moore2me
Lions don't need to spank
By shrinking lavatory size, Delta can fit in four more seats (mo money $$$)
(Part of below quoted from an original story from Rob Lovitt, NBC News contributor.)
In the near future, fliers who need to use the facilities may find themselves squeezing into spaces that make todays airline lavatories look downright large.
Case in point: Delta Air Lines, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, will unveil new onboard bathrooms on the 737-900s it expects to begin flying later this year. The new loos not only pack the same amenities into a smaller space but will also allow the carrier to squeeze four more seats into coach.
Known as a modular lavatory system (MLS), the new facilities are made by Wellington, Fla.-based B/E Aerospace. Neither the company nor Delta responded to inquiries as to how the dimensions would compare to a typical 3 x 3-foot coach lavatory.
Will passengers feel the squeeze in what already constitutes tight quarters for all but the smallest passengers? No, said Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant via e-mail, as the design utilizes previously unused space behind the sink and a sculpted exterior wall.
Yet, with planes flying fuller than ever, passengers are increasingly caught in a squeeze play from the moment they step on board. Last year, the U.S. airline industry posted its highest load factor since 1945 82.8 percent, according to the Department of Transportation while fees for checked bags have made finding space in the overhead bins a lesson in frustration.
The result is a public predisposed to noticing even a small infringement in their personal space, says Tiffany Hawk, former flight attendant and author of Love Me Anyway, a novel about airline culture.
Its already so uncomfortable in your seat and then you get to the lavatory and its cramped and youre in a bad mood she told NBC . Passengers are going to say they notice the difference and I guarantee theyll complain about it.
Likewise, any squeeze in available space will make it even harder to avoid touching the surfaces that make airline lavatories among the germiest restrooms the public is exposed to, says Charles Gerba, a microbiology professor at the University of Arizona.
According to Gerba, the average mainline jet has one lavatory for every 50 passengers one for every 75 on Southwest and their heavy use makes their surfaces prime vectors for the germs that cause colds, flus and diarrhea.
Its already tough to maneuver in there, he told NBC News. If its any smaller at all, youre going to come into contact with more surfaces.
Even so, onboard bathroom technology marches on. Although currently grounded due to the ongoing battery issue, ANAs 787 Dreamliners feature high-tech toilets in which a touch of a button automatically closes the lid and initiates the flush.
The idea is to reduce anxiety and provide "a cleaner space where you're not as worried as much about germs, Kent Craver, a Boeing Commercial Airplane director of passenger satisfaction, told the Journal.
Alas, neither new designs nor better technology is likely to rectify what Hawk considers one of the most common and potentially most eww-inducing realities inherent in those exceedingly tight, heavily used and germ-laden discomfort stations: Turbulence and its effect on male passengers. Youre standing there and moving at 500 m.p.h., she said. Thats not water on the floor.
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M2M's commentary
Well, this is great news (not!) I haven't flown in over ten years, but when I did I remember how tiny the restrooms where for my Zaftig body. Once, I got inside - something that was in no way easy to do - I cannot even remember how I convinced the door to shut and lock. (I think it involved prayer.) Once I tried to get up from the "loo" I wished I had brought a bottle of Wesson oil or some Crisco shortening with me and had greased my butt and other body parts down in order to get out of that tiny little modern torture chamber. (Perhaps this should be a small kit someone looking to make a fortune should market and sell in airports in the future.)
I would never have thought it when growing up, but if this old girl had to make a short list of things that terrified me the most as an adult . . . . Airline travel would definitely be in the top five. (Ranking higher than air travel are spiders and cockroaches in my house or car, and zombies.)
Now this new bathroom remodel and downsize will elevate airtravel to the top two or three scary events. Delta, Southwest, Virgin,etc. is there no end to this fat bashing?
(Part of below quoted from an original story from Rob Lovitt, NBC News contributor.)
In the near future, fliers who need to use the facilities may find themselves squeezing into spaces that make todays airline lavatories look downright large.
Case in point: Delta Air Lines, which, according to The Wall Street Journal, will unveil new onboard bathrooms on the 737-900s it expects to begin flying later this year. The new loos not only pack the same amenities into a smaller space but will also allow the carrier to squeeze four more seats into coach.
Known as a modular lavatory system (MLS), the new facilities are made by Wellington, Fla.-based B/E Aerospace. Neither the company nor Delta responded to inquiries as to how the dimensions would compare to a typical 3 x 3-foot coach lavatory.
Will passengers feel the squeeze in what already constitutes tight quarters for all but the smallest passengers? No, said Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant via e-mail, as the design utilizes previously unused space behind the sink and a sculpted exterior wall.
Yet, with planes flying fuller than ever, passengers are increasingly caught in a squeeze play from the moment they step on board. Last year, the U.S. airline industry posted its highest load factor since 1945 82.8 percent, according to the Department of Transportation while fees for checked bags have made finding space in the overhead bins a lesson in frustration.
The result is a public predisposed to noticing even a small infringement in their personal space, says Tiffany Hawk, former flight attendant and author of Love Me Anyway, a novel about airline culture.
Its already so uncomfortable in your seat and then you get to the lavatory and its cramped and youre in a bad mood she told NBC . Passengers are going to say they notice the difference and I guarantee theyll complain about it.
Likewise, any squeeze in available space will make it even harder to avoid touching the surfaces that make airline lavatories among the germiest restrooms the public is exposed to, says Charles Gerba, a microbiology professor at the University of Arizona.
According to Gerba, the average mainline jet has one lavatory for every 50 passengers one for every 75 on Southwest and their heavy use makes their surfaces prime vectors for the germs that cause colds, flus and diarrhea.
Its already tough to maneuver in there, he told NBC News. If its any smaller at all, youre going to come into contact with more surfaces.
Even so, onboard bathroom technology marches on. Although currently grounded due to the ongoing battery issue, ANAs 787 Dreamliners feature high-tech toilets in which a touch of a button automatically closes the lid and initiates the flush.
The idea is to reduce anxiety and provide "a cleaner space where you're not as worried as much about germs, Kent Craver, a Boeing Commercial Airplane director of passenger satisfaction, told the Journal.
Alas, neither new designs nor better technology is likely to rectify what Hawk considers one of the most common and potentially most eww-inducing realities inherent in those exceedingly tight, heavily used and germ-laden discomfort stations: Turbulence and its effect on male passengers. Youre standing there and moving at 500 m.p.h., she said. Thats not water on the floor.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
M2M's commentary
Well, this is great news (not!) I haven't flown in over ten years, but when I did I remember how tiny the restrooms where for my Zaftig body. Once, I got inside - something that was in no way easy to do - I cannot even remember how I convinced the door to shut and lock. (I think it involved prayer.) Once I tried to get up from the "loo" I wished I had brought a bottle of Wesson oil or some Crisco shortening with me and had greased my butt and other body parts down in order to get out of that tiny little modern torture chamber. (Perhaps this should be a small kit someone looking to make a fortune should market and sell in airports in the future.)
I would never have thought it when growing up, but if this old girl had to make a short list of things that terrified me the most as an adult . . . . Airline travel would definitely be in the top five. (Ranking higher than air travel are spiders and cockroaches in my house or car, and zombies.)
Now this new bathroom remodel and downsize will elevate airtravel to the top two or three scary events. Delta, Southwest, Virgin,etc. is there no end to this fat bashing?
