Why user testing matters!

This morning I boarded a Delta flight on an Airbus A321, hung my jacket, stowed my briefcase and found a seemingly safe place for my hat in an overhead bin corner. Oddly, the bin took a couple of pushes and shoves to close, but I thought nothing of it, until I fetched my hat back at the end of the flight, whereupon I found a hole punched right through it by the latch mechanism, see photo.

As far as I can tell, with the flight attendant corroborating, this overhead bin design is unique to the Airbus A321s in Delta’s fleet. There is no side protection, hence any jacket, sweater or soft object that projects over what little bin edge there is will either jam it, thus slowing down boarding as passengers search for the invisible blockages, be squished or engage the latch and end up torn or perforated. All sorts of soft goods are at risk and I’m glad I did not lose a favorite blazer.