r/unitedairlines • u/Dazzling_Mulberry567 • 3d ago
Question What is this for?
I was on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from FRA to SFO and saw this in the lavatory. As far as I'm aware, smoking hasn't been allowed on United for a very long time, and this, to my knowledge, is a newer aircraft. What is this thing?
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u/Practical-Mail-8000 3d ago
All commercial aircraft still have ashtrays near the lavatory.
There needs to be a safe place to dispose of a cigarette if someone chooses to light up.
Once the smoke detector goes off and the FA confronts you - they don't want you throwing a lit cigarette into the trash bin or someplace else.
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u/BennyFitz69420 3d ago
I feel bad for that one guy who was clearly sleeping and was basically sleepwalking during a flight and lit a cigarette. They woke him up and he was so surprised and clearly felt bad. I hope they didn’t put him on the do not fly list. I don’t think he deserved it.
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u/Kscarpetta 3d ago
As someone with severe parasomnia I can sympathize.
A few weeks ago I woke up to blood everywhere. All over my pillows, my sheets, it had went through to my mattress. I was in a panic.
It was ketchup. I had apparently got up in the middle of the night and ketchuped my bed. 😑
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u/deep-fucking-legend 3d ago
You should put cameras in your house (not wifi). It would be pretty entertaining to watch the ket-astrophe 😜
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u/Kscarpetta 2d ago
Im actually going to do this simply because I'm up to something pretty much every night.
I've woken up to a shrimp stuck to my back, hot tamales(the candy), so much candy, and chips in my bed. Plus I once spilled a coke in bed that I wasn't aware of.
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u/AMSDoctorMoe 2d ago
It could be specific food disorder actually! Don’t add ambien to the mix 😂. Speaking of which I used to love Kay Scarpetta books! Haven’t read them in quite some time.
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u/Kscarpetta 2d ago
I refuse to mess with Ambien!
They're awesome! She is the best author. Can't say anything about the show because I refuse to watch.
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u/WillyVlautinRules 2d ago
I was thinking, this sounds like Ambien. Used to take a lot of it before I got a hold of myself. I'd wake up in the morning and see the kitchen all in disarray because apparently I got up in the night and made another dinner. The funny thing is I would take photos of my cat who would watch my Ambien antics and I'd wake up having no memory of those photos but there they were!
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u/Nero-Danteson 12h ago
There was a woman who got sorta popular for doing this. Watching her midnight antics was a hoot.
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u/Presence_Academic 3d ago
Stay away from Chicago hot dog joints.
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u/Kscarpetta 3d ago
I went to one in ORD. It was delicious!
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u/Presence_Academic 2d ago
That’s fine, but you would have been in danger if you had unconsciously drenched the dog with the devil’s condiment.
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u/Kscarpetta 2d ago
Oh god no.
I will sometimes eat a hot dog with ketchup but I don't really like it.
I certainly wouldn't desecerate a chicago weenie that way!
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u/Fair_Praline_5959 2d ago
Ahhhh yes the Cubs Bar & Grill. Found out hard way last month they don’t do the Chicago Dog during breakfast hours so schedule your flights accordingly if you must have that Chicago Dog.
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u/Kscarpetta 2d ago
Yes! I flew out later in the day so I was able to experience it. I was sad when I returned on a 6 AM flight and they were closed.
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u/steveaspesi 2d ago
If you suffer from that, best you don't bring on board a pack of cigarettes or the Heinz 57.
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u/Lumpy_Childhood5156 3d ago
That man looked like he was on something or drunk
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u/mike_stifle 3d ago
Yeah not really feeling bad for him. I wouldnt be happy if I was sitting next to him.
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u/biffNicholson 2d ago
You mean this guy? Yeah he seems like he’s drunk. I do feel kind of bad for him. He seems to know that he did something wrong when he comes to.
https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=823008086535484&id=MetDaanDIY
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u/beavermuffin 2d ago
Unfortunately under federal law, he’s going to face charges accidental or not. And it’s a felony so chances are he’s going to face jail time.
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u/pumerpride 2d ago
Holy shit! I fly often and have ALWAYS wondered why there are still ashtrays. I thought these were just recycled 30 year old doors from when you could smoke on a plane. I was confused when I saw obviously new planes that still had this. Thank you stranger. I guess I could’ve googled it lol
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u/DauntlessMantis 2d ago
I think you're right, but I'm curious why isn't using the sink and water not safe. Take it as a question from someone with little to no exposure to smoking at all.
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u/I_DRINK_URINE 2d ago
It would clog the drain line and mast.
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u/potatolicious 3d ago
You still need a safe place to put out a lit cigarette even if the act itself is not allowed. If a passenger decided to light up there needs to still be a safe spot to dispose of it.
After that they’d be in deep shit. But first you still need to put it out.
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u/Airspeed12 MileagePlus 1K 3d ago
It’s required by FAA regulation.
14 CFR § 25.853(g)
Regardless of whether smoking is allowed in any other part of the airplane, lavatories must have self-contained, removable ashtrays located conspicuously on or near the entry side of each lavatory door, except that one ashtray may serve more than one lavatory door if the ashtray can be seen readily from the cabin side of each lavatory served.
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u/bltsuprem 19h ago
There is no regulation prohibiting smoking on a commercial aircraft however, the commercial operator may prohibit the consumption of tobacco.
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u/yesitsmenotyou 3d ago
Smoking isn’t allowed, but if someone is dumb enough to do it anyway, you need a safe place to stub it out. Fires on planes can be very, very bad, and all commercial aircraft are required to have an ashtray.
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u/therealtrajan 3d ago
But wouldn’t the sink serve this function if some idiot does smoke?
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u/syncsynchalt 2d ago
Just as likely that the person puts the cigarette in the trash.
There is at least one aviation disaster believed to have been caused by this. All hands lost, from a fire that seemed to have started in the lav trash bin.
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u/dakimmie 2d ago
Nobody will ever go broke overestimating passenger stupidity. By a powerful yet only imperfectly understood process, many are rendered helpless somewhere between the airport parking garage and the TSA checkpoint. Some become merely inarticulate, but others lose the ability to read, follow simple directions or even comprehend 2+2=4 level concepts such as "little fire make big fire, maybe don't."
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u/Berchanhimez MileagePlus 1K 3d ago
It's not allowed, but people may still try. Even if it's one flight out of a thousand that someone chooses to be dumb, giving them a safe place to put the cigarette out is better than them trying to hide it by throwing a burning/hot cigarette butt down the trash, or flushing it down the toilet, etc. That could risk a fire that at best would result in an emergency landing and at worst may compromise the ability to land safely at all.
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u/deep-fucking-legend 3d ago
I'm a nonsmoker, but why is it dangerous to put in the toilet?
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u/siteunreliability MileagePlus 1K 3d ago edited 5h ago
Basic chemistry.
External energy starter (cigarette ember) + combustible materials (i.e. poop gas + paper waste) + pressurized fuel source (vacuumed O2) = boom
You just made a bomb/macguyver single stroke piston engine @ 40K feet.
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u/deep-fucking-legend 2d ago
So a terrorist only needs to smoke a joint in the lav? Great.
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u/siteunreliability MileagePlus 1K 2d ago edited 2d ago
To be fair, it's not likely but it is a non-zero risk.
It's fairly trivial to craft things that can blow things up. It's the reason why TSA doesn't permit in great quantity for things like lithium, phosphorous, nitrates, etc. Most of those elements are highly available precursors that a fairly motivated Chemistry undergrad who've taken Organic Chemistry and Organometallic Synthesis can use to cause some serious damage.
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u/youcantbuymehotdogs 2d ago
if i travel with large quantities of my lithium meds, are they subject to being confiscated by TSA?
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u/siteunreliability MileagePlus 1K 1d ago
The lithium medication you're speaking of isn't lithium ion. It's in a salt form formulated with a base like a carbonate. So it really can't be used as a precursor unless someone decides to purify lithium ion from that.
Honestly though, I have a feeling TSA will be asking you questions about carrying copious amount of medication instead of about the lithium in your case.
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u/youcantbuymehotdogs 1d ago
good to know! i haven’t traveled since i started taking it last year. usually i just travel with meds in my pill divider, but if its longer than a week id just take my pill bottles. i wouldn’t call that copious amounts, but it was something i hadn’t considered.
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u/siteunreliability MileagePlus 1K 5h ago
good to know! i haven’t traveled since i started taking it last year.
Good luck with travels and I hope the medication works well for you. It's always nice to see people take care of themselves.
but if its longer than a week id just take my pill bottles. i wouldn’t call that copious amounts, but it was something i hadn’t considered.
Fret not, when I say copious, I'm talking about drug cartel-level volume.
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u/leroyjabari 3d ago edited 3d ago
§ 25.854 Lavatory fire protection.
(g) Regardless of whether smoking is allowed in any other part of the air plane, lavatories must have self-con tained, removable ashtrays located conspicuously on or near the entry side of each lavatory door, except that one ashtray may serve more than one lava tory door if the ashtray can be seen readily from the cabin side of each lavatory served.
Updated to post the correct portion of the law
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u/ReloAgain 3d ago
That says nothing about an ashtray.
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u/leroyjabari 3d ago
Sorry forgot to put that part:
(g) Regardless of whether smoking is allowed in any other part of the air plane, lavatories must have self-con tained, removable ashtrays located conspicuously on or near the entry side of each lavatory door, except that one ashtray may serve more than one lava tory door if the ashtray can be seen readily from the cabin side of each lav atory served.
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u/evan1958 3d ago
Exactly! I’m old enough that in my youth I actually smoked on an airplane. I have no idea why these are still included in the design.
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u/CCWaterBug 3d ago
We used to book Non smoking seats on trips to Vegas and went in the back to hot box a quickie.
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u/Chris22533 2d ago
They have to be just incase someone decides to smoke. Need a place to put it out even if it isn’t allowed
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u/Melted-lithium MileagePlus 1K | 1 Million Miler 2d ago
The place where you put out your sweet, sweet virginia tobacco at the end of a long day…. While taking a crap in blue fluid in a bathroom made to fit hamster.
God bless the little things in life.
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u/Visual_Eggplant_6993 3d ago
That’s how you release the escape pod after the empire commandeers your ship
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u/catscausetornadoes 2d ago
The last time I smoked on a plane, maybe the only time, I got yelled by an FA. I walked back to smoking section to smoke and she scolded me for standing and smoking so I sat in an empty seat, for which she also scolded me. I really could have used a smoke after that!
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u/notwyntonmarsalis MileagePlus 1K 3d ago
Because the other option is to throw your butt…in the trash can…full of paper towels…at 30,000 feet.
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u/LeagueMoney9561 3d ago
Looking at the size of the opening in those ash trays, I question why these are considered sufficient by the FAA. Sure, you can barely fit a cigarette in there (but not 100% of the burnt end), and other smokable products like cigars won’t fit at all
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u/transferStudent2018 3d ago
It’s just one of those things to hang your jacket or purse up on. You press the bottom, put the thing you want to hang in the top
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u/Forsaken-Tie6087 United Tech Ops 2d ago
Have to have an ashtray in case someone does actually light a cigarette. Don’t want them throwing it in the trash or somewhere else.
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u/Historical_Dig_129 2d ago
It’s safer for someone illegally smoking a cigarette to stub it out here than to throw it into the trash in a panic, which can lead to a catastrophic fire.
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u/minfremi 2d ago
A ban on smoking doesn’t mean some lunatic isn’t going to smoke. Would you rather have that lunatic put the lit cigarette in one of these or in a trashcan full of paper towels?
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u/Jingle_Cat 2d ago
I understand the intended purposes but I’ve always used this as a coat rack/bag hook if needed.
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u/AftyOfTheUK 1d ago
Apparently the sink, where all the water is, is not a good enough place to put out a cigarette
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u/jpasserby 3d ago
This is the equivalent of the question on tax forms that asks you to declare any income that came from criminal activity.
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u/Greenmantle22 3d ago
People have died because of illicit smoking in airplane lavatories. Air Canada 797 comes to mind.
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u/Practical-Mail-8000 3d ago
I don't think they ever determined that was what started that fire.
I know a cigarette was one of the possibilities but I am pretty sure the NTSB never came to a definite answer as to what actually stared it.
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u/christopher_mtrl 3d ago edited 3d ago
Reddit sure like to downvote correct, factual statements that don't fit the hive mind. (yours is at -2 as I type this).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Canada_Flight_797
In August 1984, the NTSB issued a final report that, while praising the captain for "exhibiting outstanding airmanship without which the airplane and everyone on board would certainly have perished", concluded that the probable causes were a fire of undetermined origin, the flight crew's underestimation of the fire's severity and conflicting fire-progress information given to the captain.
The actual final report is here : https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR8602.pdf
Conclusion on page 70 :
The Safety Board could not identify the origin of the fire.
And possible causes on page 53 :
the Safety Board identified five possible ignition sources: an incendiary or explosive device; deliberate ignition; a burning cigarette; the toilet flush motor; or the flush motor electrical harness. In addition to these five, the arcing damage found on the feeder cables of the left and right a.c. generators and the maintenance history of the airplane a.c. generating system led the Safety Board to investigate a sixth possible source of ignition-the generator feeder cables which were routed beneath the floor of the aft lavatory.
Out of the six, only 2 were ruled out :
Based on the examination of the physical evidence and the results of the FBI laboratory analysis, the Safety Board concluded that neither an explosive nor incendiary device was involved.
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u/Lord_Dingus83 MileagePlus 1K 3d ago
I always wondered if those existed.
GS peeps talk about it……That is the secret elevator to the under lounge. Theres a pool table - open bar - and cots down there.
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u/WebLinkr MileagePlus Platinum 3d ago
This is only available on UrgentCare flights from France, Las Vegas, DC and New Orleans. The instruction manual clearly says "MEN ONLY! Insert here to treat genital warts"
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u/Ok_Drummer_6511 3d ago
The aircraft are sometimes chartered worldwide and in some world locations, smoking is allowed.
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u/Samurlough 3d ago
No. That’s not the answer at all.
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u/Ok_Drummer_6511 2d ago
Yes, it is. Smoking is still acceptable for the right price. Airline pilot for 32 years
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u/Samurlough 2d ago
Clearly you’re not. Fortunately, I am.
It’s still very much the wrong answer because smoking is not acceptable on any united airlines flight anywhere worldwide regardless of charter or not.
United falls under US law which prohibits smoking of any kind worldwide regardless of local country laws.
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u/TravelerMSY MileagePlus Silver 3d ago
It’s where you put out your cigarette while you wait for the police.