Korean low-cost carrier Jin Air has completed the installation of mirrors in the overhead baggage bins of its 22-strong fleet of Boeing 737-800 and 900 aircraft. The mirrors have been installed as an attempt by the company to cut its cabin maintenance costs and to facilitate the stowage of customers’ carry-on bags, speeding up turnaround times.
The Jeju-based company said it ordered the work to be carried out after finding it was spending excessive amounts of money on the maintenance of seats along the aisles of its aircraft. This was a direct result of passengers standing on the seat cushions to see whether there was any space inside the overhead bin in which to stow their baggage. The practice also carries a safety risk to the passengers themselves as well as those around them, said the carrier.
The airline hopes that by installing mirrors on the underside of the top panels of the overhead bin compartments, passengers will be easily able to see whether there is any space remaining in the bin when standing in the aisle of the aircraft.
Meanwhile, other airlines that have installed the Komy mirrors have also reported that the mirrors can also assist cabin crew in detecting suspicious objects in the cabin before and after boarding at an early stage.
As a result of the agreement between Komy and Jin Air, Komy received an order to install the mirrors on the carrier’s 22 Boeing 737NG series aircraft and four 777s. Jin Air began to install the mirror in November 2023 and completed the process in February 2024.
Jin Air is a low-cost carrier operating in Asia and operates a fleet of 28 aircraft in total. The carrier’s fleet is made up of 19 Boeing 737-800s, three 737-900s, two 737 MAX 8s, as well as four widebodied 777-200ERs that operate in a high-density 393-seat two-class configuration. The latter have also been earmarked to have the Komy mirrors installed – work which will begin now that the 737NG fleet has been completed.
