Originally Posted by
A Squared
That's not unlike the problem I saw the first few times I flew on an Airbus. It's been long enough that I don't really recall what type or what airline, but on boarding there were no row numbers visible as I was walking down the aisle. For whatever reason, the row and seat numbers were labeled on this little octagonal or hexagonal projection whcih projected down from the bottom of the overhead, near the reading lights and F/A call buttons. I'm of average height and had to duck down to read the numbers, they weren't visible from a normal upright stance in the aisle. I remember thinking that it was kind of a stupid design. I guess other people thought so as I haven't seen that particular "feature" in a decade or 2. Interesting to see that Boeing has managed to essentially duplicate the problem, in their own special way.
Boeing has switched to the "drop down" style overhead bins because it is a more efficient design that provides about 50% greater bin volume. Can't speak for Europe, but in the USA passengers are taking more and more luggage aboard as "carry-on" rather then "checked" baggage (especially when carriers charge extra for checked baggage), so bin volume is very important to the passengers. The down side is that seating numbers are difficult to see during boarding when the bins are open and down.