This shade open/shade close thing never ends ;)

But just a word of caution for those flying on CA. If the FA tells you to close the shade, just close the shade. One flight from PVG to HAM, a passenger insisted to keep the shade open after FA ask to close it. Next thing we knew the Cpt. came over and told pax in question, if refuse to follow FA instructions we are turning back with Chinese PAPF waiting.

The plane got real dark real fast. Btw I never voluntary flew CA again.

Leave the window shade up, look out the window to your heart's content, and argue away if challenged by an FA. You will win the argument.

I would have ordered her to get stuffed. If she hates her job so intensely, the onion letter I would have sent AA after the flight would have perhaps helped motivate her to seek different employment.

I know that the common wisdom is that US flight attendants enjoy near total immunity from consequences of extreme rudeness/unprofessionalism/passenger abuse. That's not entirely true. If enough complaint letters roll in about specific offenses by specific FAs, the company eventually takes notice.

Haha. My wife always want to look out the window and I am the movie guy, but I would never say anything or growl at her because I value my life. I just hope the flight attendant would come and tell her to close the blind. ;)

Quite often people like to get a window seat so they can use the time to reflect on past experiences (maybe the place/person/life they're leaving behind) or deeply conemplate something or try and solve a problem whilst looking out at the middle of nothing. Not to mention daydreaming. :D And also that natural scenery, whatever it may be, is visually appealing to our species. It actually affects the brain and calms you down, like certain music does.


Unfortunately you're not going to get any Vitamin D from the roll a commercial plane flies at. :p

I've generally skewed towards shades closed and I can say that (particularly if there's a bad angle from the sun and reflective cloud cover from below aggravating things) open shades can make things less-than-comfortable for a lot of folks, especially in the hour or two around sunrise.

With that said, I can see both sides of the argument and I'm also in the crowd that would very often prefer to see the IFE systems dumped out the back of the plane.

I always take an aisle set and will be at the window only if there is no other seat available. However, the few times I am at the window I like to look out even if there is nothing but clouds to see. If you can not deal with that, find yourself another seat.

DON

Some do hand out eye shades. From experience, I know DL, AF, VS, and EK do/did, and a few people use them.

My mom actually does suffer (yes, suffer) from claustrophobia. She always uses a window seat, and I use seatguru to make sure the window lines up with her seat. If she was forced to close the shade for more than a few minutes, her reaction would be a lot more disturbing to those around her than just light coming through the window.

I'm highly annoyed by the "laser beam" of light that comes in when the shade is up only an inch or so. It triggers migraines. My vomiting would also probably annoy my in-flight neighbors.

So, when we fly together, the shade stays up at least half way. I'm generally considerate of those around me, but not to the point of harming myself or my loved ones.

I was annoyed by this today on DL40 from SYD to LAX. We left shortly after noon, which is 5pm in Los Angeles, so daytime for both origin and destination, and anyone wanting to adjust as quickly as possible to the destination time zone would want to stay awake for the first several hours.

There were packets with eyeshades and earplugs on every seat and, after two reboots, the IFE was not up and running until almost two hours into our flight. But the second the flight attendants were up after take off they went through the cabin ordering (no exaggeration - they were not requesting and stood and waited to make sure every row complied) everyone to close their shades. What's the harm in letting someone gaze at the Pacific for a bit when there's nothing to watch on the IFE and lunch hasn't been served yet?

I didn't argue, and even unbuckled my seatbelt so I could reach over my sleeping children (so much for timing sleep to the destination!) to close the shade while the FA stood and waited and watched. They were otherwise nice and friendly but I could have done without that.

Was thinking about this yesterday during westbound TPAC on JAL LAX-KIX flight after the windows dimmed. The passengers were fed, watered and happily entertained ... was perhaps the most silent cabin I can recall in recent years, truly a tranquil and meditative experience. Huge contrast to the awful onward connection on packed B737-800 to Taipei with two yelping babies in front of me and a nonstop cougher to my left! 2+ hours of coughing. So I'll take the dimmed windows on a Dreamliner any day.

I'm kind of the same, only it's those who must have complete darkness to watch a film or sleep that I put in the emotional support poodle category.

I certainly don't put the lights out and blackout curtains up at home to watch a film on the TV during the day, and a bit of light has never stopped me from sleeping. I'm sure most other passengers will be similar, but put them on a plane and some change into some kind of gremlin.

Funny... when a nearby passenger immediately slams the window shade shut as soon as the wheels are up, I ascribe to their character a lack of imagination, probably a general dullness of character, sub-100 IQ, and a lack of a general human desire to know the world and their place in it.

I find these posts interesting being on the other side as crew... Main cabin paxs don't get amenity kits with eye shades so they don't have that option.

Yes, I do ask the window seat pax to lower their shade after the service. If I wait too long, they fall asleep (and I can't reach the shade, even with a spatula!) and then that one raised window shade is a beacon of light on the entire cabin.

I recently had a pax question my request on a LHR-LAX flight. My response to him was feel free to look out the window, but kindly lower it before you fall asleep- which he did. Ironically, we later flew over Greenland and had some wonderful views. I walked thru the whole plane quietly informing window seat paxs (who were still awake) that if they wanted a great view of Greenland to look. Incidentally, because I did that, the majority of those paxs never re-lowered their shades and I just let it go but that plane was so bright the duration of the flight!

Regarding the window shades being open/ raised for take-off and landing- I was always told we have them open as it was one less thing to do in an evacuation with instant 'assessing' of conditions outside.

Thank you for this topic. I will try and be more understanding and try not to come across as demanding that paxs lower their shades. Cheers.

'slack-jawed' is your 'addition'. I regard people who try and put words in other people's mouths on forums as, well, trolls. And I'm sure the Writers' Guilds of the world would laugh their butts off at the pure naivety of your post.

YES, YES, YESSSS!

I have been asked to close the blinds on all goshdarn airlines for years, and I HATE it - what do people suppose the eyeshade is for, me wonders?

hmph.