United opens the first class toilet for all passengers

Starting November 1, passengers traveling on United flights will be able to use the first class lavatory, regardless of which class they are traveling. In a memo to employees, the airline confirmed the change as a way to reduce queuing and crowding around bathrooms. The memo said that cabin crew should ask passengers to “Please use the restroom located in your cabin when possible.” However, when there is overcrowding of one restroom, passengers can move around the cabin to use a different toilet, even if it means passing from economy into first class. Previously, United passengers could only use bathrooms in their ticketed cabin. A spokesperson for the airline said: “The updated policy allows our flight attendants more flexibility to let customers use another lavatory during certain situations. That may include when there is a line for one lavatory but not another, when the service cart is in the aisle, etc. We’ll continue to ask customers to use the lavatory in their cabin via an onboard announcement, but we’ve added “when possible” to the announcement in order to reflect the increased flexibility.” The airline has said this should reduce the number of people using the same restroom and prevent crowding and queueing in the aisles. <br/>