The US regional airline Skywest will equip the Embraer 175s that fly on behalf of United Airlines with new overhead compartments. This should enable around 80 percent more storage space to be available.

A major shortcoming of the Embraer E1 series is the fact that the overhead bins are comparatively small. This is also because the series was developed at a time when included checked baggage was still the industry standard and the amount of hand luggage was kept within strict limits. That has now changed and is sometimes problematic for both airlines and their passengers. Dropping off in front of the plane is not only time-consuming, but also costs airlines additional money.

Skywest operates the Embraer 175 aircraft on behalf of United Airlines with 76 seats. There are always bottlenecks in the overhead bins. This is now being countered by equipping a total of 2024 units of this type with larger luggage compartments by the end of 50. It should then be possible to stow 29 additional pieces of hand luggage.

According to their own information, they are the first carrier in the world to take this step. In a media statement, United Airlines writes, among other things, that it is assumed that around one million passengers per year will no longer have to hand in their hand luggage in front of the plane.