B737-900
Flight Attendant Current
Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Illness / Injury
Equipment / Tooling
This aircraft is the new one that some roller bags fit on their sides. Because more bags are fitting into the overhead; it is very; very heavy to lift and close. We were trying to get them closed as quickly as possible as we were at departure time. One of the agents was helping us close them and even passengers helped as we couldn't close them by ourselves. It takes two people to close a full one. Two of my coworkers were complaining about hurting after the first flight and will probably be filing injury reports. A female passenger had opened one to grab some things out and I could see her struggling to close it. She also said it was very heavy for her after she closed it. The bags are supposed to go towards the back of the bin so the pivot mechanism will work and help close the bin; but we kept pushing the bags towards the back and they kept coming forward. So we were having to lift the entire weight of the bin. Also; a few people bumped their heads on the bins as they were deplaning; but when I asked them if they were okay; no one seemed to have any injuries.[I] suggest going back to the original bins that are simply a lid being closed like we have on [some of our older 737s].
Flight Attendant describes new larger overhead bins are harder to close due to the larger amount of weight they are designed to carry.