Bigger Lavatories Please!

This may sound like a flippant posting, but think about it.
Many long haul fares in First can run anything to $10,000 round trip on major airlines.

The airlines now spend MEGA bucks on sleeper seats, more room, more features, more movies, leather toiletry bags, limo transfer, lounges worth millions each to build, world class chefs dreaming up new menus, silver cutlery, $100 bottles of French bubbly and Cognac, and all kinds of other expensive stuff to lure these travelers. And million dollar ad campaigns to tell everyone about it all.

All very nice. From the second that $10,000 spender leaves home in his airport limo (provided by many airlines) until the Limo ride at the other end, he is treated like an Arab Sheik in EVERY way, and TOTALLY differently from all the plebs down back. Except in ONE area.

Until the French booze and pate and filet lead to the (many!) inevitable trips to the bathroom.

What does the $0,000 passenger get? Stock standard Boeing or Airbus rest rooms. The odd rose, or unstoppered bottle of cologne or moisturizer are in there yes, but check the size, decor and features ... the SAME as the guy down back in row 49d is using on his $365 fare.

Look at the size of some of the guys in paid first. BIG guys. John Candy type guys. How some of them get in the DOOR of those little bathrooms sure beats me. Middle aged spread. They LIKE the huge seats, the BIG lounges. And boy I bet they hate the TINY loos!

I can�t believe that some airlines have not had Boeing and/or Airbus configure new planes on order with BIG rest rooms. TWICE the size. With a WINDOW � why not? With a RANGE of expensive toiletries. And quality fittings. Brass. Subtle chrome. Not Boeing stainless steel stock standard.

Lets face it �.. pretty well EVERY Jumbo rolling off the line in Seattle has the upper deck lavatories used only by flight crew AND Business pax, so upgrade those automatically to double size. Likewise, the nose cone of pretty well every jumbo has First in there. Do those automatically too on new jumbos. Ditto front restrooms of 767, 777 etc.

No rocket science needed. The COST of doing this is a pure ONE OFF. OK, so what if it costs say $100,000 extra per plane? That�s only TEN First Class fliers won from another airline in the history of the planes 10 year flying life. TEN curious fat guys! In TEN years, and they are line ball! Money well spend IMHO. AND, what a talking point among other fliers and the industry for the first major to do it. A new New York chef is a yawn, a double size rest room is a real conversation piece if you can casually mention in conversation how attractive it was.

We know United now gives 5� extra per row for say 8 rows as a marketing whim in COACH . Nice. That is 40� by the full width of the cabin. Others regularly do these kinda things.

What do others think of the idea? If it ever happens on UA first up, United owe me 1K For Life status. And a bottle of Cognac!

Glen In Sydney (and p.s. .. no I am NOT a John Candy size desperately in need of such huge facilities!)

Oh my gawd! The writer went on and on for 13 full paragraphs and not once, repeat...not once, did he ask for or demand an airborne bidet. What is this nice world coming to. Geez!

The "new" MD 90's from SAS should fit you nicely: Double the size of any ordinary lavatory and also with two windows! Excellent except for when using it while parked at the gate..

First class passengers often get SMALLER lavs! Have you noticed that the front lav often has a steeper curved wall? This is more true in single aisle planes.

We visited the new 777 last year in San Jose. I was happy to see a handicap lav--big enough to roll a wheelchair into. It's there for handicapped people, but it's for anyone really. Now, that's the idea.

My mother is in a wheelchair and she hates to fly on long trips because it's so hard for her to do the bathroom thing in the pygmy-sized lavs.

Maybe the airlines figure if the lavs were spacious, people may not want to go back to their seats?

The lav on the Delta 777 in Business Elite is rather large, by far the largest I've seen on Delta. It's almost twice the usual size.

He, he you are right - going back to even Business Class seats on many aircraft like 737s would be less preferable now I think on it!

Sorry, but the handicapped restrooms on the Boeing 777's that I have been on have been big enough for people to try the Mile High club with witnesses.

Not that this has not been done on recent trans-Atlantic flights, but this would be a bit more private.

I am not one to agree with this thread. Although, I do have an (rented) apartment where the master bath is both larger than the kitchen and has more drawers than the kitchen.

I vote for smaller people. I am 6'3" and 13 stone. I fit in the WC just fine, and have an inch or two to spare in the chair. Money would be spent by the airlines on better things, such has hiring CSRs with manors. At the same time, why not weigh passingers, I am tired of people on both sides of me overflowing into my seats. Perhaps one should concentrate on the important things about travel. How much time do you spend in the WC anyway?

Hi

I'm not a big guy, nor do I fly First class but I think Ozstamps has a genuine point here.

If you are offering a premium service to people you have to be consistent - and restrooms should be included in that as well.

If I was an airline reading this posting and was seriously thinking about how I could distinguish my first class service from other airlines I'd take ozstamps seriously.

Good on you Ozstamps.

cheers Peter

I'm 6'5" and the new Continental planes in first class definitely force you to take unnatural positions standing up to reach the hole. You have to lean backwards because there is no headroom.

The new Airbus CX100 or whatever they are called that will hold about 700 passengers are now on full steam ahead with a number of airlines placing confirmed orders. Due to fly in 2005 I gather.

These are supposed to have all kinds of new features like small conference rooms, small fitness centers, even showers, so I bet the front end Loos get redesigned on these planes!

I'm 6'6". I think all of tall guys need to start complaining more about this type of discrimination.

Is there a reason why we have this discussion topic with the same first post in both "The Buzz" & "United"?

Because the subject matter applies to ALL airlines, not just United. Is that a good enough reason for you?