The Roaming BoomersSmaller Bathrooms Coming to Nation’s Aircraft
What the heck!? Just when you thought it wasn’t possible to be more cramped on an airliner, here comes a recent airline industry report telling us that the airlines are falling all over themselves to retrofit existing airplane lavatories to a smaller footprint.
Come on. Really? As it is now, you practically need to be a contortionist to pull your pants up in the existing bathrooms. Really? Smaller?
Here’s a snippet from a recent press release from B/E Aerospace:
“B/E Aerospace, Inc., the world’s leading manufacturer of aircraft cabin interior products and the world’s leading distributor of aerospace fasteners and consumables, today announced that one of its airline customers plans to retrofit its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft with B/E Aerospace modular lavatories. The airline also plans to retrofit its entire fleet of 737 aircraft, with B/E Aerospace Aircraft Ecosystems® vacuum toilets, and eventually to upgrade the cabins of its 737 fleet with B/E Aerospace LED lighting systems.
Through a combination of seat pitch adjustments, installation of B/E Aerospace lavatories, toilets and LED lighting, the airline plans to upgrade the interiors of its existing 737 fleet to more closely approximate the appearance and economics of their new to be delivered 737’s which will have both the B/E Aerospace modular lavatories and toilets as well as B/E Aerospace LED lighting systems. The lavatories incorporate patent pending, Spacewall® technology, which frees up floor space in the cabin, creating the opportunity to add up to six incremental passenger seats per aircraft. The B/E Aerospace lightweight LED lighting system which features adjustable lighting with full spectrum color capabilities, provides superior cabin ambiance and unprecedented lighting control.”
OK. It get it. The smaller bathroom frees up floor space so that the airlines can sell more seats on each plane. I’m a capitalist. I’ve got no problem with innovation creating opportunity.
But here’s my question: are you freeing up floor space to the expense of the airline customers’ lavatory experience? Or, does this new Spacewall® technology really free up wasted space without making us even more cramped in the bathroom? Inquiring minds want to know!
I spent a few hours this morning poking around various websites to get an answer to this question and came up empty. I’ll pop this post over to the folks at B/E Aerospace to see if I can get a response.
In the meantime, what are your thoughts?
Are you in favor of smaller airline bathrooms?
Sound off and share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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1 Comments on “Smaller Bathrooms Coming to Nation’s Aircraft”
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Just got this response from B/E Aerospace: “Our lavatory has an improved look and feel, provides more useable space, and is more comfortable for passengers. In addition, through the design of the lavatory interior and antimicrobial coatings on the interior surfaces, the lavatory is cleaner and more hygienic.”
More useable space, and more comfortable? Sounds good to us. We look forward to trying it out someday in the near future.