Citing rising fuel costs, and the fear that some passengers could arrive at their destinations with unused credit card balances, American Airlines announced today that starting in July all passenger jet aircraft will have debit card/credit card readers installed on the lavatory doors.
Passengers will be charged $10 for their first restroom trip onboard the aircraft, with a package all-you-can-pee deal for $25 per flight segment. The card readers will accept VISA, MasterCard, American Express, as well as bank ATM and debit cards. Users of Discover Card will be asked to sit with their legs crossed for the duration of the flight.
As an incentive to passengers to buy more water and coffee while enroute, AA has announced that passengers using onboard lavatory facilities will be awarded 5 frequent flyer miles per flush, so the news is not all bad.
This announcement from AMR, the holding company that owns American Airlines, follows closely on the heels of word released yesterday that passengers will now be charged
$15 to check a single bag.
Additional fees are under consideration such as a cabin pressurization charge for passengers wishing to breathe while in flight, a $35 fee for exiting the aircraft on arrival at the destination, and a hotly disputed plan to have armed cabin crew members take any cash they can find in wallets intentionally carried onboard by those annoying passengers. Also under consideration is a $100 nearly on time surcharge that would be added retroactively to passenger fares for all flights that arrive within 4 hours of their scheduled arrival time.