# Ever used an airplane lavatory? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 9, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541 "2025-12-09T03:37:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2025, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/101 "2025-12-10T22:51:58Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > From a blog on flying Singapore: [Review: Singapore Airlines 777 Premium Economy (SIN-HKG) - The Alviator](https://thealviator.com/2017/04/singapore-777-premium-review/?utm_source=chatgpt.com) : > > > I was actually most interested to see that the “drinking water” dispenser jutted out of the side of the bathroom, which I’d never seen before. That is interesting. I’ve seen drinking water dispensers like that on Amtrak train cars before (specifically the two level Superliner coach cars), but never on a plane. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/102 "2025-12-11T11:49:39Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you’re not sitting in first class, you’re not supposed to be using the lav near the cockpit anyhow. Go aft, where congregating is expected. Many domestic flights don’t have first class. Only the long hauls. This sort of pisses me off. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/103 "2025-12-11T13:04:23Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Women, and men who need to poop, all need to sit to use the toilet. I think they optimize the tiny amount of allotted space for using it that way. And because men are actually capable of sitting to pee! Guys, we love you, but for the love of all things, sit. Down. To. Pee. and spare us all the evidence of your masculinity all over the toilet seat, shroud, floor and sidewall. And ladies, _don’t freaking hover_. Your skin will protect you from germs (unless, I suppose, your ass is covered in open sores) and there’s soap and water _right there_ to clean up with after. ETA: yes, they’re getting smaller, often with shapes that allow for an extra row of seats ahead of them. The doors are also frangible. In the event of a door jam, they can be kicked down. There’s also the means to just unlock it from the outside, though it’s partially hidden. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/104 "2025-12-11T13:14:00Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > try standing there to pee, while limboing backwards because there’s not enough head room. Another reason for men to cultivate the skill of sitting to pee in mobile public facilities. Not as necessary in most plane lavatories as in shaking wobbling toilets on trains and buses, but still a useful skill. (Guys, your primary responsibility here is to get ALL the pee IN THE TOILET. Most of you CANNOT achieve that while standing on a moving train or bus, though a lot of you mistakenly believe you can. (And a lot of you also apparently believe that your pee inadvertently splattered all over the toilet fixtures and floor is not your responsibility to wipe up.) Nobody is watching you pee, and nobody will be judging your manliness if you just SIT DOWN.) (ETA: ninjaed by @mnemosyne!) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/105 "2025-12-11T13:30:28Z")
And while I’m doing gendered critiques of bathroom usage: Sisters, @mnemosyne is also correct that “hovering” over the seat is unnecessary and potentially messy. Either lift the seat to hover over the bowl itself, or sit on your hands (and subsequently wash them) if you really can’t let your ass touch the seat. (That’s how my mom taught me to use a public toilet, but I thought it was silly and just sat on the seat. In a combined use history of well over a century, neither Mom nor I ever got any kind of infection from a toilet seat, nor did we get pee anywhere but inside the toilet.) Oh, and if you use tissue toilet seat covers (“ass gaskets”) provided in some stalls, or strips of toilet paper as an improvised equivalent, make sure it goes INTO THE TOILET after use. Don’t slobbily let it drift to the floor to get wet and nasty. (Guys might be doing this too, I suppose, but I bet it’s mostly female users doing the ass-gasket thing.) ---
**Author:** ![mozchron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c2a13f/32.png) [@mozchron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mozchron)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/106 "2025-12-11T13:36:32Z")
Who the hell flies and doesn’t use the restroom? You must have an iron bladder. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/107 "2025-12-11T13:41:09Z")
# Public Service Announcement Male Bachelors: Sit to pee at home means you need to clean your bathroom about half as often as you do now. Whether you think that’s weekly or annually. You’re welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/108 "2025-12-11T13:52:48Z")
I probably took 1000+ flights between age 24 and 44, the overwhelming majority of them were less than two hours long. I think the only times I have used the airplane restroom has been on transpacific flights. But then I try not to drink fluids when I’m traveling. I don’t like using iffy bathrooms. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/109 "2025-12-11T14:10:23Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > # Public Service Announcement > > Male Bachelors: > > Sit to pee at home means you need to clean your bathroom about half as often as you do now. Whether you think that’s weekly or annually. > > You’re welcome. My husband usually sits to pee at home. And yes, i do appreciate the cleaner bathroom. (Our son learned to pee sitting down, too. One time, at a rest area, as we were juggling children, puzzleguy grabbed our toddler son and said, “i need to use the restroom. I’ll teach son how to use a urinal.”) ---
**Author:** ![Wilson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@Wilson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wilson)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/110 "2025-12-11T18:05:13Z")
The real honor should go to the first person to post to this thread from an airplane lavatory. I’m another that doesn’t hesitate to use airplane lavatories. If the flight is four hours or more, I pretty much will need to. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/111 "2025-12-11T18:07:56Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > The real honor should go to the first person to post to this thread from an airplane lavatory. I’m too cheap to pay for the inflight wifi. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/112 "2025-12-11T18:12:47Z")
Jet Blue usually includes that for free. They also usually have an extra inch or two of legroom. I have no idea why they are usually described as a budget carrier. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/113 "2025-12-11T18:20:02Z")
> [@mtnmatt](#): > > Kareem Abdul-Jabbar fold himself into the lavatory on a flight from Kaua’i That was not Abdul-Jabbar, it was captain Roger Murdock. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/114 "2025-12-11T18:25:35Z")
> [@mozchron](#): > > Who the hell flies and doesn’t use the restroom? You must have an iron bladder. I frequently make it coast to coast (U.S.) without using the rest room. (maybe 50 to 70% of those flights). (I have no aversion to using one, just don’t need to). It’s fun to tell my wife when I get home “I have to use the restroom, I haven’t peed since the hotel in Baltimore this morning.” Oh, I do pee standing up. And I do get all the pee in the proper receptacle. I will say, the idea of sexual relations of any kind in an airplane lavatory is a non started for me. I can’t imagine a more uncomfortable and unappealing experience. At my age, I prefer a bed to anywhere exotic. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/115 "2025-12-11T18:55:44Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I have no idea why they are usually described as a budget carrier. Because they don’t offer most of the amenities “premium” travelers expect. They don’t offer First Class on most flights (They do have their “Mint” premium cabin on a few select cross country flights, but that’s a relatively recent development). They don’t have airport lounges. IMO JetBlue is a “budget” carrier in the same sense that Target is a “discount” retailer. They are slightly more upscale than WalMart and a little pricier, but they still fall into the same broad category. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/116 "2025-12-11T19:40:59Z")
I guess i am just a budget traveler. 😆 Thanks. I find their larger seats and Wi-Fi make flights much nicer for the same price as the competition, so i guess they fit my budget well. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2025, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/117 "2025-12-11T20:10:27Z")
They got started with the idea of a bit more amenities than legacy crappy coach for a bit less money than full-fare legacy crappy coach. Their genius was to price above the legacy average fares, but below the legacy headline fares. And not have as wide a range of deep discounts. Looked cheaper individually, but was about a wash collectively. When you have brand new airplanes you can save a lot of money on maintenance at first until stuff starts wearing out or the big expensive 5-year inspections start coming due. A new car is similar. They were one of the first carriers in the modern era to start out with all new planes. Historically start-up airlines were flying old cast-offs the majors had discarded. Since then, start-ups getting all new is pretty normal. The bottom line was they built a legit reputation as being surprising quality for surprisingly cheap. As time has gone on the quality difference and the price difference vs. every else have both declined. But the reputation lives on. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/118 "2025-12-15T19:11:05Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > And i like the excuse to get up and stretch my legs. Those airplane aisles are rather narrow, and I always feel I have to kinda crab-walk down the aisle in order to not bump into the people in the aisle seats along the way. And I’m really pretty average size for a guy. And of course if I’m in a window seat, I’ve got to get my seatmates to get up and move too, so that I can squeeze my way to the aisle. So altogether, I’d rather just stay put if I can do so with minimal discomfort. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/119 "2025-12-15T19:14:20Z")
I once used the airplane lavatory when we had just landed in Quito airport (I had been “holding it” for hours at that point because it was the first time in my adult life I flew and didn’t want to use it, but the prospect of continuing to hold it until reaching the hotel proved too much). I almost got stranded there in the middle of the runway because the crew didn’t check for stragglers and the small bus that takes you to the actual airport terminal was about to leave without me when I emerged from the loo. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2025, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541/120 "2025-12-15T19:16:57Z")
> [@Mops](#): > > By the way I have used the lavatory in small sailing boats (\< 30 ft) on a number of occasions, and airplane lavatories are positively spacious in comparison. Sailboat lavatories are for contortionists and I have only used them when absolutely necessary. I don’t know about smaller boats (30 ft or less) but my dad had a 32-foot Dickerson ketch for many years. Its bathroom was small, sure, but I don’t recall its being much different in size from an airplane lavatory. And since we would typically be on the water all day (eta: rather than just a few hours), I had no hesitation of using it when the need arose. Not to mention (per my previous post), there was no difficulty in getting to the lavatory from wherever you happened to be on the boat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-used-an-airplane-lavatory/1025541.md?page=7)