Bathrooms

Bathrooms at Honolulu International Airport

Bathrooms

When I heard there was a power outage on Oahu last week and that thousands of people were stuck overnight at Honolulu International Airport, all I could think about was the bathrooms.

honolulu-airport-women

(Photo courtesy Flickr user bsktcase)

Yes, the bathrooms.

I was in Honolulu back in October, 2006 when an earthquake knocked out power to the island.  More than five thousand people got stuck at the airport back then too – and there was a big problem with the bathrooms.

Turns out that without electricity the airport’s newfangled automatic-flush toilets wouldn’t flush. And pretty much all the toilets at the airport had just recently been switched over to automatic flush.

You get the picture….

In 2006, it took a while to get the electricity turned back on at the airport, so the non-flushing toilets were a big problem. This time, the airport’s generators kicked in much sooner, so it seems that the bathrooms had to be shut down for just a short time.

Lesson learned? At the airport, use the can when you can…

(More) greetings from the airport bathroom

Bathrooms, , , , ,

My Well Mannered Traveler column on MSNBC.com last week was about some of the products and amenities I found at a recent airport conference.

Titled “Fresh Amenities for Pooped out Travelers,” the column mentions some nifty gadgets popping up in airport restrooms, including toilet seat covers that change automatically.

I was delighted to find two companies marketing these self-changing toilet seat covers. And pleased to learn that a dozen or so airports already had these electronic seat covers installed.

Then I got an angry e-mail message from David Jablow. I could tell he was mad because he wrote in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS. UNDERLINED.

Although his company hadn’t exhibited at the airport conference, Jablow wanted to make sure I knew that his company, Brill Hygienic Products, is “the largest sanitary toilet seat company in North America” and “the only company in the USA which manufactures their own seats and plastic in the USA.”

He especially wanted to make sure I let folks know that the company’s “hands-free high tech electronic sanitary toilet seats” are in restrooms at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport, Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and in Portland, Maine at the Portland International Jetport.

Happy to share the news. And happy to know there are even more airports where sitting around will be sanitary.

Greetings from … the airport bathroom

Bathrooms

Actually, greetings from Boston and the conference of Airports Council International World/North America.

I spent the day roaming the exhibit hall in search of new services and amenities that might make a difference for folks stuck at the airport.

The good news: there are some intriguing new products and services coming to an airport near you.

The bad news: it may take a while for some of the best new ideas to actually get installed at an airport near you.

Let’s hope these two items (from two different companies) spread like…germs.

The Hygolet: automatic sanitary plastic seat covers. Brilliant.

(Candy-filled toilet for display only …)

Dyson Airblade Hand Dryer – super fast, super sanitary, (sort of loud) no-touch hand-dryer.

I’ve seen both of these products in a few airports (and hotels and restaurants) and the reps for each company promised to send me a full list of airport clients soon. In the meantime, if you’ve spotted these at your airport, let me know.

More from the exhibit hall tomorrow…