Window dimming on the 787
 

Many comments read but no definitive answer on the topic of window dimming on the 787s so I’m going to ask the question.

Ive got a choice of A350 or 787-10 on a day flight to the US. 787 will be ruled out immediately if the windows are dimmed for the duration of the flight. I want to be in control of whether I have daylight or not.

Does anyone know what the policy is regarding control of daylight on the westbound day flights?

The policy is that it's under the control of the passenger. If the crew dim over all windows, then they should then release the hold and thus allow you to clear the shade. There are occasional reports of cabin crew not doing this, but I've never experienced it and I've got a 3 digit number of flights on BA's 787s, so I think it's a sub 1% chance. I can imagine longer trips (LAX/SFO/SAN) this may be a greater risk.

The B787 is great, the windows are big and if dimmed and locked report it to the SCCM.

I asked a Cabin Crew friend and s/he said this :

Moderator Note - I have removed the picture of a text exchange under FT Rule 19:

"The posting or otherwise sharing of a private communication, such as an email or private message without the author's permission, whether on FlyerTalk or elsewhere, is not permitted."

Should the OP believe the author (ie the other person in the conversation) has given permission to post the message on FT, then just drop one of the moderators a PM and we will reinstate.

aks120
Moderator: BAEC Forum

Every 787 flight I’ve been on, BA and QR, the windows have been dimmed by the crew. I won’t book 787 flights and my next trip to SIN will be on an A380, despite the potential for delays.

Whatever the policies, the crew cannot do this to you on the A350 and it's just as nice or better for noise, IFE, cabin altitude, etc, as the 787 so for me the choice would be clear: Airbus.

Even if you do want the window obscured, the 787 has two significant problems: the darkest setting isn't actually very dark, and it doesn't block heat well so you can end up very warm on the inside of a 787 window set to dark, far warmer than with an equivalent solid sliding window blind.

I flew to Newark on the 27th on a 787-10….no issues at all with having the windows as I wanted them.

Invariably, crew will dim the windows. Invariably too, you should be able to override this though you may face - in no particular order - crew trying to override your override, other passengers giving you evil look, the system being slow to respond or giving you various unappealing shades of grey, etc.

Personally, I'm not a big fan of the 787. The air quality is definitely better than on the 777/other old aircrafts, but it is not a particularly silent aircraft (350 and 380 are both much better on that front), and layout tends to feel a little bit cramped in most cabins (that is particularly the case in Y on the 788, but I do think that even the J cabin feels more cramped than other old CW layouts. Don't take me wrong, it is not horrible or anything, but just not among my favourites.

The windows were locked dim on my recent 787 flight to SIN. Fortunately managed to get the crew to unlock them but it is clearly something that happens.

How can something be against the policy and yet happen on - seemingly - so many flights? Is there no quality control at BA when their employees seemingly do whatever they want?

They have definitely locked out the windows before for me… and the SCCM knew about it! On some routes it seems to reduce the ‘neediness’ of some pax, apparently……

I can unlock in 80% of the time.

You need to be prepared though for grumpy views of your fellow pax as you are initially considered to be a rule breaker, for whatever reasons.

If flying on AA, one can prepare for critical comments of FAs as a bright (especially Y) cabin might cause more work distracting them from reading the People Magazine.

Me too, I find the A350 much quieter than the 787 and not just engine noise, specifically it has a more damped / insulated feeling.

I would challenge the use of "so many", though maybe your experiences have been different to mine. However while the OP asked about USA flights, I note several references above to SIN - that is kind of different since these flight departs LHR around 20:00-21:00 hrs, with the 787 being on the later service. That is 13 hours long, arriving around 17:00 hrs into SIN, so it's a bit of hybrid with a substantial period - 7 hours or so - of darkness. So for much of the flight it doesn't matter and then there's a debate to be had as to whether / when to undim, which at most affects the last 5 hours or so.