the A380 … why would you build a bigger airplane and provide fewer toilets?

I got to Singapore and updated my facebook status to say I was “recovering from iatrogenic septicaemia, but chuffed that I had just flown on the new A380” airbus that Singapore Airlines is running between Singapore and Sydney. One of my facebook friends immediately wanted to know about the experience (of the flight, not the illness), the best/worst features, and so I told him. The standard of Singapore Airlines remains unchanged, in terms of the high level of cabin service it provides. That being said, when you’re in “cattle class”, the food is still crap and it takes forever to get served, etc etc. As an aside, I noted the number of people who needed “special meals”, that didn’t look particularly special to me – am I getting cynical in my old age? The one thing that stood out for me (especially given the parlous state of my urinary system and the need to go to the loo about 12 times during the flight from Sydney to Singapore) was the removal of two the (quaintly named) “lavatories” at the back. I actually asked one of the cabin crew while I was standing in one of the ever present queues “Why would you build a bigger airplane and provide fewer toilets?” He said that there were more in the middle of the plane than before, but all the signs and configuration of the plane point the 100 or so people in the rear of the plane to the two lavatories at the back – something for Singapore Airlines to think about?and so here I am dear reader, in Delhi and with an opportunity to join a group of my academic colleagues on a tour of Delhi but unable to do so because I cannot travel too far from a loo for any length of time. Thanks Vinnies! (not)