coxm

Opposite scenario,

I've been seated window, enjoying the sun and view...however someone sitting in the middle has demanded (requested, hard to remember now) and enlisted the crew to force me to lower the window shade because the sun was blinding them.

To the OPs point, I should have just kept it up and enjoyed the view and told the requestor that the sun was good for him.

rapidex

Because there are not enough middle E seats for your purposes.

LTN Phobia

I do that all the time. I can sleep in broad daylight because I'm generally sleep-deprived enough not to care about that too much, so the window shades issues aren't so bad for me (the only issue is when people repeatedly open and close it, in which case it tends to wake me up) but some people are a lot more sensitive, and conversely I would happily eat with just the smallest light on with the window shades closed if I there are people sleeping anywhere near me.

I share that sentiment on so many different levels...

bigjono

SQTraveller

I understand your predicament, but at the same time there are those of us who don't like have a window shade open even though it is daylight outside.

Personally I don't like the shades open as it interferes with my screen. This is especially the case with the awful BA IFE. I pretty much always choose an aisle seat so never have the right to control the shade of my neighbour

c1223

I think OP should also consider that some people choose the window seat for the view during take-off and landing. In fact, it has nothing to do with the control of the window blind. However, when the sun glares through the window, even if it doesn't affect my IFE, I am inclined to close the blind. This is primarily due to comfort in terms of heat (you'd be surprised how "hot" the sun can be at that altitude) and glare (not on my screen but rather in my eyes).

The crux of all of this is that you are seriously unfortunate not to have got a window seat and this situation is probably not one that commonly occurs on BA. I'd also like to re-iterate the points made by several above about AA taking control of the blinds. This time you were unlucky, but next time you'll be in the window seat and you can do what you want. As others have said, if the BA CC try to centrally lock out the blinds, they will unlock your blind for you as centrally locking them isn't standard procedure.

snaxmuppet

I wondered if this was a troll. It did sound like a troll as it is a strange thing to moan about. But troll or not, it is interesting for me to get people's views on the matter.

IAMORGAN

xPositor

I've been on a number of daytime long haul flights on BA where the CC come around and ask for the blinds to be closed post-dinner. Me, the same as someone up-thread, I prefer them static - either open or closed.

:D!

An Air Canada FA once claimed that all blinds had to be closed during cruising because of "radiation". (It was a daytime flight)

Misco60

To be fair, I think that having the sun shining directly in your face is a valid reason to request (though, perhaps, not to demand) that the window blind be closed.

nancypants

kaka

IAN-UK

This! Towards the end of any short, east-bound night there's always someone who takes quick peaks out of his/her window every five minutes or so.

Please leave the blind up and enjoy the cloudscape over the Bay of Bengal, or keep it closed and sleep/read/doze.

Lost-in-Space

So, to help my own understanding, if I may try to recap various options.

The airline, via its staff, impose rules: Shutters up during daylight hours, shutters down during night-time: Draconian, but kind of logical, a somewhat semi-fascist approach. Or, shutters down during daylight hours, shutters up during night-time: Draconian, somewhat illogical, a kind of socialist not-based-on-reality approach.

Fly private, an Uber-capitalist (pun intended) approach.

Dim all windows to half-light at all times – a wishy-washy liberal approach.

Those seated in window seats have full control to do what ever they want – a kind of First Passed The Post approach, it is what it is, you get what you get.

On boarding the crew runs a referendum to see what people want*. 52% want them closed, 48% want them open. Then the crew can’t decide exactly when to put the shutters down. And because some pax didn’t vote, only 37% of the eligible voters actually wanted the shutters down. It ends up with no-one happy. I can’t think of an analogy here.
*Of course the referendum has to fully replace the pre-flight drinks service, so another long thread will start.

One person want them up, the rest would just like the plane to get going and then have some peace and quiet. The one person starts a lengthy and costly appeals process that delays everything. We’ll call this AWPR* (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) approach: the courts putting process before logic. *Residents of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire will know this one.

Take all the shutters off completely, no light control at all, it's badly supported and it really bothers people – this is pared-down-until-it’s-frankly-pointless engineering. Let’s call it the Rover 25 approach.

Weld the shutters shut, or better still have no windows on the plane at all – a kind of let’s build something that initially looks like a good idea approach, and the pax seem to like it, but eventually it doesn’t really work out. Lets call it the A380 approach.

An online auction is run via the IFE system, the highest bidder (cash or Avios) decides for the whole cabin. We’ll call this the Ryanair/Christies approach, and I bet that’s the first time those two businesses have been linked.

One person stands up in the middle of the cabin, demands Build-Those-Shutters, fires most of the cabin crew, rambles incessantly about Fake Booze, says he never ever flew Aeroflot and Make BA Great Again. Once more, I can’t think of an analogy here.