A business class seat is superior to a basic economy class seat in virtually every way, but what about the lavatories in each class of service?
On a long flight across the Atlantic or Pacific, most travelers won’t be able to avoid using the restroom.
Passengers traveling in business class or first class have the luxury of more comfortable seating, complimentary booze, a multi-course meal, snacks on demand, and a nice little bag of amenities. Service is generally better too. But none of this is exactly hidden knowledge. There’s a reason, after all, for all those articles about how to get a seat upgrade. There are even credit cards designed to help travelers obtain a coveted business class seat for a more comfortable flying experience.
Even if you’ve never flown Delta One or United’s Polaris Class to Europe or further afield from the U.S., you probably are aware of the many differences based on the class of service. Ok, so maybe you could live without the amenity kit and its standard contents–earplugs, an eye mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, and hand cream–but have you ever wondered about the bathroom situation?
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Are first and business class passengers blessed with a gorgeous, sparkling facility while the back-of-the-flight passengers are stuck in a dingy tight space where the toilet is mere inches from the sink? The answer, in short, is it depends.
Some of the top carriers—Singapore, Emirates, Qatar—do provide their business class travelers with premium, tricked-out lavatories, but many other reputable airlines’ business class bathrooms are nothing to write home about. In some cases, the only thing better about the premium cabin bathroom is the fact that it’s shared by fewer people, so by the time it’s your turn to use the facilities, it’s likely still in decent shape.
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Over-the-Top Bathrooms
Did you know that All Nippon Airways (ANA) 777 first-class bathrooms have a bidet? It’s largely no-frills otherwise, but this is a fun detail that few other airlines can boast about.
Meanwhile, both Emirates and Singapore Airlines first-class cabins feature capacious (by an airplane’s standards, anyway) bathrooms, and Emirates is even complete with a shower suite! Some Etihad Airbuses have showers featuring Le Labo products, and although Lufthansa’s top-tier bathrooms don’t have showers, it’s hard to beat their product partnership with Le Prairie, one of Switzerland’s most luxurious skincare brands.
Qatar Airways also gets high marks for its large restrooms available to first-class cabin passengers, and when it comes to changing into more comfortable clothing or a full pajama set before trying to catch some Zzzs on an overnight flight, size definitely matters.
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True Business Class Bathrooms
There’s the upper echelons of air travel, where often there are just a handful of seats (or suites) in the top tier class, and then there is standard business class, which tends to be a big step up from standard coach seating on most aircrafts. Since a business class cabin is far more affordable than the uber-exclusive first-class cabins, its lavatories aren’t usually on the same playing field as the cream of the crop first-class ones.
Often business class lavatories on transatlantic or transpacific flights will feature name-brand products and come with some extras, such as mouthwash, facial cleansing cloths, or hand cream. There’s often a difference in the size of the facility as well.
Passengers traveling in Delta’s business class, for example, can expect room to move around in the lavatory, and things are definitely more cramped in its bathrooms dedicated to economy class passengers; likewise with American Airlines and British Airways long-haul flights. None of these airlines responded to Fodor’s request for a comment about what the exact differences are between their business class restrooms and those found in economy.
A spokesperson for United Airlines noted that in the Polaris lavatory (United’s business class cabin), there’s an amenity rack that holds Sunday Riley face mist and hand cream. There’s also a Murchison-Hume garment groom spot cleaner and fabric refresher, items which are absent in the regular economy lavatories.
“There is also a larger lavatory located in Polaris to accommodate customers with disabilities,” said United’s spokesperson, confirming that the facility is available to passengers requiring more room, even if they are not seated in business class.
So, while business class is certainly more comfortable than economy, those flying in coach can at least take comfort in the fact that–most of the time–the front bathrooms aren’t all that much better.