Austrian Airlines is retrofitting its Airbus A320-family fleet with new overhead bin doors to increase passenger luggage space in the cabin.
Composites manufacturer FACC says the reshaped door flaps enable stowage of five cases, rather than three, and also bring a weight saving.
"Weight has been reduced by 15kg [33lb] per A320 and 20kg per A321 as a result of intelligent design improvements and the use of lighter materials," says FACC.
The Austrian manufacturer supplies overhead bins to Airbus for both standard cabins and the new Airspace ones.
FACC's redesigned overhead bin doors are available for A380s as well as A320-family jets.
FACC
Lufthansa-owned Austrian is the launch customer for the modification and has fitted three A320s with the equipment since February. FACC says the carrier intends to upgrade 36 aircraft.
Cirium's Fleets Analyzer shows that Austrian operates 35 narrowbodies today – 22 A320s, seven A319s and six A321s.
Installation of the overhead bin doors takes 7-9h and has been conducted by both Austrian's in-house technical department and external maintenance providers, FACC notes.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
