There are many retrofits that can help extend the interior life of an aircraft – but one that people might not think about is the Overhead bin.
And maybe, we should.
At Aircraft Interiors Expo, Airbus Services showed off a mixed interior of a cabin that can go through various changes as part of a refit cycle. Spot the difference if you can…
In this layout, the forward section is the classic interior, with a smaller overhead bin and classic seats. Looking towards the right, we seat the larger overhead bin (which Airbus calls the Airspace L Bins, which EFW manufactures) and Expliseat Seats.
We’re interested in the overhead bin in this case – and you can see it’s a massive improvement over the current shelf bin currently installed on the Airbus A320 platform – it offers 60% greater space than the existing bin.
And with airlines trying to get people to fill the overhead bins, rather than them checking a bag – or even restricting overhead bin space, that’s a big uplift in space.
How long do they take to install?
This is the beautiful thing about this sort of installation – a refit of these bins to an existing Airbus A320 family aircraft will take between 3 and 5 days, with minimal need for other modifications to deploy them.
Who’s picked up this refit so far?
Airbus is working with EFW to deploy these. Lufthansa Group was first out of the gate to install on 38 Airbus A320 family aircraft, with SWISS following behind at AIX 2024
The downside?
There’s only one small downside. Space on an aircraft isn’t free – if you take space from one place, it’s gone. As you can see the bins are slightly deeper and lower – thus, you might need to watch your head.
That’s on top of taking your aircraft out of service for a refit.
Lots of possibilities
As airlines continue with this obsession for unbundling, it has transferred the pressure of baggage unloading from the belly of the aircraft to the self-loading freight.
And those overhead bins fill up quickly – especially on older aircraft where the overhead bins aren’t large. This leads to the classic luggage jenga and hand luggage ending up in the belly of the aircraft – all contributing to late take-offs and delayed landings.
Some airlines have addressed this by simply charging for anything larger than a laptop bag or a small rucksack – and banning passengers from putting their items in the overhead bin
As airlines continue to sweat their assets further (be it through ownership, extended leases or the long wait for replacement aircraft), they’re going to need to address this requirement.
If viewed as part of a larger refit programme (like Swiss and Lufthansa have done), this could offer long-term benefits of keeping older aircraft on hand and up to date, whilst offering a passenger experience equivalent to new aircraft.
Which depending on how long that aircraft will remain in service – could really shift the balance of the scales.
Images, Economy Class and Beyond.
Economy Class and Beyond was a guest of Airbus at Aircraft Interiors Expo
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