Travelers on Lufthansa’s A320s will soon find more overhead bin space as the planes get a refit with a new Airbus overhead bin that can hold 8 carry-ons where the old ones took 5.
The ‘L’ bin will be installed starting in January on 38 of the airlines planes, with each plane taking 3-5 days for the refit.
The magic is that the shape of the new bins allows rollaboard-style suitcases to be stored on their sides rather than being laid on their front or back. Similar bins exist on a number of other planes but this is a first for the A320s.
The L bin is smaller than the XL Airbus announced a few years ago, but holds the same number of bags; its other advantage is that it can be installed quickly re-using many of the parts of the original bin, while the XL requires complete removal and new ceiling panels as well. For cost-conscious airlines, the L is likely to be a big seller.
