Airline Asks Passengers to Empty Bladders Before Boarding Flights

rockin'robin · 10-07-2009, 07:07 PM

Japan's All Nippon Airways is Trying to Reduce Weight on Environmentally-Friendly Flights

Just when you thought airlines couldn't do anything else to lighten the load, here comes a new idea: Japan's All Nippon Airways is now asking passengers on select flights to empty their bladders before boarding.

That's right: at the gate ANA staffers encourage fliers to make that one final dash to the restroom to expel some of that extra weight.

"If the flight is lighter, we use less gasoline which is good for the environment," ANA North America spokeswoman Jean Saito told ABC News.

It might not seem like much, but the human bladder can hold up to 16 ounces before the urge to urinate. That's about 1.1 pounds of fluid. If all 216 passengers on an ANA Boeing 767 had pretty full bladders, that extra urine would weigh about 240 pounds.

Just add it to the list of weight and cost-saving cuts the airline industry has made recently. Airlines have already taken away blankets, magazines and even televisions on flights all in the name of reducing weight to save fuel and of course money.

"I think it's going to win them more humor on late night television than anywhere else," said Edmund S. Greenslet of The Airline Monitor. "Clearly everybody is looking pinch pennies if not nickels and dimes but this strikes me as a bit much."

"It's seems to me that if there is money to be saved in terms of operations, there's probably some more fruitful places to look," he added.

Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter

Passengers can be at least assured that even for those who can't "hold it," ANA won't be charging them for the bathroom, an idea that Ireland's Ryanair has been entertaining.

Back in February, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the airline was considering charging passengers at some point one British pound -- about $1.60 -- to use the toilet while on the plane. The low-cost airline's thinking goes like this: not everybody uses a bathroom during a flight so why should everybody have to pay for it.

ANA's latest effort is part of a month-long trial called "e-flight." The "e" stands for ecology and the airline is trying to make flying as environmentally friendly as possible. Instead of plastic cups, the airline will use cups derived from plant materials. Paper napkins will come from non-wood products. Passengers will learn more about the environment during the in-flight entertainment.

But the environmental push starts long before then.

While at the gate, ANA staff will introduce the flight as an e-flight and request that passengers lighten their baggage and to go to the restroom before boarding, according to ANA spokesman Justin C. Massey.

"I think it's bit redundant to ask people to relieve themselves," said Rick Seaney, CEO of airfare site FareCompare.com and an ABCNews.com columnist. "Most people, including my family, do it anyway because they hate the cleanliness of the lavatory."

The e-flight is being tested on domestic flights between Tokyo's Haneda International Airport, Okinawa's Naha Airport and Chitose Airport and on one international route between Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport.

The test period is from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31 and the airline said it will review whether it wants to continue the program.

Airline Asks Passengers to Empty Bladders Before Boarding Flights - ABC News

JamieLynn · 10-08-2009, 01:10 AM

LOL... I wouldn't care since I use the bathroom anyway before boarding a plane

CJB · 10-08-2009, 01:15 AM

What if the gate you board from doesn't have a restroom? Looks like you're screwed then!

souggy · 10-08-2009, 02:23 AM

I sure no one got a 240 pounds bladder...

Would sucks if all that effort to void bladders went to naught.

LuciaDisturbed · 10-08-2009, 05:39 AM

I cannot even hold an ounce of urine in my bladder. Even if I only drank half an ounce of soda, I gotta go take a piss! I piss like 75790998668575760 times a day! I have an overactive bladder. And no, I'm not diabetic, I already been tested for it and no diabetes!

Reba · 10-08-2009, 07:08 AM

How about a shave, haircut, waxing, and enema before take off? That would save a lot more weight.

What about traveling nude? That would save on weight and reduce security risks! (Except for the guys carrying bombs in their butts.)

Malaysian Terrorist Noordin M Top May Have Hidden Explosives in Anus - The Jakarta Globe

Mrs Bucket · 10-08-2009, 07:27 AM

Wow!

Asking a person to go pee before flying is like asking a child to go pee.

The child will say "Dunt hafta pee!" 5-10 minutes later.. when it's much too late, they have to poop!!

PowerON · 10-08-2009, 10:44 AM

It's like old fashion, parents tell us to make sure we pee before we go on trip. That way they save our trouble.

However, for airplane, that could save the weight. lol

sallylou · 10-08-2009, 02:21 PM

It doesn't make sense to send everyone to the bathroom at once. The womens line would be long and slow! I always go before flying anyway. Those of you with stronger bladders can wait, can't you?

Jiro · 10-08-2009, 02:26 PM

let's pee together. co-op bathroom!

*it's a pix of man and woman peeing at urinals together at same bathroom

Banjo · 10-08-2009, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

let's pee together. co-op bathroom!

*it's a pix of man and woman peeing at urinals together at same bathroom

Please provide an audio description of the image.

souggy · 10-08-2009, 02:28 PM

That woman is smiling... while the guy is looking down with a surprised face like "what you got down there" kind of look.

Tranny!

Jiro · 10-08-2009, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souggy

That woman is smiling... while the guy is looking down with a surprised face like "what you got down there" kind of look.

Tranny!

lol!!!! I just checked the photo again. I didn't think of that! In my head, it was "let's pee together. lol!!!!!"

JamieLynn · 10-08-2009, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reba

How about a shave, haircut, waxing, and enema before take off? That would save a lot more weight.

What about traveling nude? That would save on weight and reduce security risks! (Except for the guys carrying bombs in their butts.)

Malaysian Terrorist Noordin M Top May Have Hidden Explosives in Anus - The Jakarta Globe

Travelling nude would save quite some weight

Bramus · 10-09-2009, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by souggy

That woman is smiling... while the guy is looking down with a surprised face like "what you got down there" kind of look.

Tranny!

thinking the same thing

rockin'robin · 10-09-2009, 10:27 AM

I can see the flight attendants asking each passenger before getting in their seat....."Gotta pee-pee"?.....doo-doo?.....Com'on now....let's go pee-pee.....

Probably have signs all over the plane too...."We don't Pee in ur pool, so don't pee on our plane"

Tousi · 10-09-2009, 12:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockin'robin

I can see the flight attendants asking each passenger before getting in their seat....."Gotta pee-pee"?.....doo-doo?.....Com'on now....let's go pee-pee.....

Probably have signs all over the plane too...."We don't Pee in ur pool, so don't pee on our plane"

If I'm already on the plane and I get asked this question, what am I supposed to do? Go back outside, under the plane and "bless" the flight onto one of the tires?

rockin'robin · 10-09-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tousi

If I'm already on the plane and I get asked this question, what am I supposed to do? Go back outside, under the plane and "bless" the flight onto one of the tires?

Maybe just asked the attendant if she has an empty soda can or a water bottle??

sequoias · 10-09-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

lol!!!! I just checked the photo again. I didn't think of that! In my head, it was "let's pee together. lol!!!!!"

Jiro, FAIL!

sequoias · 10-09-2009, 01:47 PM

240 pounds isn't much...let's get all nude!

Loghead · 10-09-2009, 06:05 PM

I don't really know how much of a difference it will make. Plus too, if there are flights from US/Canada to Japan, it will be difficult for passengers to hold it for the full 24 hour flight. Not pleasant to be holding pee for a day. If they don't want people to pee, they're also going to have to stop serving drinks.

GalaxyAngel · 10-09-2009, 06:20 PM

Find this stupidity new announcement.
Therefore anyone who ask you have to go bathroom before you're going on the boarding!
Seems pretty forcing you, If you have not gone bathroom, Sorry you cannot get into the boarding!
*cough* Wha..a.. joke?
Because of the weight issued. Oh please, Give me a BREAK!

KarissaMann05 · 10-09-2009, 07:43 PM

I don't have a diabetes but if I'm get on a plane, I tend to go pee sometimes. Oddly, if I'm on land, I don't pee so often.

rockin'robin · 10-09-2009, 08:45 PM

If water is running, then I gotta pee....if I go to the beach, then I gotta pee. Had it checked and my bladder is not falling out....

Maybe they outta' give out "Depends" to all the passengers!

Beowulf · 10-09-2009, 08:52 PM

Imagine the riot if two passengers got into a brawl because one needs to go to the john, and the other passenger won't tell him which number to announce. Hee hee

CJB · 10-09-2009, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jiro

let's pee together. co-op bathroom!

*it's a pix of man and woman peeing at urinals together at same bathroom

CJB · 10-09-2009, 09:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loghead

I don't really know how much of a difference it will make. Plus too, if there are flights from US/Canada to Japan, it will be difficult for passengers to hold it for the full 24 hour flight. Not pleasant to be holding pee for a day. If they don't want people to pee, they're also going to have to stop serving drinks.

And get sued for dehydrating their passengers.

Loghead · 10-09-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJB

And get sued for dehydrating their passengers.

Exactly.

Beowulf · 10-09-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KarissaMann05

I don't have a diabetes but if I'm get on a plane, I tend to go pee sometimes. Oddly, if I'm on land, I don't pee so often.

Psst! Wanna buy some Depends?

CJB · 10-09-2009, 09:57 PM

I always pee on land because I hate airplane bathrooms and I also hate how flight attendants usually freak out when the blind passenger gets out of their seat. So I just avoid the situation altogether by using the bathroom before boarding. But gosh, what if I just had a coffee and I really need to go?

10-07-2009, 07:07 PM	#1 (permalink)
rockin'robin Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 2,782	Airline Asks Passengers to Empty Bladders Before Boarding Flights Japan's All Nippon Airways is Trying to Reduce Weight on Environmentally-Friendly Flights Just when you thought airlines couldn't do anything else to lighten the load, here comes a new idea: Japan's All Nippon Airways is now asking passengers on select flights to empty their bladders before boarding. That's right: at the gate ANA staffers encourage fliers to make that one final dash to the restroom to expel some of that extra weight. "If the flight is lighter, we use less gasoline which is good for the environment," ANA North America spokeswoman Jean Saito told ABC News. It might not seem like much, but the human bladder can hold up to 16 ounces before the urge to urinate. That's about 1.1 pounds of fluid. If all 216 passengers on an ANA Boeing 767 had pretty full bladders, that extra urine would weigh about 240 pounds. Just add it to the list of weight and cost-saving cuts the airline industry has made recently. Airlines have already taken away blankets, magazines and even televisions on flights all in the name of reducing weight to save fuel and of course money. "I think it's going to win them more humor on late night television than anywhere else," said Edmund S. Greenslet of The Airline Monitor. "Clearly everybody is looking pinch pennies if not nickels and dimes but this strikes me as a bit much." "It's seems to me that if there is money to be saved in terms of operations, there's probably some more fruitful places to look," he added. Stay Up to Date on the Latest Travel Trends from ABC News on Twitter Passengers can be at least assured that even for those who can't "hold it," ANA won't be charging them for the bathroom, an idea that Ireland's Ryanair has been entertaining. Back in February, Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary said the airline was considering charging passengers at some point one British pound -- about $1.60 -- to use the toilet while on the plane. The low-cost airline's thinking goes like this: not everybody uses a bathroom during a flight so why should everybody have to pay for it. ANA's latest effort is part of a month-long trial called "e-flight." The "e" stands for ecology and the airline is trying to make flying as environmentally friendly as possible. Instead of plastic cups, the airline will use cups derived from plant materials. Paper napkins will come from non-wood products. Passengers will learn more about the environment during the in-flight entertainment. But the environmental push starts long before then. While at the gate, ANA staff will introduce the flight as an e-flight and request that passengers lighten their baggage and to go to the restroom before boarding, according to ANA spokesman Justin C. Massey. "I think it's bit redundant to ask people to relieve themselves," said Rick Seaney, CEO of airfare site FareCompare.com and an ABCNews.com columnist. "Most people, including my family, do it anyway because they hate the cleanliness of the lavatory." The e-flight is being tested on domestic flights between Tokyo's Haneda International Airport, Okinawa's Naha Airport and Chitose Airport and on one international route between Tokyo's Narita International Airport and Singapore's Changi Airport. The test period is from Oct. 1 through Oct. 31 and the airline said it will review whether it wants to continue the program. Airline Asks Passengers to Empty Bladders Before Boarding Flights - ABC News

10-08-2009, 02:23 AM	#4 (permalink)
souggy Ace Attorney Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 2,379	I sure no one got a 240 pounds bladder... Would sucks if all that effort to void bladders went to naught. __________________ Souggy's Blog Warning! Contains skewed comments & inane ramblings. May cause spontaneous human combustion

10-08-2009, 05:39 AM	#5 (permalink)
LuciaDisturbed Amateur Psychiatrist Join Date: May 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 6,659	I cannot even hold an ounce of urine in my bladder. Even if I only drank half an ounce of soda, I gotta go take a piss! I piss like 75790998668575760 times a day! I have an overactive bladder. And no, I'm not diabetic, I already been tested for it and no diabetes! __________________ "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." - Philosopher George Santayana. Implanted left ear 10/11/06, activated 10/16/06 - Nucleus Freedom My own CI experience, my views on CI and ASL and Deaf Culture and Society DeviantArt

10-08-2009, 07:27 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mrs Bucket has retired from AllDeaf. Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 2,348	Wow! Asking a person to go pee before flying is like asking a child to go pee. The child will say "Dunt hafta pee!" 5-10 minutes later.. when it's much too late, they have to poop!! __________________ My new nieces/nephews are arriving soon!

10-08-2009, 10:44 AM	#8 (permalink)
PowerON Click me 12 time Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Suddenly, I'm cowboy. Posts: 6,863 Blog Entries: 4	It's like old fashion, parents tell us to make sure we pee before we go on trip. That way they save our trouble. However, for airplane, that could save the weight. lol __________________ • [Illustrator.Blog-alloon.com] • Don't shoot me! I'm only blogger!

Today
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10-08-2009, 01:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
JamieLynn Registered User Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 2,663	LOL... I wouldn't care since I use the bathroom anyway before boarding a plane

10-08-2009, 01:15 AM	#3 (permalink)
CJB deafblind writer Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: U.S. Posts: 1,425	What if the gate you board from doesn't have a restroom? Looks like you're screwed then!

10-08-2009, 07:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
Reba Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 20,799	How about a shave, haircut, waxing, and enema before take off? That would save a lot more weight. What about traveling nude? That would save on weight and reduce security risks! (Except for the guys carrying bombs in their butts.) Malaysian Terrorist Noordin M Top May Have Hidden Explosives in Anus - The Jakarta Globe

10-08-2009, 02:21 PM	#9 (permalink)
sallylou Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: My own private Idaho Posts: 2,090	It doesn't make sense to send everyone to the bathroom at once. The womens line would be long and slow! I always go before flying anyway. Those of you with stronger bladders can wait, can't you? __________________ Happy holidays!

10-08-2009, 02:26 PM	#10 (permalink)
Jiro YOU DOMESTIC DISSENT! Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: The Sopranos State Posts: 22,964	let's pee together. co-op bathroom! *it's a pix of man and woman peeing at urinals together at same bathroom __________________ - Don't forget to buy Jiro's Special Edition Sunglasses for $19.95

10-08-2009, 02:28 PM	#12 (permalink)
souggy Ace Attorney Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Victoria, BC Posts: 2,379	That woman is smiling... while the guy is looking down with a surprised face like "what you got down there" kind of look. Tranny! __________________ Souggy's Blog Warning! Contains skewed comments & inane ramblings. May cause spontaneous human combustion

10-09-2009, 10:27 AM	#16 (permalink)
rockin'robin Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 2,782	I can see the flight attendants asking each passenger before getting in their seat....."Gotta pee-pee"?.....doo-doo?.....Com'on now....let's go pee-pee..... Probably have signs all over the plane too...."We don't Pee in ur pool, so don't pee on our plane"

10-09-2009, 01:47 PM	#20 (permalink)
sequoias Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: A little trip to the extraordinary. Posts: 16,296	240 pounds isn't much...let's get all nude!

10-09-2009, 06:05 PM	#21 (permalink)
Loghead Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,173	I don't really know how much of a difference it will make. Plus too, if there are flights from US/Canada to Japan, it will be difficult for passengers to hold it for the full 24 hour flight. Not pleasant to be holding pee for a day. If they don't want people to pee, they're also going to have to stop serving drinks.

10-09-2009, 06:20 PM	#22 (permalink)
GalaxyAngel That's me! Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Alberta,Canada Posts: 13,626	Find this stupidity new announcement. Therefore anyone who ask you have to go bathroom before you're going on the boarding! Seems pretty forcing you, If you have not gone bathroom, Sorry you cannot get into the boarding! cough Wha..a.. joke? Because of the weight issued. Oh please, Give me a BREAK! __________________ Parent's proud our children.

10-09-2009, 07:43 PM	#23 (permalink)
KarissaMann05 The Deaf Cougar Join Date: May 2007 Location: Salem, Oregon Posts: 4,463 Blog Entries: 13	I don't have a diabetes but if I'm get on a plane, I tend to go pee sometimes. Oddly, if I'm on land, I don't pee so often.

10-09-2009, 08:45 PM	#24 (permalink)
rockin'robin Registered User Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Jacksonville, Florida Posts: 2,782	If water is running, then I gotta pee....if I go to the beach, then I gotta pee. Had it checked and my bladder is not falling out.... Maybe they outta' give out "Depends" to all the passengers!

10-09-2009, 08:52 PM	#25 (permalink)
Beowulf Premium Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,923	Imagine the riot if two passengers got into a brawl because one needs to go to the john, and the other passenger won't tell him which number to announce. Hee hee

10-09-2009, 09:57 PM	#30 (permalink)
CJB deafblind writer Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: U.S. Posts: 1,425	I always pee on land because I hate airplane bathrooms and I also hate how flight attendants usually freak out when the blind passenger gets out of their seat. So I just avoid the situation altogether by using the bathroom before boarding. But gosh, what if I just had a coffee and I really need to go?

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