Overhead bin
The lockable stowage above the seats; crew close and check every one before the cabin is secure, and it is where boarding is won or lost.
Definition
Overhead bins are the hinged stowage compartments running along both sides of the cabin above the seats, placarded for carry-on bags up to a stated weight. Older aircraft carried open hat racks; current narrow-bodies fit larger pivot bins that take a roller bag on its side. Bins must be closed and latched before taxi, and their contents are a common source of injury when they are opened after a hard landing or in turbulence.
What it means for you
Boarding time is mostly bin time. A good crew member watches the bins fill from the front, redirects bags before the last rows arrive and knows when to call for gate-checking; a bad one discovers ten bags with no home at the door-closing call. Lifting heavy bags into bins is also a leading cause of shoulder and back injury among crew, which is why most airlines forbid you from lifting a passenger's bag and train you to guide rather than hoist.
In practice
On a full 189-seat Ryanair 737 with a paid-bag policy, the bins are a managed resource: over-quota bags are tagged at the gate and crew count the remaining spaces as boarding progresses.
Related terms
4 terms- BoardingFlight operationsThe period from the first passenger stepping aboard until the door closes — the busiest and, historically, least paid part of the job.
- Cabin secureSafety & trainingThe crew's confirmation to the flight deck that the cabin is ready for take-off or landing: seatbelts, galleys, exits and crew seated.
- Cabin checkSafety & trainingThe crew's inspections of the cabin: equipment and security before boarding, walk-throughs in flight, a sweep after landing.
- TurnaroundRoster & schedulingThe ground time between an aircraft's arrival and its next departure, and by extension a duty that goes out and comes straight back.