Eye mask =P

Slight TD:

Billy Connolly asked in one routine why those a/c which had windows in the toilet/restrooms always fitted obscured glass: "will there be some pevert flying alongside the aircraft wanting to see in ?"

Good question.......

How's this for a sensible compromise?, I fly for an airline in the UK and it's quite simple, close the blinds where people are sleeping and there are vacant window seats, and let the fare paying window seat guests that are awake choose for themselves. Why upset your customers by being inflexible over it?

Incidentally I will challenge any cabin crew member over this if I am flying on a ticket I paid for myself, but generally I will only crack open the lower part of the blind unless it is a normal daytime flight.

Was on a trans-atlantic flight last year, going East to West. About half-way across, the stewardesses take a walk down the aisle, asking pax to close the blinds. We're sat in Business-class, me at the aisle seat and mate by the window. We're both keeping ourselves busy marvelling at how beautiful Greenland is on a clear day, with icebergs floating down fjords, the snowcapped mountains - those of you who've been there will understand.

Anyway, hostie ask my mate to lower blind, to which he politely says "I'd rather not, we're really enjoying the view". Hostie insists he lowers the blind, mate says 'I'd rather not". Hosties snaps and tell him to lower the blinds for the comfort of other passengers "who are trying to sleep" to which I reply "well then they're a bunch of idiots; nobody should sleep on a westbound unless they wish to suffer from jetlag for days". It should be noted, this was business class and the cabin was full of seasoned travellers. When I stood up to visit the loo about 1/2 hour later, not a single soul was napping.

The blinds stayed up but I suppose we very much made the stewardessess' shyte list.

It's an airliner; it's not a cinema and it's not your bedroom.

Public transport involves being in close proximity to members of the public some of whom will doubtless annoy you. If you want to control the window shade, select a window seat.

It isn't all about you. :=

If you are in a window seat apparently it is.

It happened to me, flying BA back from HKG comes to mind. Actually most of the crew wern't too bothered but one FA was being difficult. I compromised left the blind slightly up, put my hands around my head to act as a shield... and continued looking out of the window. Isn't that why you select a window seat?

That said direct sunlight can be very powerful and offputting. I always try & get a window seat on the other side to the shining sun as you can see better (I'm obviously a POSH type). I seem to remember from my youth that the old BEA tridents had both full blinds & also a filter that reduced the intensity of light. Can anyone confirm this? If so perhaps they should be re-introduced. Does anyone have experience of flying Ryanair which I believe have removed their blinds? I think that I would find it offputting to give the sun shining directly in.

I read somwehere that the Boeing 787 may have windows where the passenger can control the level of level of light allowed through which would be a good thing, but that this can be overridden by the crew - which could be a very bad thing!

I am of the school that believes that the view outside the window is the best form of IFE followed by the moving map. As an aside, shouldn't all IFE systems include cameras looking forward & down as I know that Emirates has. Great for a non-window seat, but it would need to be very HD to rival a window view.

I'm SOPH as I always take the sunny side of the a/c! :} I also take my sunglasses with me so that I can enjoy the view. :cool:

I recall one flight to HKG (I think) when the CC walked down the aisle with a long handled pole and closed the blinds of those that were sleeping by reaching over them. I was awake (natch) and prevented her from touching mine. I recall that I was in Y and determined to see as much of the landscape as I could. If this WAS the time I was doing a contract in HKG, then it was VS.

Next year, I am hoping to go to NZ for the first time and even if I go West-about, I shall have the blind open on the sunny side of the plane.

I fly long haul overnights often. Eye mask on, earplugs in and then sleep till someone shakes me before landing. By that time the blinds have been up for ages and everyone else has had breakfast and I haven't noticed a thing.

So no need to get precious about those who want a decent view.

Hi Juan

It may not be the law that dictates window blind setting for take off and landing but it most definitely is a VS requirement to have blinds up for t/o and landing.

As previously mentioned the reason is for the crew to easily have a full view of what is going on outside the aircraft with one glance, 'in the unlikely event' as well as a means for your eyes to adjust to outside daylight conditions. The very same reason cabin lights are dimmed for t/o or landing in the hours of darkness.

Whilst it is not necessarily the law, it is the airline's safety requirement and therefore to refuse would go against the Air Navigation Order. The Captain has the final say on board any aircraft and if the blind setting is within the airline's procedures then he would request all blinds up for t/o and landing without a doubt.

No ifs or buts or unless? Not even if it's disturbing some other pax who's trying to get some rest and has the sun shining directly on his/her face?
Possibly a little inconsiderate?

As others have pointed out, people wishing to sleep can use masks (and ear plugs) - I know I do on long haul.

I certainly wouldn't expect another passenger to miss out on a fab view, because I need to rest.

That would be extremely selfish behaviour IMHO.

VsFsm_Oct1990

It may well be a VS SOP it is not a BA one. I happen to think it is a smart thing to do, but then I think that there are a lot of smart safety related things that people don't do.

You are correct in your analysis wrt the ANO and the Captain's authority. What is more difficult is when the CC decide to tell you to do it for take-off and landing and it is not a company SOP - at this stage you have no way of knowing whether it has come down from the captain and is therefore a legal command or whether the CC on the day have had an idea and it then has no legal authority. Either way I guess it is easier to comply than potentially act in a criminal fashion, ignorance is no defence in English law.

Tightslot

You got it spot on about BA, the "not invented here" syndrome is very much alive and well at BA. As far as management are concerned they are the only ones who know anything about aviation. Just ask an Airbus pilot about the autothrottle!

You pay for the window seat, you have control over the window-blind, in my opinion. Apart from T/O and Landing of course where it should be open for reasons discussed before.

Don't complain and make the poor window seat people who paid to look out the window at the beautiful landforms and admire the engineering of the aircraft's powerplant/wing suffer and sit in darkness when the problem can be solved so easily:

a) Eyemask. Its either given away free in an amenity pack or you can get one for a couple of pounds, tops.

b) Improvise! If you don't have a) then you are bound to still have a jacket/sweatshirt/hoodie that you could use to cover your head/eyes.

In that case you're not really very much in need of rest. Or the other pax is the one being selfish.


OK. I give in, let's reserve all the window seats for six year olds who have never seen the ground (or flown) before.

I always think of this when I'm at one FL350 crossing the snowcapped mountains with not a trace of human civilisation from horizon to horizon. Then I turn and see my fellow men eating, farting, scratching and watching entertaining pictures on the back of a seat. It's usually at this pint that someone demands that I shut the blind....

No wonder people think meat comes from Tesco (!)

Better still, if you want darkness you can travel in the cargo hold :ok:

No screaming kids there too.

Rwy in Sight

Hey, I already said I give in.