Another plane story

[TominMelb]

I see there have been a few plane stories and sightings here, but I hope it is okay to post another, because it really affected me hugely when I saw it, and still does. There was a bit of amazing luck in the seating which made it possible to see so much more than I would normally on a plane.

This was about ten years ago and i was at the airport departure gate, already queuing up get onto the plane. This young guy, early 20s, arrived at the departure gate while the queue was getting near its end but, even so, he started heading towards the toilets. But before he got there they put over one of those 'final call' announcements and, even though there is always still a bit of time after that, it obviously made him rethink his decision to go to the toilet and so he joined the queue instead. He was a few people behind me at this stage but I could already notice some of those telltale signs of his need to pee, mainly just through a bit more shifting about than you would normally do standing in line. He was in a grey suit, quite snugly fitting a very fit and slim body. The pants were tight enough to even show the outline of his briefs underneath sometimes, when he was in the right position or when his hands were in his pockets, because that would just stretch the fabric of the suit even more. In fact, his hands were in the pocket a fair but - but again nothing that anyone would have noticed who wasn't looking for it, as I was

Anyway, we got onto the plane and, amazingly, he had the seat next to me. He had the window seat in a row of three, and I was in the middle, with another guy on the aisle.

Of course, there is a fair time between the plain filling up with its passengers and taking off, and even more time before the seatbelt signs are turned off, so he just had to bear with the situation at that stage - but the shifting of his legs and the occasional clutching of his crotch (which itself was very well packaged!) was really drawing my attention.

But the most incredible thing of all was that when the seatbelt sign was turned off after the plane took off, he didn't get up to go to the toilet. I knew he needed to - not just by what i could see but by the fact that he had tried to go before getting on the plane, which was now probably half an hour ago. I think maybe he was just embarrassed to climb over two people, and we all know how difficult that can be with planes as crowded as they were.

But he did put down the table and that certainly hid things from anyone walking past - from everyone really, except me. For reasons I can't imagine, he then ordered a beer - he surely would have known this would have only intensified the situation. Maybe he just thought it would calm him down, or maybe it was just that young man love of beer that takes precedence over everything, and he just didn't give thought to the consequences. It was only a short flight anyway (50 mins). But his desperation was clearly getting stronger and more severe as his legs moved more and more often, and faster, under the table top, while he was drinking the beer, or when he would try to stretch but there was so little space to do that.

His hand was resting on his crotch much more often now and sometimes fully clutching himself, now on the outside rather than through the pocket (which wasn't really possible in the cramped seat of the plane).

I started just chatting to him about nothing in particular - where he was going, the flight - but he had a lot of trouble concentrating, and i have come to recognise that desperation in a guy's voice. It was all the sort of thing I loved so much because it was all so unstated.

Then when the flight attendants came and took the cups and drinks, etc,he handed over his beer bottle. Then they immediately then put over the announcement that we were about to land soon and for everyone to put up their table. That's when i did notice him looking around for the toilets but, as soon as he began to undo his seatbelt, the fasten seatbelt sign came on because we were close to landing.

He was really pretty uncomfortable now and I think that could only have been intensified by knowing that he had no choice at all but to wait. He was trying not to squirm, but he couldn't avoid it a lot more than he would have wanted and his hand was now permanently over his crotch, with more and more frequent grabs.

It was all amazing to watch but the last sign, just after we landed and started to disembark, was seeing him get up from the seat when I did, there was a very small wet spot on his grey suit pants' crotch. I don't think he knew it was visible because his hand was by now was moving back into his pocket, clutching himself from there. I can only imagine how much more had leaked into his briefs.

There were a few other times his desperation would show as we were standing and queuing to get off the plane: his toes wriggling through his soft-topped business shoes, looking out the windows in an attempt to distract himself when there was nothing to look out at, that sort of thing.

I made no mention of this to him at all and was just a bit ahead of him as we got off the plane and so could go straight to the toilet myself without it looking too much like I was going to follow him there. I went to the urinal but, unfortunately, he went to the stall. You can imagine how full-on that sound was and I have still often wondered what it was like for him, undoing his belt and suit pants at last, his briefs slightly wet.

That has been one of the lingering sightings for me!

[Brian]

You had all the luck here! I'd love to have been in your position.

These plane situations ... seat by the window blocked in by two unknown other passengers, short flight so sure he could hold it couldn't he?, seatbelt sign comes on for landing and it's too late... we've seen them all if we ever fly. But I've never had quite such an experience as what you describe here!

I'd have been too shy to talk to him. It's interesting that you could hear the telltale strain in the guy's voice when he replied to you. The physical antics which you describe are wonderful. And I love what you say he was wearing too. A neat suit puts an interesting touch on things, and that grey colour meant you could see what you saw when he got off the plane.

Thanks so much for this brilliant description of an incident which I think all of us put right up there at the top of our interests.

[Fred]

Some people really dislike the toilets on planes, and perhaps this fellow was confident in his ability to hold on for a 50-minute flight. The fact that he had the window seat and would have to inconvenience two other people would also be a factor. To confirm his probable shyness, he used a stall instead of a urinal. There is also the possibility that he is "one of us" and was enjoying the challenge!

Air travel has a lot of those challenges. While some airports whisk you through security in minutes, at others you may have to stand in a queue for a very long time, and there are no toilets in those areas - presumably to prevent you from concealing contraband. The plane may sit on the tarmac before takeoff - in the US, the limit is supposed to be two hours - and then the seatbelt sign stays on until cruising altitude, and longer if there is turbulence. And the plane may only have two or three toilets for over 150 passengers.

This was a great sighting!

[TominMelb]

It's interesting that you could hear the telltale strain in the guy's voice when he replied to you. The physical antics which you describe are wonderful. And I love what you say he was wearing too. A neat suit puts an interesting touch on things, and that grey colour meant you could see what you saw when he got off the plane.

Thanks so much for this brilliant description of an incident which I think all of us put right up there at the top of our interests.

Thanks so much Brian. It was up there for me too and still is. The suit was a light grey so that small wet spot really did show and its location, and the tip of the bulge, gave no doubt where it had come from.

I was getting a bit desperate myself too, especially towards the end of the flight, but not as much as he obviously was. I had been before the flight, but at least an hour before. I was so focussed on him that I am not sure if I was in any way visible myself!

[TominMelb]

The fact that he had the window seat and would have to inconvenience two other people would also be a factor. To confirm his probable shyness, he used a stall instead of a urinal. There is also the possibility that he is "one of us" and was enjoying the challenge!


This was a great sighting!

All of those are pretty awesome thoughts Fred: the consciousness of the inconvenience, the shyness, the thought that he may even have been enjoying the challenge himself! I would love to know if this ever happened to him in other similar situations where all those factors, or some of them even, came into play.

[burstingguys]

Amazing story!

[Brian]

Amazing story!

Yes, amazing sums it up really. I'm still thinking about Tom's experience now days after he wrote it for us.

Have other people here ever experienced something along these lines on a plane?

My best one has similarities to Tom's story, though it didn't go so far. It could have done though, and I often think about it with different "what if...?" scenarios. I was on a short flight from Berlin to Amsterdam back in 1999. We were in the plane by the boarding gate, boarding had finished some time ago, but a late arrival turned up just before push-back. It was a young guy around 25 years old, wearing a smart open neck shirt and light blue jeans. I think he had been on a connecting flight which had been delayed, and possibly our flight had waited a few extra minutes for him.

The guy in the shirt and jeans had the window seat in my row. I had the aisle seat, and there was an empty seat in between us. We departed and took off. It seemed to me that he was, and remained, distinctly ill-at-ease, quite nervous. Initially I thought he was just flustered with the stress of nearly missing his connecting flight, after that I thought maybe he was scared of flying. But then, maybe fifteen minutes after take-off, I noticed tell-tale signs which immediately sparked my interest. His legs were moving around quite a bit, there was some scissoring, and then at one point he crossed one over the other despite the cramped surroundings. My impression was that (1) he needed to pee very badly, and (2) if he was trying to wait until we landed instead of asking me to move out so that he could go to the toilet, then he was taking quite a risk of not making it!

I pretended to doze in my seat but carried on watching him through half-closed eyes. He carried on with the subtle squirming for at least half an hour in what was a flight lasting barely one hour. Then finally he decisively undid his seatbelt. I carried on continuing to apparently sleep, and he looked at me for a while. Finally I opened my eyes and looked back at him. He had this really anxious and apologetic expression on his face. Then he said, in an American accent, "Do you mind if I go to the bathroom?" as if he was committing some awful faux pas by saying this and needing me to move.

I must admit it briefly flashed across my mind to reply "Actually, yes, I do mind", but no, I undid my seatbelt and let him out.

He returned less than two minutes later, and the smile on his face then (the nervousness had totally vanished) was of sheer relief.

The thing is: he had almost left it too late. At about the time he returned, the seatbelt sign was switched on and remained on until our arrival more than 20 minutes later! I often wonder what would have happened if that seatbelt sign had come on before he plucked up the courage to rouse me from my "sleep" and go and relieve himself.

[Wombat48]

I wouldn't have been so kind!!!

[Aquarius]

Planes and airports, and travel in general, can be tricky, as I myself experienced quite recently.

Past summer, me and my husband went to Crete, and we had a rather early flight, which led to the fact of me having coffee while waiting for the plane, and water as well. I'm someone who doens't mind peeing on a plane, and I don't mind having to ask someone to move for that purpose as well. But ... I fell asleep. So by the time I woke up, my bladder was quite full (maybe that was what woke me up?), but we were almost going to land so I decided I'd wait until we had landed. I even downed the water bottle I had with me...I figured the airport toilets would be more comfortable than the ones on the plane. I was quite desperate, but it was doable still.
When we landed some 15 minutes later, we were one of the last ones to leave the plane, and the result was that the first toilet we crossed once we'd entered the airport building, was overused and had a waiting line. Since we needed to catch a bus that would drive us to the hotel, I figured we'd first go and get our bags and then I'd pee. By now I was very desperate, to the point that I could only barely hold it without showing outward signs.
And what happened then, was what we would all invent now if this were a made-up story : yes, the wait for the bags took so long that we had to rush onto the bus without me being able to piss! Almost unbelievable, right ?
Once we were on the bus, it didn't take long for my husband to notice what was going on, because I coudln't hold it any longer without jiggling my legs and squeezing a bit now and then. He paraded me for my poor choices, but the situation was what it was. I'd just have to wait it out until we got to the hotel. How long could that take, right? Then, the driver anounced he would be stopping at several hotels and listed them. Ours was number eight...EIGHT!
Now, I waited as long as I could, buut by the time we were approaching hotel five, I felt my bladder starting to spasm and I know what that means...So I quickly shuffled to the driver, explained my ordeal and luckily he allowed me to get of and pee in the next hotel. I stayed waiting by the door, to my humiliation not without crossing my legs and openly holding myself. I was sooooo desperate. Then, the driver stopped and the doors opened. I jumped out, and at that point I leaked a little bit, enough to wet the front of my briefs. I raced inside, my heart thumping in my chest. I asked the girl behind the check-in desk where the toilet was and she answered immediately. Probably because I was almost bent over and hopping at the spot as I stood there, so my predicament was quite obvious...I hobbled to the door she'd pointed to as fast as I could, leaking again. And as I got there, the pee started to blast out as I rushed towards the toilet bowl.
So I'd kind of made it, but that last few secods I had almost completely soaked my briefs, front and bottom and the crotch of my shorts was wet too. Luckily, I wore black shorts so it didn't really show as I got back on the bus.

So yeah, airports, planes and journeys in general can be quite tricky if you don't plan ahead. I guess all of this is my own fault, being as careless as I was about finding a spot to pee. But I can tell you it felt really good to strip of my half dried pissy briefs in my hotel room about an hour later!
I don't want to think about what would have happened if there had been some sudden traffic jam or something...I'd have wet myself on the bus for sure ...

[Fred]

A memorable experience! Foreign air travel is trickier because there is extra security, passport control, etc., and there never seem to be toilets near those areas! In some airports (as Aquarius discovered) the toilets are inadequate and there are queues. Those of us that are accustomed to modern terminals face culture shock in some countries where good facilities are hard to find.