OOPS! Sorry! Duh...I would go with what the BA 'insider' suggested. Open to status/CIV pax.

Which means - not me!

That does bring up a question - There has been a bit of back and forth about the angle of the seat in relationship to the sides of the aircraft. First we had the herringbone design where sets faced inwards. Then for a while the airlines started reversing the trend - outward facing seats like the old first class on BA. But now we seem to be swinging back to either directly forward facing seats or inward facing seats again. How do other people feel about the seat - does it matter which way it faces? Do you prefer to have the window at your side or back, or ahead of you for easier viewing?

I hate the AC/NZ/VS/old CX inwards-facing J seat. I like the seats angled away from other people, preferably out to the window.

true, this, indeed! I logged 140+ hours (approx 50 flights) as Test Director on the #4 767-200, and more 707/727/727/747 test flights than I can count as an analysis engineer where I had to stand in the cockpit for anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to copy gauge readings

there were also two commercial trips where I chatted with the flight crew during boarding (of course mentioning that I worked for Boeing Flight Test at the time) and was invited to join them (MEX-ACA on a Mexicana 727-200 -- I was actually able to stumble through most of the conversation in what I remembered of my four years of high-school Spanish! -- and MEX-IAH on a Pan Am L-1011-500)

The only problem I've seen with airlines not wanting you to look out the window is if it's light outside and people want to sleep in the plane. Open your shade and you might as well flash a spotlight around the cabin.

Well, that does tend to be a large percentage of the time one would be able to look out the window on a long distance trans-oceanic flight. I wish they would offer a window and cave option in first class.

Like the OP, I had always wanted to fly in the front row of a 747. I did get my chance recently on a KLM 747 and found the view to be great - a little forward looking and lots of space. It's not like the cockpit but I think it was the best seat in the house.

Typically it would be in the morning on an eastbound trans-Atlantic or trans-Pacific flight where people are sleeping. During those times it is considered rude to open one's shade.

On the other hand, I've often flown westbound between Europe and the States or the States and Asia where the flights usually depart midday and on those flights most people are awake anyway. If they want their window shades down, it's usually so they can see their laptop or seatback screens better. I'm a lot more likely to leave my window shade up during those times. After all, the windows are there so you can look outside and what better and less obtrusive time to do so than the middle of the day when most people are awake?

The one thing that irks me the most when I'm in an aisle seat or middle seat in Y is a window nazi (person who won't ever open the windows).

But on EK237 DXB-BOS which departed at 8:50 AM and landed at 2:15 PM (always in daylight), not a single shade was open. Quite a pity when a 77L's wing is so beautiful. :(

Ryanair will try to charge people for OPENING the window seat when people are already paying extra for a window which is otherwise cramped...

Shh. Don't want to give them any more ideas.

I've done it, Northwest 747-400 JFK-AMS in 2001. Frankly, it wasn't that much of a forward facing view but it was pretty cool to say I've done it.

That said, it sure beat 1A in any other plane

Done it in CX First BOM-HKG and LH Business JFK-FRA. Was a childhood dream! Loved the experience...the space is phenomenal and on LH, was technically sitting AHEAD of the cockpit :-)

Isn't that why they usually provide eye shades?