Midway Airlines this month designated one of the two restrooms aboard each of its five Fokker 100 jets as a women-only restroom.
The other restroom on each plane will remain unisex. Midway says it's the first commercial airline ever to introduce a women's restroom on all flights.The airline said it commissioned a survey in which nearly half of women ranked cleaner restrooms among the top five ways airline service could be improved. The top restroom complaints were that they were too small, smelled unpleasant and had messy sinks.
Of course, designating a women-only restroom may not improve matters, but the airline said it was just one way it was trying to make flying more pleasant for women, a growing group of passengers.
Midway, which operates out of Chicago's Midway airport, flies to Philadelphia, Allentown, Pa., New York's La Guardia, Denver and Dallas-Fort Worth airports.
Italy's version of 911
Italy has set up a hotline with English-speaking operators for reporting accidents, crimes and emergency requests for help. It can be dialed at any hour in Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice, Turin, Rimini, Palermo and Milan. The number: 112.