Lavatories out of service
Smaller bathrooms designed to add more JetBlue passengers are malfunctioning.
A profit-generating plan by JetBlue Airways to squeeze more passengers into its A321 jets by installing smaller bathrooms isn’t working out as planned.
During an earnings call with industry analysts this week, JetBlue Chief Financial Officer Steve Priest said the bathrooms installed on 21 of its A321 planes are being sent to the maintenance shop to repair “design failures with the space-efficient lavatories.”
A JetBlue spokesman described the problem as “alignment issues” that led to “out of service lavatories” but declined to elaborate.
JetBlue began repairing the lavatories in September and already has completed about a third of the 21 planes, Priest said. The Space Flex 2 lavatories are built by French manufacturer Zodiac Aerospace, which did not respond to requests for comments.
Traditional airline lavatories are located on either side of the aisle at the back of the plane but in front of the galley where flight attendants prepare meals. The Space Flex 2 squeezes both bathrooms, side by side, behind the food galley.
The design, which was introduced to the industry in 2014, can increase the number of seats on an A321 to 162 from 150 seats.
JetBlue previously told investors that the additional seats could lead to a $100-million increase in revenue.
Priest told analysts the New York-based airline is hopeful it can fix the problems with the lavatories before adding them to its A320 jets.
“We’re doing this before we begin modifications on our A320s to avoid having to take aircraft out of service at a later date,” he said.
United auctions parts of retired 747s
Fans of the Boeing 747 jet — once known as the Queen of the Skies — can take home a piece of the iconic plane, which recently retired from passenger service.
United Airlines has announced an auction that will let members of the airline’s loyalty reward program, MileagePlus, bid for plane numbers, passenger seats and airspeed indicators, among other pieces of the planes.
MileagePlus members bid using their reward miles, instead of cash, to win the 747 items. The proceeds will benefit Air Camp, a program that teaches children and adults about science, technology, math and engineering through aviation and aeronautics.
Members who don’t want to bother with an auction have a “buy now” option that will set an amount for each item.
According to the website, fans of the 747 can buy a set of three economy seats taken from a retired jet for 250,000 miles.
“It is a great addition to the collection of any aviation enthusiast and certain to be a conversation piece in any environment,” according to the United auction website.
Based on calculations from thepointguy.com, a website that compares loyalty reward programs, United miles are worth about 1.5 cents each. That means the seats are selling for about $3,750.
Four Seasons guests can text requests
Forgot to pack a toothbrush or need more towels in your hotel room?
If you are staying at a Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts property, you can send a digital message using your smartphone, tablet or laptop to a hotel staffer to request help or information.
The chat program has gone live at 70 Four Seasons hotels, including seven in Southern California. The entire 106 properties in the chain are expected to have the chat service by next year.
Four Seasons is not the first hotel chain to promote an online chat feature. Marriott International, the world’s biggest hotel company, also offers a chat service — but only from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, according to the hotel website.
The Toronto-based Four Seasons said its texting program is different because the messages, sent via the Four Seasons App, Facebook Messenger, WeChat or SMS, go directly to an employee in the hotel where the texting guest is staying.
In addition, the Four Seasons chat service instantly translates more than 100 languages to communicate in the language used by the hotel staff.
So far, guests are averaging six text messages per stay, requesting such mundane things as towels, toothpaste and soap.
“The majority are typical hotel guest requests,” said Lucy Zepp, a spokeswoman for the hotel chain.