European airline introduces new plane feature – and it’s good news for hand-luggage-only travellers
A MAJOR European airline is bringing in a new plane feature – and hand-luggage-only travellers are going to be thrilled.
Spain’s flag carrier Iberia will be second airline to fit a new type of overhead bin which can hold 60 per cent more baggage compared to the standard bins currently fitted on its Airbus A320 fleet.
Iberia and aircraft manufacturer Airbus inked the deal last month after the new design can be retrofitted on older aircraft.
Iberia is currently taking delivery of brand new A320-series aircraft which are already fitted with the so-called XL bins.
Due to the bigger bins, this will allow passengers to bring a large piece of hand luggage onboard.
However, retrofitting the XL bins to older planes will prove to be costly and time-consuming.
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Due to these factors, Airbus has created the Large Bin, known as the ‘L bin’, which has 30 per cent fewer parts in the retrofit compared to the XL bin as it reuses much the existing cabin parts.
While the L bin is slightly smaller than the XL bin it can still hold eight large carryons per bin – which is three times larger than the older version.
Iberia has earmarked the refit process to begin in early 2025, as planes are required to go into the hangar for standard maintenance.
Each retrofit is expected to take between three to five days.
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While the move will be costly, Iberia is thought to be making the move as it tries to distance itself from the low-cost carriers who increasingly restrict how much hand luggage can be taken onboard.
The L bin uses significantly fewer parts that could break and don’t need cabin crew to push shut weight-laden bins, compared to other retrofit options.
Charbel Youzkatli, Airbus’ head of commercial services for Europe, said: “The L Bins are a game changer, enhancing passengers’ experience and streamlining cabin crew workflow.
“We are very happy to see the L Bin being part of Iberia’s unwavering quest of excellence and punctuality.”
So far, Lufthansa is the only other airline to have opted for the L bin retrofit and will also start installing them in 2025.
Lufthansa has said it will retrofit less than 30 per cent of its older Airbus A320 fleet with the new bins, although Iberia hasn’t confirmed how many aircraft it plans to fit out with the ‘game changer’ bins.
