Heard about airline seats that double as toilets? Utter loo-nacy

Brand-new “flushable potty economy seats” on planes mean you’ll never again have to crawl over others to use the bathroom. Talk about convenient! And airlines make money on the deal by adding seats where toilets once were. “It’s a win win for everyone,” crows a blog with an illustration of the new seats that was posted Monday by a Northern California travel agency.

They’re kidding, right? Of course. It’s a humorous holiday attempt by Fremont-based Let’s Fly Cheaper to take a jab at the airline industry and create some marketing buzz too.

“The airlines always find new ways to charge us extra dollars,” says Chief Executive Ramon van Meer. “I would not be surprised if they start charging us for the bathroom or toilet paper.”

Van Meer says several newspapers and TV stations contacted him (no airlines yet) after the Onion-esque news release went out. He thought the joke was pretty obvious, but after some reporters asked via email whether the seats were real, he quickly added to the blog post:

“This is not a legitimate product nor do we see it as becoming one. Let’s Fly Cheaper felt it was an appropriate time to poke a little fun at the airline industry in response to all the new fees they are imposing on passengers.

“We felt the potty seat, in a way, symbolizes all of those fees. Please enjoy this release as 100% entertainment value and feel free to share.”

Entertainment value? Whoa, let’s not give the airlines any ideas.

mary.forgione@latimes.com
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