It’s not your imagination: airline restrooms are shrinking

U.S. airlines are minimizing bathroom sizes in effort to maximize seating and profits

If the restroom on your next flight seems a bit snug, don’t assume you’ve picked up a few pounds. U.S. airlines increasingly are putting smaller lavatories on their planes — and the economics of the decision means they’re probably here to stay.

As labour costs rise and fuel prices surge, airlines are taking advantage of robust travel demand to squeeze as many passengers as possible into planes. Knee-bashing reductions to legroom and elbow-crunching cuts to seat size are well-known tactics.

The latest method is to retrofit old aircraft and order new ones with svelte lavatories that allow for an extra row of seats.

Airlines say the new restrooms are just a few inches smaller than what passengers are used to. But it’s not like the bathrooms were that big to begin with, and the tighter fit is sparking complaints from pilots, concerns from flight attendants and griping from travellers.

Consultant Samuel Engel said taking his 4-year-old son to the restroom during a recent four-hour flight was like a yoga exercise.

“We’re both compact people, but I still had to basically straddle him to be able to fit in the lav together,” said Engel, who leads the aviation group at consulting firm ICF.

“The sink is so tiny that we did a sort of four-handed ballet to wash each of our hands in turn, splashing water all over in the process.”

The experience could be duplicated on just about any U.S. carrier.

American Airlines Group Inc. is using a smaller lavatory supplied by Airbus SE on new A321neos and remodelled older A321s to squeeze in more seats.

The airline also is putting in diminutive restrooms made by Rockwell Collins Inc. on more than 300 Boeing Co. 737 aircraft. United Continental Holdings Inc. has the Rockwell lavatories on about 10 per cent of its 737 fleet — almost 35 planes — and will use them on at least155 more 737 Max jets, Boeing’s upgraded model of the single-aisle workhorse. Delta Air Lines Inc. has used the washrooms since 2014. JetBlue Airways Corp., meanwhile, is outfitting some of its fleet with a small lavatory made by Safran SA’s Zodiac Aerospace.

Gary Weissel, managing director of Tronos Aviation Consulting Inc., estimated that American could generate about $400,000 (U.S.) a year for each seat it adds to a plane, based on average fares and typical aircraft usage.

The airline told investors last fall that adding seats to its Boeing 737-800 and Airbus A321 jets would bring in $500 million a year. JetBlue has estimated that boosting capacity on its A320s by 12 seats to 162 will increase annual revenue by about $100 million.

“Even with passenger complaints on these lavs, I don’t see airlines pulling them out,” Weissel said. “The revenue generated from being able to get an additional row of seats in there is too great.”

At shoulder height, the width of Rockwell’s Advanced Spacewall restroom — made by the company’s B/E Aerospace unit — is about the same as older economy-class restrooms. The space savings comes around sink level, as the wall curves in to allow a row of three seats to be tucked under the bend. The lavatory, which is just one available option, provides seven extra inches of cabin space, according to a Rockwell spokesperson. The company and several airlines declined to provide full dimensions. The economy cabin on American’s Max 8 is “the most miserable experience in the world,” Jimmy Walton, a captain for the airline, told company president Robert Isom during an employee meeting. “You’ve added 12 more seats, no more lavatories and you’ve shrunk that lavatory to 75 per cent of what it was before,” Walton said. “I can’t turn around in it.”

Flight attendants, who are on the front lines for traveller dissatisfaction, also criticize the smaller restrooms.

“We believe these lavatories contribute greatly to the general decline of the in-flight experi- ence and have the potential to lead to increased incidents of air rage,” said Shane Staples, a spokesperson for the Association of Professional Flight Attendants at American.

The lavatories are about 22.4 inches across at chest level when seated, American said. That’s 3.1 inches narrower than previous models. However, carriers may be forced to give at some point, Engel said.

“A few videos of people changing diapers in the aisle or a larger American stuck in the lav,” he said, ultimately may generate pressure for a new generation of lavatories “with less of the squeeze.”