If the restroom on your next flight seems a bit snug, don’t assume you’ve picked up a few pounds. US airlines increasingly are putting smaller lavatories on their planes -- and the economics of the decision means they’re probably here to stay. As labour costs rise and fuel prices surge, airlines are taking advantage of robust travel demand to squeeze as many passengers as possible into planes. Knee-bashing reductions to legroom and elbow-crunching cuts to seat size are well-known tactics. The latest method is to retrofit old aircraft and order new ones with svelte lavatories that allow for an extra row of seats. Airlines say the new restrooms are just a few inches smaller than what passengers are used to. But it’s not like the bathrooms were that big to begin with, and the tighter fit is sparking complaints from pilots, concerns from flight attendants and griping from travelers. American Airlines is using a smaller lavatory supplied by Airbus on new A321neos and remodeled older A321s to squeeze in more seats. The airline also is putting in diminutive restrooms made by Rockwell Collins on more than 300 Boeing 737 aircraft. United Continental has the Rockwell lavatories on about 10% of its 737 fleet -- almost 35 planes-- and will use them on at least 155 more 737 Max jets. Delta has used the washrooms since 2014. <br/>
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New Zealand's transport minister said Monday he will pay a small fine for violating aviation rules by making a cellphone call from a plane. The Civil Aviation Authority fined Phil Twyford 500 New Zealand dollars ($340) for breaching rules it says were intended to prevent electromagnetic interference with aircraft instruments. The authority said that because Twyford ended his call before takeoff, it didn't pose a significant risk to the safety of the flight. Twyford had earlier stepped down from his role overseeing aviation safety after making the call to a staffer in May. Twyford said Monday he can't recall the exact chronology of the call, but that his phone records and airline records indicated he'd been on the phone for about three minutes while the plane was taxiing but before takeoff. Cellphone calls are banned after the doors are closed in preparation for takeoff. <br/>
A shareholder of planemaker Embraer filed a complaint with Brazil's securities regulator against a planned takeover of its commercial aircraft arm by Boeing, newspaper Valor Econômico reported Monday. Renato Chaves filed the complaint with regulator CVM late on Friday, arguing that the transaction would effectively grant control of Embraer to Boeing, disrespecting its statute, Valor reported. "It is a disguised acquisition of a controlling stake," Valor quoted Chaves as saying. Embraer's statute forbids any investor to own 35% or more of its shares directly or indirectly. Chaves is a former director for pension fund Previ, which manages pensions for employees of state-controlled lender Banco do Brasil SA. Valor did not specify the size of the Chaves' stake in Embraer, but said he acknowledged that the stake was very small.<br/>