You can always do a survey and change the assumed weights. This was done for the average weight of passengers a few years ago - not surprisingly it had increased significantly over the previous assumptions (particularly for some nationalities). I really hope that there is a high degree of over-engíneering in the design of overhead lockers - it is needed.
Stopping the scrummage that is boarding, well thats another matter (a hobbyhorse of mine). Airline commercial practises encourage it. How many times have you flown in the US and had airlines offering to check in surplus hand baggage for free?
Last edited by Peter47; 8th May 2018 at 11:15.