Aircraft Manufacturers are building larger overhead bins.

[straitman]

Something that will probably be welcomed by members of this community.

Airlines, manufacturers are expanding overhead bins

Fliers can stop sharpening their elbows. Overhead bins are getting bigger.

Packed planes and a high volume of carry-ons are forcing airlines to expand the space above passenger's heads. United and Delta are the latest airlines to replace or upgrade bins so they hold more luggage. And engineers at Boeing are designing jet interiors with today's bulkier luggage in mind.

It's a chance to placate passengers who feel like they're thrown into a roller derby every time they board a plane. Because of fees on checked bags, more passengers are bringing carry-ons, which are growing in size. And with planes more crowded than ever, bins fill up before everyone has reached their seat. Travelers fight physics and one another to shove one more bag overhead. Or they're forced to check luggage at the gate.

The result is upset travelers, harried flight attendants and delays.

The percentage of passengers bringing bags on board has hovered around 87 percent in recent years, United Continental says. And "the size of the carry-on has increased ... They are stretching the limits of their bags," says Scott O'Leary, managing director of customer solutions at United Continental Holdings Inc.

 

[The Rok]

I wonder if this would impact the centre of gravity of the plane to an extent that it would alter the planes handling characteristics either on the ground or in flight?

 

[straitman]

I wonder if this would impact the centre of gravity of the plane to an extent that it would alter the planes handling characteristics either on the ground or in flight?

It would have very little if any impact.

C of G issues are longitudinal or lateral and this does not change that at all.

 

[Stephen65]

This is a response to the American disease of people bringing huge carryons onto the aircraft. In the US it's caused by checked bag charges, lax enforcement of carryon limits at the gate and unreliable baggage systems that make people fear to check luggage in. In Australia I would prefer we stayed with the smaller bins and avoided the US disease.

 

[simongr]

The problem is even if you set aside the "American disease" if people brought that to which they are entitled (one rollaboard and one small personal item) there would still not be enough room for everyone's carry on baggage in the current bins.

 

[anat0l]

It will be interesting to see how they go about "making more space" in the overheads.

I think lateral space is the biggest problem, and there's not much you can do about that. That is, you can't make a plane longer to accommodate more bags side by side. You could try redesigning the height of the bins so that bags can potentially be placed so that they are sitting on the shortest end of the bag, though it's notably harder to lift bags like this. (In saying that, I believe a key restriction (with some possible exceptions) in the carriage of luggage into the cabin is that if you can't lift it to the bins yourself, it is overweight).

It's no good trumpeting that your bin space has increased by x% and/or y cubic metres if you can't fit any more bags (and the rest is just plenty of "dead space").

For some reason I think people in Western societies in particular are, on average, growing taller. This means if you make a higher bin to better accommodate luggage, you'll make people feel more constricted in their space. You'll have to feel sorry for the basketball player being forced to sit in the window seat. The Boeing BSI concept, I would've believed, was designed to give more of that kind of "space freedom" particularly more in the vertical sense. How bin space design will be factored into this will ultimately be interesting. Perhaps aircraft will just have to become bigger (even the narrow bodies).

 

[oz_mark]

It's not all about volume, the shape of the bin is important. The problem with some bins is that the wheelie bags that some people bring have to go sideways, and takes up quite a bit of room.

 

[simongr]

It's not all about volume, the shape of the bin is important. The problem with some bins is that the wheelie bags that some people bring have to go sideways, and takes up quite a bit of room.

Totally - I find it bizzarre that my rollaboard can go end on in a 73x but has to go sideways in a 763...

 

[anat0l]

It's not all about volume, the shape of the bin is important. The problem with some bins is that the wheelie bags that some people bring have to go sideways, and takes up quite a bit of room.

I think we are talking about the same thing, albeit only with subtle agreement.

I can relate to what you're talking about, e.g. on QF's 767 overheads. Why those cannot fit in wheels in is befuddling, though I guess at the time the 767s were purchased, no one would've thought that the culture of cabin baggage would get to this point.

 

[jetlagger]

This is a response to the American disease of people bringing huge carryons onto the aircraft. In the US it's caused by checked bag charges, lax enforcement of carryon limits at the gate and unreliable baggage systems that make people fear to check luggage in. In Australia I would prefer we stayed with the smaller bins and avoided the US disease.

Agreed..
In any case I am dismayed at the excessive amount of cough some people bring onto aircraft-large or small types.
The problem is that it is not being policed consistantly.
The main concern is that is slows the boarding & disembarking process for many passengers, also the obvious safety issue.
It is a growing problem worldwide & particularly evident in LCCs & Asia.

 

[docjames]

I think we are talking about the same thing, albeit only with subtle agreement.

I can relate to what you're talking about, e.g. on QF's 767 overheads. Why those cannot fit in wheels in is befuddling, though I guess at the time the 767s were purchased, no one would've thought that the culture of cabin baggage would get to this point.

I wonder how the bins are designed on DL's 764s? Does anyone know. Not that QF would bother refitting them now if the 763s are going (for A330s and 788/789s).

 

[serfty]

The AA 763's have the '777' style bins installed - at least at the pointy end.

 

[VHOEJ]

This is a response to the American disease of people bringing huge carryons onto the aircraft. In the US it's caused by checked bag charges, lax enforcement of carryon limits at the gate and unreliable baggage systems that make people fear to check luggage in. In Australia I would prefer we stayed with the smaller bins and avoided the US disease.

Agree. No matter what the limit, the Americans would make sure they use every bit of thier 'entitlement'.

 

[drron]

This is a response to the American disease of people bringing huge carryons onto the aircraft. In the US it's caused by checked bag charges, lax enforcement of carryon limits at the gate and unreliable baggage systems that make people fear to check luggage in. In Australia I would prefer we stayed with the smaller bins and avoided the US disease.

Americans carryons were a problem well before they started to charge for checked baggage.That one is a furphy.

 

[Flying Fox]

Surely it would be better to control how much hand luggage people carry on vs larger bins?

No matter how large the bins become on a commercial aircraft, there will always be a struggle for space as people will naturally try and stretch the limits of their allowances.

 

[straitman]

Surely it would be better to control how much hand luggage people carry on vs larger bins?

No matter how large the bins become on a commercial aircraft, there will always be a struggle for space as people will naturally try and stretch the limits of their allowances.

.... or maybe do a bit of both :!:

 

[medhead]

Totally - I find it bizzarre that my rollaboard can go end on in a 73x but has to go sideways in a 763...

It is also about orientation even if the thing is wheels in. Here is my carry on bag:

View attachment 6354

How that is currently sat on the floor is a natural way to place that bag down. But it doesn't readily fit in a 737 overhead in that orientation, so I have to stow it with the green side down. This creates wasted volume, that could be avoided if the overhead was slightly taller. Extend that to wheelie bags more could fit, if they could be placed on their long, narrow side instead of the long, wide side. One could get 3 wheelies into the space of 2.

Doesn't help on a 767....


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[serfty]

It is also about orientation even if the thing is wheels in. Here is my carry on bag:

View attachment 6354 ...

Note the bins on the newer 777, 388, 330's have enough hight to all take that bag standing 'au natural'.

They'll also take the standard 115cm rollaboards on their sides.

 

[simongr]

Same as the 73x - my wheelie (which I actually think is 45in rather than the allowed 41) goes on its side in the 73x.

 

[medhead]

The Air Boss is nominally a 105cm bag and i did fudge a bit in saying it doesn't readily go in on it's side. It will do so with a bit of effort and care, time that I don't like to take when there is a line of people waiting to board. I also had the experience of someone rearranging my bag so it was standing up (so to speak) a fair bit more forcibly than I would I discovered later that one of the items in the bag had de-assembled itself. Bit of a click got it back together without problem, but I guess it was unchecked in the overhead.

My wheelie, also 105cm, won't go on its side at all. Guess I make bad luggage choices.

All this is solely 737 related.

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