Going to the bathroom during a fight is unfortunately not the most pleasant experience for most people. So, what are the most bathroom friendly airlines in the U.S.?

In a January 2023 poll of the general public, UponArriving found that 74% of respondents “actively avoid” going to the bathroom during flights and 70% acknowledged using the bathroom during a flight was a “stressful” experience.

READ ALSO: Ranking Arizona: Top 10 best places to live for 2022

Considering that as many as 30% of men and 40% of women in the US deal with with overactive bladder symptoms, these numbers are worth paying attention to.

Knowing which airlines, and more importantly which aircraft, have the best ratios of seats to lavatories can help you decrease the odds of having to wait to access the bathroom during a flight.

So to give travelers some insight, UponArriving analyzed the ratios of seats to lavatories for major US airlines, focusing on economy cabins in narrow body and regional aircraft.

The most bathroom friendly airlines are ranked below:

1. JetBlue

2. Alaska

3. Allegiant

4. United     

5. Delta

6. American

7. Spirit

8. Frontier

9. Southwest

The study also looked at aircraft types and found that the five best aircraft ratios offered one bathroom for every 36 to 49 seats while the five worst aircraft ratios had one bathroom for every 77 to 83 seats. 

Additional survey data

UponArriving surveyed the general public regarding how they view bathrooms on planes and found that:

• 74% actively avoid using the bathroom during a flight

• 70% found using the bathroom during a flight stressful

• 65% believe planes don’t have enough bathrooms

“By knowing which airlines, and more importantly which aircraft, offer the best ratios of passengers to bathrooms, the millions of Americans dealing with overactive bladders can help reduce their odds of having to wait to access the bathroom during a flight,” said Daniel Gillaspia, Founder of UponArriving.

“We also hope some of this data sheds light on the need to improve the bathroom situation for some of these aircraft. 80 passengers effectively sharing a single bathroom for several hours is definitely not ideal.”