Ok, ok, so you’re dying to know about the Mile High Club. Flight attendants are usually tipped off to some funny-business-in-the-sky by long lines for the bathrooms.
9 times out of 10, a fellow passenger complains to the flight attendant about two people occupying a restroom.
Technically, it’s not illegal to join the Mile High Club. But it is strictly illegal to disobey crewmember commands (like to stop and get out of the bathroom!)
The American airline authority NTSB reports one case of the Mile High Club being responsible for a crash!
The restroom:
The standard ratio of lavatories to passengers is 1 lavatory for every 50 passengers.
Airplane bathrooms started during World War II when some big bombers carried chemical toilets, called Elsans after the company that manufactured them, though they were difficult to use and hated by flyers.
To combat the possibility of a fire (or smokers,) airplane lavatory waste bins are equipped with halon fire-extinguishing bottles and oxygen-smothering "flapper lids" and the toilets are fitted with smoke detectors.
Ryanair, a budget airline out of Dublin, Ireland, is thinking about charging their passengers a fee to use the bathroom aboard flights of an hour or less. The lavatory door would be coin operated and cost 1 Euro or 1 Pound (about $1.50 or so.)
Airlines have experimented with smaller 3’ x 3’ bathrooms in order to add space for 4 extra seats (and the fares they would bring.)
75% of all toilets used by airlines are manufactured by Zodiac Aerospace. That’s a wonderfully fancy name but it should probably be called ‘Zodiac Toilets!’
Airplane atmosphere:
Why is it so incredibly arid on a plane? The air temperature outside at cruising altitude is usually -54 degrees Celsius. The outside air is sucked into the plane and warmed up. Cold air contains very little moisture and the humidity level in the cabin is already low, 3-5% (compared to 60% in temperate latitudes) with most of the humidity coming from the passengers, themselves! (Ewwww!)
The cabin of an airline is thought to be 7 times more arid than any desert. A passenger can lose about 1.5 liters of water from dehydration during a three-hour flight.
At only 12-14,000 feet the air is so thin that isn’t enough oxygen for humans to survive for a long time.
Pretzels make you thirsty, contributing to dehydration.
The Duty Free Shop:
The first Duty Free shop, which eliminates state and local taxes and sometimes international tariffs, opened at Shannon Airport in Ireland in 1947.
In 2001 alone, the Dubai Duty Free sold 1,570,214 cartons of cigarettes, 2,909 kilograms of gold, 101,824 watches, 690,502 bottles of perfume, 52,119 mobile phones.
Dubai Airport has the world’s largest airport duty-free section with 161,000 square feet of shopping space.
Check In:
59% of people check-in through the airline’s main counter, which takes an average of 19 minutes.
10% check-in at curbside, which averages 13 minutes.
18% use a self-check-in kiosk, which averages 8 minutes.
5% of passengers obtain their boarding pass through the Internet.
According to JD Power & Associates, airport satisfaction is lowest among passengers who check-in at the main counter, although the majority of people continue to use this method over self check-in procedures.
Internet and On-Line check-in was first used by Alaskan Airlines in 1999.
Security:
Wait times at security checkpoints have increased from an average of 13 minutes in 2003 to 15 minutes in 2004.
The average wait time at large airports is 16 minutes, 15 minutes at medium airports and 13 minutes at small airports.
According to the TSA, 400 full-body scanning machines are in operation at 69 airports nationwide.
TSA inspectors account for 33% of their time inspecting, 8% on incidents, 5% investigating, 5% on “outreach”, and 49% of their time on “other.” (I wish I could spend half my time in the office on “other” instead of actually working!)
On average every year, the TSA screens about 700 million passengers in U.S. airports and screens 530 million pieces of luggage!
On an unrelated note, in 2007 a man traveling to New York City from Puerto Rico smuggled a baby alligator in his pants.
In its first year in existence, the TSA confiscated 4.8 million items including 1.4 million knives, 1,101 firearms, and 39,842 box cutters. They used to confiscate 22,000 cigarette lighters a day, but now they are approved to take on a plane.
Between 2002 and 2006, TSA screeners lost or misplaced 3,674 badges and uniforms – SCARY!
Throughout the world, 26 million checked bags go missing every year.
1.8 million to a high of 4.5 million (in 2007) go missing per year in the United States.
Airlines lose 3,000 suitcases every HOUR of every day, every year!
Airlines make upwards of $3 billion a year on baggage fees in the U.S. alone!
Of the major airlines, American Eagle, United, and Southwest are the worst for losing baggage, while Jet Blue and Virgin America are the best (lose the least.)
U.S. Dept. of Transportation rules stipulate that if your bag is lost, then the airline must refund your checked bag fee, on top of providing up to $3,300 in compensation for the lost items.
Many airlines are now charging to check any bags, creating a trend of smart passengers who actually send their clothing Fed Ex or UPS to their vacation destination for far less money than fees.
Unique airports:
Singapore’s Changi airport has a swimming pool on the roof!
Newark International Airport has a luxury spa in its terminal.
Chicago O’Hare International in Chicago, Illinois has been ranked one of the best airports for families traveling with kids.
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, you can download movies for your laptop or smart phone before getting on a plane.
Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan sits an incredible 3 miles off shore, built on a manmade island that is 2.5 miles long and 1.6 miles wide.
At Nashville International Airport in Tennessee, passengers can take in a live music concert at one of their six stages in the airport.
Atlanta may have the busiest airport in the world but it’s also the most relaxing, as they were the first to odder Minute Suits, private rooms or pods with beds for a one-hour nap for a price.
General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee Wisconsin has ping pong tables for games at the boarding gates.
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