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, 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. More passengers are bringing carry-ons, which are growing in size. Bins fill up before everyone has reached their seat. Travelers fight physics and one another to shove one more bag overhead, resulting in 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. Airlines often waive bag fees when luggage can't fit overhead and must be checked at the gate. And business travelers, who generate most of the industry's revenue, are often exempt from baggage fees anyway. Airlines hope bigger bins won't encourage fliers to bring larger bags, and are trying to crack down before luggage makes it into the cabin. Boeing wants its new planes to have the right bins for all that stuff. The company is engineering its bins to be a better fit for a standard roll-aboard bag. That's a change from the past. Designers used to focus on maximizing cubic inches. But it wasn't necessarily a good fit for actual carry-on luggage, says Kent Craver, Boeing's cabin expert. In designing bins on its new 787, Boeing dispatched workers to Costco and other stores to buy roll-aboard bags to make sure they would fit. The 787-8 holds 10 percent more carry-on bags than the larger 777, even though the volume inside the bins is about the same. For passengers, “volume doesn't really matter. It's whether or not my bag fits,” Craver says.
