Are they hear to stay? I ask myself was it this way 10 years ago? I mean on pretty much every flight during the daytime everyone's shade is shut. I find this very annoying as it's daytime. The F cabin 100% shut, Y probably 90% shut.

With the presence of screens everywhere and the presence of glossy screens in the majority, people definitely keep the cabin darker then before. A decade ago, you either had a crappy screen for IFE or you read a book, magazine, socialized or looked out.

I keep my window up for taxi, takeoff and landing and when it doesn't have direct sun blasting in. I love airplanes and specifically sit in a window to be able to have the ability to look out.

Probably answers my question right there.

And to that end, when the FA orders you to close it on an international flight (one departing 11am/arriving 2 pm wherein sleeping is a poor idea for time zone adjustment) - I obey (maybe leaving a crack or so lol) but wonder what might result if I refused...

What's the stupidest, least substantive thing you can complain about?

If it's a day time flight, and you want light, sit in the window and open the shade. Otherwise: turn on the reading light.

It's not stupid nor least substantive either. It's a legitimate question I know other FT'ers have probably wondered flying these days.

I switched from being an aisle guy to a window guy precisely because of this. Nothing more depressing than being shut in a dark aluminum tube for a few hours in the middle of the day.

Flew in Flagship First last week from LHR to DFW. I left the shades up on two of my three windows so I could see western England as well as southern Ireland. No admonishment from the flight attendants. However, once over the north Atlantic, I did voluntarily lower the shades.

One hopes the dark cabins are here to stay. It makes it much harder to see the IFE screens, and sleep...even with eye masks...for this night shifter.

I always refuse this nonsense on westbound daytime TATL flights, especially when they try to get you to close the shades rights after takeoff. I just politely say that I'd prefer to leave it open for a while and go about my business, never an issue.

FWIW, I do find the ex-US crews to PHL/CLT to be a bit more "proactive" in trying to get all the shades closed on the daytime TATL flights than the ex-AA crews.

Because people are no longer interested in the world around them but only what their screen is showing. I find it fascinating that people would rather look at some garbage FB post then get a view of the skyline of Manhattan or other notable places.

I can stare out the window for hours. To this day I find looking out the window at the ground below, physical/geographical landscape, weather/tx, occasional planes that go by, etc just fascinating. My neck often hurts after a while but that's the price I pay for enjoyment.

For example approaching the Irish or Welsh coast with the sunrise is amazing....watching the Caribbean underneath me we approach Cancun is beautiful. I can go on and on. Leave the iphone for landing.

An interesting contrast on my last trip. The way back, on AA day flight JFK/LHR in W, completely dark all the way. And the reading lights in the 772 are fairly useless, as they were set up for the old 2-5-2 Y seating. Outbound BA LGW/JFK in J, bright daylight all the way, and it appeared similarly in all cabins. It helps probably that BA has a rule about shades open for take-off and landing.

Agreed. I was on a morning CMH-CLT recently and was probably one of three (at most) windows that didn't have the shade closed on the entire plane. I couldn't recall when this started happening, but I was just kind of amazed.

I get that most people are pretty blas� about the "magic" of flight, but come on... you don't even want to be able to glance outside a little bit? To each their own, I guess.

Yep.

I get quite unnerved when I am in a cabin with all the shades down, especially at takeoff and landing and especially on narrowbodies. It's just an overwhelming sensation of vertigo. I don't know how other people don't have the same issues.

And F is definitely titled more towards the 'all shades closed' flyers. I was asked twice this year to lower my shade while sitting in F by the person in the aisle due to 'screen glare'. I think in all my 200 trips in Y, I was only asked once by another passenger if I could lower my shade. Both times, I told them I would lower it to within a couple inches at cruising altitude and they seemed to be satisfied enough with that. And I am comfortable with just a couple inches at cruising at light, but, I make sure to disrupt them and use the bathroom one extra time just to even out the score. (okay, I don't make a point of it, but if they feel like taking away my benefit of the window, then I don't feel bad about making them accommodate me wanting to use the restroom).