Why Lufthansa’s A340-600 Has Toilets In The Cargo Hold 

I flew a lot on Lufthansa's A340-600. Always enjoyed that toilet solution, they were more spacious than normal and the stairs could be used for some exercise on long haul flights. I never once saw a flight attendant downstairs "assisting" passengers, they would only tell you not to stand on the stairs. It was also nicer for passengers above because there were less people waiting in the aisle and no flushing noises. All in all, it was a pretty nice idea.

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I was 11 years old when I flew Lufthansa from Vancouver to Frankfurt. It was one of my earliest memories of international travel, and it really set the standard in my mind for how planes were laid out. All my life, I continued to travel internationally expecting to see another plane with downstairs lavatories. I'm so surprised to learn today that it was only really Lufthansa that used this layout! Very grateful that I got to experience it :)

The A340 is simply one of the most majestic aircraft ever built.

I've pooped upstairs on a 747 and A380, I've even pooped in the center LAV in the very back of an L1011 where engine #2 is essentially behind you while you're doing a #2 -- but never in the basement of an A340 ** LIFE GOALS **

Flew it from Frankfurt to Toronto. At 6'3" I was delighted with the downstairs washrooms. I could stand up in them!!!!! Unlike the 737 washrooms where a person of my height has to back in and sit to pee this was a refreshing difference. Also, they were kept very clean and fresh throughout the flight and one didn't get that "Bathroom Smell" close to the galleys on other aircraft. Super idea!

I flew aboard one in 2012, on a high school trip. Me and my friend were quite fascinated by these downstairs toilets, the first time either of us had ever seen stairs aboard a plane (I've never been on a 747 or A380, at this point it looks like most likely I never will). Overall very impressive aircraft, great service, food, and so on, Lufthansa puts to shame any US carrier. Only complaint was that the tray table latches didn't work, I ended up duct taping them closed. Very memorable flight, not only for the aircraft but because I fell madly in love with the aforementioned friend during the flight, despite knowing she was major trouble. Call that one a "learning experience." Not about the aircraft itself, but I'll always associate the A340-600 with that.

A340 among a few other planes are really hidden gems that too often are left in the shadow of the 747 and the A380

Thomas Cook had them in their A330 when I flew from SFO to MAN in June 2019.

The boarding lounge sounds like a nice addition, as well as Japanese style sleeping pods (lax to lhr 👍 )

Yes I did fly the A340 600 of Lufthansa. And the downstairs toilets are pretty funny. Going down the stairs is avery different feeling compared to other aircrafts. Anyways I love the A340 600. A beautiful quad engine jet.

I joined the mile high club with my then girlfriend back in 2005 in one of these downstairs toilets. Fantastic design.

Yup. I once flew it from Mexico City to Munich and it was my first long haul flight. Those spacious bathrooms downstairs really impressed me :)

Yes, I flew on that particular Lufthansa model several times. Interestingly, the doorway from the passenger deck to the lavatory stair pivots into a closed position when landing. Once airborne, it rotates and opens up. I like this configuration very much. It gets a significant number of passengers out of the aisles while they wait for the lavatory. Also, the smells are mostly confined to that area.

Why not using the cargo hold for passengers? You could stack them like sardines!

I flew both Lufthansa and Jet Airways’ -600s. It was quite a treat to be able to up and down the stairs like when I used to fly on the 747 as a UNM when I was a kid going to boarding school unaccompanied. Aaaah memories.

Like many others, I was amazed at the downstairs toilets. Thanks for offering a very lucid explanation for their existence!

This was such a interesting and entertaining video!

I was literally wondering about this the other day! I loved that they were out of the way

Man i love your videos, 4 mins to explain, no 10 minute boring info. Keep it up🔥

Wonderful flight from Munich to San Francisco. These toilets are a major contribution for the comfort on board. The area is spacious with this fruit and drink bar. You never wait and avoid the “normal “ chaos and odors and noise around the toilets in other planes. A great idea, making this LH flight one of my favorites ever. Beautiful plane too.

Actually in another youtube I saw a flight trip report with this Lufthansa A340 from Los Angeles to Frankfurt...Nice video I loved it much

The downstairs toilet shocked me when I flew from FRA to MEX. Good and eye opening experience ❤️

4 years ago I had flown on Lufthansa a340-600 from Newark to Munich and I visited the cargo lavatory and it is huge and awesome!

I flew with an A340 since I was 7 months old From Guarulhos to Munich every 6 months . Up until I got 6 Years old , and because my Father traveled for work and I saw my Austrian Family , I always flew business , but I remember always wanting to skip the Bn bathroom just to go down , A340 was Iconic for me , one of the most comfortable planes ever ...

I flew in one of those, on the Caracas- Frankfurt rute back in 2009. The plane was amazing! one of my favorites

Many years ago I flew with my family to Canada from the UK with Air Transat on an A34. It had the toilets in the hold just like the configuration in the video. It seemed like a good idea to open up space in the cabin. I could see it as a challenge for elderly passengers and parents with young children or babies.

I have flown only once with Lufthansa, and it was on an A340-600 last year from BOS to MUC. My seat was next to the cargo hold lavatories as well! Those stairs had a huge presence in the cabin, and the lavatories area was pretty spacious!

Yes I have flown on the LH340-600 with the lavs Down stairs. Loved it. Beautiful aircraft to fly on. Will miss them

Loved the downstairs bathrooms, spacious, no hanging around in the aisle blocking attendants etc. A340 is my favorite if I fly economy. Sad to see it go. Great airplane.

flew twice on this aircraft. fantastic idea, loved it!

I have flown on this aircraft many of times on route from Munich to LAX. The steps are steep,but its is- Lufthansa and cabin crew are at hand. The width of the steps allows a flow of passengers to an almost passing. The space is aka meeting point for most of the economy class passengers and staircase provides an exercise platform during the long flight. Loved the concept and far more an integral part of flying. Happy to have been a part of this iconic aircaft history .

Loved the placement of the toilets downstairs.

Yes and yes!! It’s so cool! It was this year only.. when I asked the flight attendant for toilets and he pointed me to go downstairs I was like whoa!! 😀

I flew Lufthansa's A340 600 from Munich to JFK a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised by the downstairs toilets. They allow for more space in that area and offered a further sense of privacy. Loved it!

Flew on it numerous times from Chicago to Munich or Frankfurt. One of my favorite features

I flew the Lufthansa A340-600 between Los Angeles and Munich several years ago, with my mother. She fell asleep during the safety demonstration, so I had to brief her on how to use the lavatory; the safety rules include NOT waiting on the stairs, using the grab handles next to lavatory doors after putting on the oxygen mask (for the emergency descent), and in general not being downstairs any longer than necessary. The other thing I remember is the super-long takeoff run. Nice ride in any case, even though I prefer the Boeing 777.

I’ve been on this variant a few times (YVR - FRA) before they went to the 747-4 (with reduced COVID travel are now using 330). It’s a loooong plane. I thought the washrooms in the hold was a great idea. They even had a small self serve area for beverages & cookies. Very seldom had a line up with the amount of washrooms down there. Great idea.

Omg. I thought I was dreaming. I totally remember flying on this when I was much younger.

Great idea. I flew once and loved it.

Amazing video

Great video and makes a lot of sense for restrooms to be put there

Flew the LH A340-600 on the SFO-MUC-SFO route a few years ago. I am not a big fan of visiting the WC while onboard an aircraft but on such a long flight there is little choice. I will always remember that the downstairs toilets were big and spacious for airline WCs.

I flew in the a340 from Frankfurt to Boston in 2015 and man that was a great experience. It's the biggest plane I've been on to this day. The lavatories where spacious and you have more room to move in the hallway between the lavatories. It was the best lufthansa flight I've ever been on.

I had a no-wipe bowel movement downstairs on my flight from JFK to Frankfurt. It was fabulous.

I flew on the -300 variant from SAN to FRA on the inaugural flight and the -300 also had the bathrooms downstairs. It's a really cool and unique feature.

In September 2018 i flew from San Francisco to Munich with a Lufthansa A340. I wasn’t aware if these downstairs lavatories before the flight but was absolutely delighted as I saw them. Their space is a bit larger than on the same-level-lavatories meaning you don’t have to feel like in a pigsty.

I flew from Manchester to Las Vegas with Airtours and used the downstairs toilets. There was even a space for a couch / padded bench and it was nice to just to hang out. Well as nice as possible hanging outside toilets can be I guess.

My wife and I flew on a LH A340-600 from MUC to LAX back in 2013. Downstairs lavatories were weird at first but practical. Great opportunity to stretch our legs during the long flight.

My first international flight was on a Lufthansa A340-600, from São Paulo to Munich. I found it really interesting that the toilets were located downstairs. It was a very comfortable plane, best economy seats I've flown to this day.

Yes! I was amazed!

I'd hang out down there for half of the flight from Munich to Chicago. I'd have drinks and my headphones and just chill down there. Loved it.

Flew from Hong Kong to Munich in the A340 and used the toilets down stairs, thought it was a great! They also had crew rest down there.

Yes. I have flown with the A340-600 with Lufthansa from Frankfurt to Chicago in 2007. And yes, I had to use the lavatory located downstairs. I think it’s nice with the lavatory downstairs.

In 2015, I also flew on the Lufthansa A340-600. I was so surprised that the toilets were downstairs, it felt so weird. It was almost like flying on an A380.

i have flown it from Frankfurt to Tokyo and from Osaka to Munich and used the downstairs bathrooms! very good flight

I took a flight back in 2002 with my family from London UK to Jamaica and the plane had about six down stairs toilets, it was cool they did have two or three up stairs for older or disabled people to use.

I didn’t fly on one, but my wife did. She told me the lavatories were downstairs, and I said no way, that’s not possible - the last aircraft I remember with lavatories down below was the L-1011, and actually I wasn’t even sure if it had lavatories or just a galley. I’m the aircraft geek in the family, and here she was telling me something I didn’t know. I had to look it up online, and I’ll be damned she was right! Love the TWA L-1011 footage you included - got to fly on that plane quite a lot. Miss it.

Thomas Cook A330-200 used to have these also

I love eight 340 Dash 600. It was a complete surprise to find the downstairs bathroom. When I would travel I would be traveling with a group in many times on the flight out of Washington Dulles into Frankfurt several of us will go downstairs and just take a break also there was a counter that had drinks and refreshments for us so it was really cool.

I flew the Lufthansa A340-600 mostly between Frankfurt and Tehran. It was always a very nice flight. Love this plane

Lufthansa's A340-600 was the plane I boarded on the way back from the United States (my first-ever trip abroad). I was really surprised to see the toilet downstairs but they were better than the ones found on many other aircraft--more spacious...

I rode one of these A340-600 and did not know about a below-deck area. I was also sitting near the stairs and once I asked the Flight Attendant what is was, I went down and explored. Wow! I had never seen anything like that, and I fly a lot for work. Not only did this allow for aisles to be less crowded, but I could stand down there on the long flight and stretch my legs. As for a Flight Attendant down there? Not once did I see that, but they had cups and cold water and, best of all, some SPACE! Overall, a great concept and experience.

I remember this, when i was younger aboard the lufthansa a340, it was spacious and cool

I actually used the downstairs bathroom back then as I flew from Munich to Chicago with LH A340-600. There were more than 2 bathrooms down there I guess and people went there to do some exercises to stay fit during the flight

That's such a great idea, as I'm sure another row or two of seats would make more revenue than an extra pallet or two of cargo. Mainly though its so much nicer for people flying long haul, don't have the smells, people waiting in the aisles, the bathroom can be a bit bigger/nicer.

Yes, I have been on Lufthansa’s 340-600 on a flight from MUC to PVG. It’s a nice plane!

I like the Lufthansa A340-600. For some reason, I never had to wait in line for the bathroom on this aircraft.

This is the best plane I've ever flown on! So quiet and peaceful when everyone goes down to use the toilet and doesn't stand around in the isles. Also, such a great feeling to walk down there and stretch your legs by going up and down stairs. EVERY PLANE SHOULD BE LIKE THIS

Yep. I flown on that plane a couple times. I've used the downstairs restrooms, because that's the only restrooms I was aware of from my seat. Good idea. There are plenty of restrooms down there, so no line. Other airlines should do the same.

Flew once with it, and this big toilet space impressed me, at that moment I didn't remember exact aircraft type, I new only that it was some wide body Airbus. Many years later (now) I remembered that moment because all other aircraft's that I flew didn't had that configuration, so I ended on search "Airbus with downstairs lavatory" and I ended here.

I have flown Frankfurt - Los Angeles in this aircraft. I appreciated the perticuler arrangement very much, as it has lot of waiting space

I flew on one of these a while back, it was so weird, honestly for a while I thought it was just some weird dream I had. Guess this video confirms it was real 😂😂

Yes, the first time I flew with LH A340-600 was from FRA to DTW in summer 2014 and I remember that I was pretty surprised when I had to go downstairs for the toilet.

I flew on one from London Heathrow to LAX back in 2002, returning home from a French business trip. We were in 1st class however and did not know about the downstairs restrooms in coach. It was a wonderful plane however, although at the time I was disappointed that we weren't in a 747.

nice video

I flew from Bogota to Frankfurt and back in 2015. Amazing experience

The Singapore A340-500 that did SIN-EWR also had downstairs bathrooms. because of weight limitations, they couldn't use space for cargo, so they put bathtrooms downstairsto make more space for business class seats upstairs. It also provided some exercise to passengers during the 18 hour flight. It also had a cooled morgue to store a dead passenger in case.

I flew on a A340 with downstairs toilets and I was also seated in the lone chair next to the stairs, it was a great flight!

I was on a flight from Munich to Hong Kong a few years back. It was a lot of passengers onboard, and the air was terrible, however, the air was a lot better at the toilet floor than the cabin. From that they on, my favorite seat on the a340 is the toilet.

@1:35 love the T.P. strip on the floor outside the WC 😃😅

I did indeed ! On many flights between ORD and FRA during my expatship. Was a good experience in a A340-600 even if not upgraded 😉

I flew on LH's D-AIHE back in 2013. It was a nice surprise for me to have those downstair toilets for several reasons: We didn't block the aisle nor bother seated passengers with noises, shiny lights and/or ordors. Also, we could use the next available toilet that in other circumstances could have been located in the opposite side of the aircraft, thereby the waiting time was lower. From the passenger perspective, it was a very atractive plus. Perhaps from the accounting perspective that less cargo space wasn't very attractive.

Yes! took LH 340 600's from MUC to HKG, drinks and WC downstairs, pretty convenient

I flew DLH from ATL to FRA then onto TLV. We (I flew with a group) flew on their A346 ATL-FRA and back, I looked on seat guru for the layout which said that I was gonna be flying on one that had the downstairs lavatories, but sadly when the time came for the flight I was slightly disappointed since we didn't get it.

I've used the downstairs lav onboard Lufthansa's A340-600 from EDDL - KJFK. I actually really like the idea. One doesn't have the smell of another passenger's dump, right next to you.

Occasionally an A340 from South African Airways flies over me..an absolute beauty! From Giuseppe in Cape Town South Africa 🇿🇦

I never knew about this. I'm sure I'm not the only one here that would love to fly on an A340-600 just for this. There's just something about double-decker aircraft cabins that I find appealing, even if it's just to use the toilet.

ohhhh nice to know nice video

I remember going in a downstairs bathroom on a Thomas Cook a330 very interesting experience.

A friend of mine used to be a flight attendant, and she once said that, on the 340, the most inexperienced member of the cabin crew would be "banished to the basement", because being down there for hours apparently kinda sucked.

Well - Balair, the Subsidiary Charter Airlines of Swissair hada a simular arrangement. It was a DC10 from McDonnell Douglas - placing in service back in 1979 (+- 1 year). The galley for the Y-Clas was downstairs. The access was ensured with 2 elevators - one of them for trollies only, one of them was big enough to take a person. As it was a charter flight, thes hade very few cargo shipment. With ths arrangement, they could add additional seats on the main deck for the Y-Class.

I miss the A340. I flew LH Frankfurt-Bogota-Frankfurt in 2011 with the toilets downstairs. Great plane, great airline. 😊

I had been on a Lufthansa A340-600 flight from Fraport to Ohare Intl and I did use the downstairs bathrooms

I flew from Brazil to Germany twice on it. I think the toilets downstairs a great idea, not only it took the akward line for the toilet out of sight, it took also natural (and unnatural) smells out of the main deck. The stairs can be tricky, though, even more during the common turbulences of the intertropical convergence zone (one necessarily will fly through it between Brazil and Europe).

I flew on a Lufthansa A330 (?) back in 2004, from SFO to Paris, and this aircraft had downstairs toilets. It was wonderful having the toilets downstairs, specifically because there was no line that formed up in the cabin, where idiots would talk and make noise while others tried to sleep...! Anyone who has flown a redeye from the US to Europe knows what I am talking about; passengers lose time going from west-to-east, so it is important to get to sleep as soon as possible, Idiots who lined-up for the toilet in aircraft that had the lavs in the cabin have little regard for their fellow passengers, who are trying to sleep...that's why downstairs lavs are so excellent.

Dude, been searching for this answer for a while. THANKS!

Yes in a flight back to the states from Munich: super economy right next to the stairs. Nice setup. No passengers standing next to you waiting to use it like all other airlines. Great idea

Finally the video about the most important topic in hole aviation. The a340s toilet...

hi simple flying, please turn the volume of the video up a bit for your future videos. thank you.