Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave

Did you ask them to unlock the windows? Were these day or night flights?

It's my experience that on night flights they do switch the windows to darkness, particularly going to Asia when typically it will be dark anyway when passengers fall asleep - and of course that night time may only last a few hours so there is a danger of a premature dawn if this wasn't done. But either the windows are left unlocked after that operation, or a quick word with a cabin crew member will re-enable the windows. On day flights the windows tend to be left unlocked centrally.