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Just a heads up, as I encounter such on my overseas flight recently. It was Lufthansa Airbus A380 that seats over 500 passengers. Thankfully I was on the upper deck that seats (more comfortably) only 36 passengers of economy class. The tiny bathroom was the first one I ever saw on my flight overseas.
As flying has become a game of inches, with airlines trying to squeeze as many passengers as possible on some of the newer planes flown by American, Delta and United airlines, the bathrooms in coach are just 24" wide MINUS the sink space. For comparison, that's roughly the width of the average dishwasher and 17" smaller than the average portable toilet that is roughly 41" wide. Good luck to fit a wheelchair there!
A width of regular wheelchair measures to the outside of the rear wheels is 26" (660 mm). Length of the wheelchair is 42" (1065 mm) measured from the back of the rear wheels to the front of the footrests!
There is also no way that a standard walker would fit in the aisle of an airplane. Aircraft aisles are typically only 18" wide.
The ceilings are slopped too. So a taller person needs to bend to fit in.
There is absolutely an acrobatic challenge to change a baby there.
What are your options if you can’t use an airplane bathroom?
There are several options, and unfortunately, none of them are pleasant. One is to avoid the need to use the bathroom by restricting your food and liquid intake for many hours prior to your flight. Another is to stick to short flights only. Men have it easier in that they can sometimes urinate into a bottle created for this purpose, under a blanket to be more discreet. Some wheelchair users can use a catheter with a leg bag. Others have chosen to use undergarments like Depends.
I think larger passengers should be warned about the possibly impossible space to fit in. National Center for Health Statistics at the CDC as of 2015-2016 showed that 39.6% of US adults age 20 and older were obese (37.9% for men and 41.1% for women).
No need to weigh the passengers anymore. They will be discouraged and reconsider flying due to the toilet and seat size.
According to the manufacturer, the new-style bathrooms free up enough space to fit six more passengers onboard.
I understand that person could hold 1-2 hrs the desire to use the restroom, but on 8 hrs flight that's barely possible and could, additionally to blood cloths d/t prolonged sitting in a tiny chair, also promote kidney stones.
Well, since they reduced the passengers of economy class to a CATTLE, I guess, they figured that cattle don't need more space.
BTW: many regional airlines in North America have found yet another way to cut costs and maximize their income: they no longer refill the potable water tanks supplying the hand-washing basins. That saves them money in two ways. First, a little less labor is required to service the plane between flights. Second, that's a little less weight to carry.
They provide disinfectant hand-wipes, or at least they do now. It's just a matter of time until they realize that they can leave them out, telling people to bring their own if they want to be at all clean.
There aren't any laws regulating how airlines maintain on-board lavatories, and in fact, there is no requirement for having them at all. https://toilet-guru.com/aircraft.php
I am overseas now and you are right. Economy seats have become the pits. On the international flight, the lavatory was adequate in economy and honestly I saw no difference in the first class one either. Where I was seated I could use either.
Be that as it may, economy has become atrocious. The seats are metal with padding. Okay for an hour or two but beyond that it is like torture.
Well regular wheelchairs aren't used aboard planes. They are gate checked, and the passenger transported to their seat (and to/from the lav) on a special aisle chair.
When the lav is not large enough to accommodate the aisle chair, usually the passenger is assisted by a flight attendant for the transfer from the chair to the toilet, and they stand outside the lav until the passenger is done.
There is a lovely YouTuber named Gem Hubbard (wheelsnoheels) who posts a number of videos about traveling as a wheelchair bound passenger.
I avoid the airplane bathrooms when at all possible, but I've never been on a transcontinental flight where it's impossible.
That said, I think changes need to be made for the most vulnerable of our population. For example, there are several adults with genetic disorders (among other conditions) who need to use diapers, and there's no way you could assist a grown person with special needs in a space that size.
I flew on Emirates last year, 9-10 hour flights. It was really nice - spoiled me for other airlines. I didn't notice any problems with the lavatory. Thank goodness!
I try to avoid them for domestic flights — most resemble (and smell) like a broken gas station outhouse after the first hour. My longest int'l flight was 14 hours and waiting was not an option. The good news it was Singapore Airlines, and the lavs were kept clean and spotless throughout the flight.
I flew on Emirates last year, 9-10 hour flights. It was really nice - spoiled me for other airlines. I didn't notice any problems with the lavatory. Thank goodness!
This is a fairly "new" invention and older planes might not have the restrooms retrofitted, yet. But it's coming as airline try everything possible to get the most revenue as they possibly can.
Not sure if any Human Rights organizations would/could interfere. As long The Cattle would willingly put up with that for the privilege of flying, it would be probably up to them to bring with all "survival" necessities like adult diapers, waste bags, food, drinks, pillows, blankets and cleaning supplies.
Airlines are trying hard to make economy flights very uncomfortable so people would fork more for expensive upgrades and they control revenue by offering tickets in different fare classes for every flight.
It used to be simple First Class and Economy. Now we have First, Business, Premium Economy and Basic Economy and you need to know how to upgrade your fare using $, points, miles, specialty credit cards, awards, elite status, frequent flyer programs, etc. and KNOW how to decipher fare codes.
For points and miles enthusiasts things get a bit more divided: https://i0.wp.com/thepointsguy.com/w...2C1024px&ssl=1
To really complicate fare prices they invented Economy award seats, Business award seats and First award seats. So, one needs to have an elite status for complimentary bumps to the front of the plane, miles alone might not make the deal. Especially if you’re looking to use miles from one carrier’s program on a flight operated by another carrier.
Another muddy area is the fact that many airlines use specific fare classes for their own products, passengers or other situations. Like specific perks and extra award inventory: if you hold any United card, you have access to fare class XN — extra economy award seats only available to Chase cardholders. Delta's complimentary Medallion upgrades, Clergy, Diplomat, Contracted Military and Pilgrim fares
As you see it's now pretty complicated to simply buy a fare online, and probably best to do it per phone talking with the agent.
So, if you are quite large or disabled you need to know how to get/buy your upgrade, whats is available for you and the planes layouts. Not a simple task anymore, and probably known to only a small percentage of travelers.
As you see it's now pretty complicated to simply buy a fare online, and probably best to do it per phone talking with the agent.
This may be necessary for disabled people and for those too fat to fit into a single Economy class seat and who will need to book 2 adjacent Economy seats, but for the average passenger it's complete overkill. Buying a plane ticket isn't nuclear physics.
(I do think airlines are making a mistake by shrinking the lav size, though. They are getting small enough that it might be possible for someone to actually get stuck in there.)
Check out the bathroom scene in Tommy Boy. Says it all.
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