Summary

  • Japanese airline ANA asked passengers to empty bladders before boarding to reduce CO2 emissions.
  • The “pee before flight” request was part of ANA’s 2009 e-flight campaign to reduce environmental impact.
  • Although the initiative was only a month-long trial, it highlighted airlines’ efforts to minimize weight and reduce fuel consumption.

At the time of boarding an aircraft, hearing information from a gate agent about your seat zones, the emergency seat instructions, and your carry-on luggage is fairly common. However, a request to empty bladders before boarding the aircraft is rather unusual.

In 2009, Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) got a bit personal with its environmental message to passengers. In a month-long trial, it asked its customers to take a trip to the bathroom before boarding the flight. It said that, by reducing the additional weight of full bladders onboard, it could save several tons of CO2 each month.

The strangest of requests

We’ve heard of some strange requests made to passengers by airlines. Whether it’s about the size and quantity of luggage, unusual prohibited items, or even getting weighed before boarding, airlines aren’t shy to raise an eyebrow or two in their requirements.

However, it seems Japanese airline ANA once took the cake for the oddest passenger request, when it asked its customers to use the restroom before boarding in a bid to reduce CO2 emissions. It argued that, by emptying their bladders before their flight, passengers could help it drive down its carbon footprint by some 4.2 tons per month.

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ANA North America spokesperson, Jean Saito, told ABC News,

“If the flight is lighter, we use less gasoline which is good for the environment.”

The initiative was part of ANA’s 2009 campaign to reduce CO2 emissions from its flights, which it called ‘e-flights’. The airline was an early adopter of ecological initiatives such as this, and had been operating e-flights since 2006 in a bid to get fliers to think about the environmental impact of their travels.

ANA Boeing 787-8 with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 shutterstock_2280344623

Photo: KITTIKUN YOKSAP | Shutterstock

The ‘pee before flight’ request was implemented on flights covering 38 domestic routes and the airline’s twice a day service to Singapore. The request was made in an announcement before boarding, suggesting passengers relieve themselves in advance of their flight, and was further reinforced by so-called ‘loo attendants’ and signs at the gate.

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Did ANA have a point?

While one person’s full bladder might not make much difference to the weight onboard the plane, multiplying that up by a couple of hundred passengers could really make a difference. The average bladder can hold about 1.1 pounds of fluid before the urge to urinate is felt. If all 270 passengers on ANA’s 767-300 boarded with full bladders, for example, that’s almost 300 pounds of additional weight that would be carried on the flight.

ANA reckoned that if just half of its passengers used the bathroom before the flight, it would save 4.2 tons of CO2 per month. The idea of small changes making a big difference is something many airlines have noted over the years.

A standard aircraft lavatory.

Photo: bookzv | Shutterstock

Of course, the pre-flight toilet trip was just a small part of the overall e-flight initiative. As a spokesperson told CNN at the time,

“We are making [in-flight] items lighter – and making the passengers lighter, a little bit.”

The airline substituted glass drinks products for recycled paper cups and plastic bottles to save weight. It also requested passengers to pack a little lightly, although there were no weight restrictions implemented.

A PR stunt?

Airlines worldwide have been conscious of the added weight onboard the aircraft and trying to find unique ways to minimize the weight. Whether it is the use of plastic and paper cutlery or taking away magazines, the need to cut down costs slowly takes away the luxury out of air travel.

Edmund S. Greenslet of The Airline Monitor expressed that this trial may bring many eyes to the airline. Did the airline take this initiative to stay in the news? According to Greenslet, as reported by ABC News,

“I think it’s going to win them more humor on late night television than anywhere else. 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.”

Overall, the month-long trial was just that. It wasn’t a trend that persisted long-term but is an interesting if slightly personal approach to saving weight in flight. For most of us, taking a trip to the bathroom before our flight isn’t really something we need reminding of – most fliers do everything they can to avoid airplane bathrooms.

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Do you pee before you fly? Would you do so more often with an environmental message like this? Let us know in the comments.


  • ANA Tile

    All Nippon Airways

    IATA/ICAO Code:
    NH/ANA

    Airline Type:
    Full Service Carrier

    Hub(s):
    Tokyo Haneda Airport, Tokyo Narita Airport

    Year Founded:
    1952

    Alliance:
    Star Alliance

    CEO:
    Koji Shibata

    Country:
    Japan

    Region:
    Asia

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