When You Fly Go Bladder-Dry To Help Airline Save Planet

The airline's chiefs say that empty bladders means passengers will weigh less, so their fleet of aircraft will save fuel and reduce their carbon emissions.

All Nippon Airways reckons that the policy could lead to a five-tonne reduction in carbon emissions per month, as well as saving the company money. The new regulation will be policed by 'loo monitors', who stand by boarding gates and take waiting passengers to the lavatories before they embark.

Bathrooms will still be on the plane, of course, in case of bathroom emergency. But ANA hopes that its shaming tactics will cut down on passengers' overall weight, in turn reducing the weight of the plane and lowering fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions.

If the bathroom policy's four week trial is effective, ANA will continue it indefinitely. But if the airline really wants to discourage passengers from peeing, it may want to take a hint from RyanAir's CEO, who recently proposed charging for bathroom use in the air.

Perhaps All Nippon is on to something. It's been rumored that American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 when they removed one olive - ONE OLIVE! - from each salad in first class. Can you imagine how much money will be saved if every single passenger on board a full flight uses the loo before take-off? According to the Dailymail.co.uk, the average human bladder capacity is 15oz, which means if 150 passengers relieved themselves that would total to 63.7kg of waste. That's 140 pounds, people! That doesn't even count the amount of money the airline stands to save on toilet paper. Now does anyone know how much an olive weighs?