Originally Posted by
celle
I have yet to take a flight where it was permitted to keep the window shades closed during landing and takeoff.
Making sure that the shades are open has always been part of the routine prior to landing.
North American airlines don't seem to care, I can't recall the last time they asked us to open or close shades for landing (but all the European ones do I think). Some of them do dim the cabin lights for night landings.