approximately 1,200 flights for work, with several going cross-country non-stop. While talking with my wife this week, I realized I’ve never even set foot in an airplane bathroom. Is that weird? For the record, all my flights have been domestic.
Closest I ever came to using an airplane bathroom was that time when I almost shit my pants during the descent into Minneapolis. Lot of sweating and internal calculating during that 25 minutes of hell, but I somehow managed to keep it in, deboard and make it to the nearest terminal bathroom. The only casualty was my pedometer which was lost to the toilet bowl as I furiously de-pantsed myself.
Yeah, I don’t have huge bladder capacity and I have a habit of drinking a lot of fluids. Couple that with a significant number flights being 10+ hour trips to Asia or Europe so it’s gotta happen.
Yes, but of the thousands of flight’s I’ve taken over the years, very rarely. Like a camel’s ability to go without water for a long time, I can go without peeing much longer than most.
The thing that always impressed me was the fierce roar when you flushed, which I presume was the pressurized cabin air rushing into the less-pressurized holding tank. Having owned a boat, I’m also familiar with marine heads, but their operation is quite different.
In the case of both airplanes and boats, some poor service schmuck gets the job of emptying the holding tank, but it’s a pretty sterile operation that really just involves the attachment of a big hose. From a service perspective t’s not really much different than refueling.
It does seem a little weird that, having flown that much, you never went to the bathroom on a plane. Heck, as a kid I went to the bathroom to alleviate boredom (I got to walk down the plane and explore a bit).
It does not make you a weird person but I would think this is unusual. At this point though I’d try to keep going with the streak. Be the first person ever to never use a bathroom on a plane despite a 1,000+ flights! You’re on a roll…keep going!
Just do not fly to Australia (or somewhere halfway around the world). Not sure how you could hold it all in that long.
When I was younger, never. Now I am an old man, sometimes.
Specifically, the last flight on an Airbus, I had a decal from Boeing’s gift shop that said “If is isn’t Boeing, I’m not going” And I stuck it to the inside of the door so when you sat down, you would see it. I hope someone got a chuckle.
I have no idea how people have sex in there. Aside from the privacy aspect, it’s so small you have to step outside to change your mind.
You cannot. Trust me; I’ve flown to Australia a few times. If you can make it through those long flights without needing the lav, you must be superhuman. Same for flights to Europe really; while not quite as long as the Australian flights, they’re still long.
But even on shorter flights in North America—say, four hours or more—I’ll find myself visiting the lav.
Just about the only times I haven’t, was on short commuter hops, where some of the aircraft used don’t even have one.
I usually try to dehydrate myself–not wise, I know–but there’s no way I’m flying four hours without using the lav. And I have changed a diaper in there more than once, a trick that requires speed and balance I’ve never had elsewhere. And I’ve taken restless toddlers to see the blue water.
Are lavatories smaller now than in days gone by? There isn’t enough space for two stick figures to get it on in there.
I empty my bladder before boarding. You never know how long your plane will be holding when lining up for takeoff.
Yes I’ve usually done #1 on my flights. Crossing the ocean, maybe I go 2x. I rarely do #2 on my flights. I like to evacuate… umm… you know. And I’ve changed many diapers too but that was years ago.
In have puked my stomach out, on an early morning, cross county, low level flight ( which equates to extremely rough), into a toilet like device, on a C-130 tactical military airlifter; couple hours after a long night of clubbing.