Window shade etiquette

[flychrisfly]

There are times I really like having the shade up.Flying NRT-US or vice versa I love looking out on Alaska-especially in winter.
When JAL flew BNE-NRT I also liked the scenery over the GBR and the islands to the north.
Other times really don't care.

Agree. Sometimes the scenery really is stunning and worth a look. Annoying to be told that I can't look at it.

 

[Grooba]

Nothing worse than being on the aisle and getting blinded by the reflection of the sun off a glossy magazine being read by the window seat pax.
In this case I'll ask them to lower it down to eliminate this issue and so far I've never had anyone reject this request.

 

[drron]

If I notice a reflection affecting someone I shut the shade before being asked.

 

[Geegeela]

Interpret it however you like, its part of my seat selection process.

What is the origin of the word 'posh'? - Oxford Dictionaries Online

 

[Aus ATC]

I'm with NM on this. Preferred seating on the side of the aircraft away from the sun. Not as bright, or as hot.

As for the long haul flights, I haven't done many, but the days of the flight attendants wandering through the cabin throughout the flight seem well and truly over. Get the meal service out of the way, then "shut the cabin down" for the bulk of the flight.

Generally I would prefer to have a shade open, providing it is not "blinding" me or a fellow passenger (not a problem if I sit on the correct side of the aircraft!).

 

[Sprucegoose]

I like to mix things up and keep the shades open on night flights

Some airlines won't allow it depending on what time you land. First thing at sparrows no probs.

 

[RickyT84]

Like many other posters, I will lower the window shade if I notice the sunlight affects other pax's ability to enjoy the IFE or sleep. Otherwise, I will usually leave my shade open.

I found the Asian airlines tend to ask pax to lower their window shades as soon as service is over with the view for pax to enjoy the IFE or sleep. With QF, they are less likely to intervene.

 

[JohnK]

I should be able to decide whether I want the window shade up or down if I am sitting in a window seat. More so on a day flight. And more so if I am in premium economy or business class.

But you see some people want everything their way. A recliner has every right to recline regardless of whether the person behind is inconvenienced or not. Yet a person is not allowed to have the window shade up if everyone else decides they want the shades down for fear of inconveniencing someone. Hmmm....

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi all,

After reading a thread on seat reclining etiquette it reminded me of something I had experienced recently flying from MEL-HKG on CX we took off at 9:15am and landed at HKG around 3:30pm.

Now personally when flying during the day I like to have a fully lit cabin(or even dimly lit) with most window shades open, otherwise if its dark and window shades are all down it can play funny buggers with the body clock and jetlag etc.

On my CX flight right after breakfast was served ~10:30am passangers started shutting their window shades, yes it is their right to do so. Not having done many daytime longhaul flights I'm not sure if this is the norm or not?
Because so many had shut their shades the crew turned the lights off, suddenly I felt like I was on an overnight midnight flight.. I was at an exit door, so only had that tiny window on the door to give me a bit of sunlight, the cabin crew then came and shut the little window without asking me or my +1.
After arriving in HKG at 3:30pm I felt drowsy and confused at what actual time it was in HKG because i'd been sitting in a dark tube for 8 hours..

First of all don't get me wrong, I am not complaining as such, I just want to know whether this is the norm and if so are the crew at fault here for turning the lights off when clearly its pitch black in the cabin and its a nice sunny day @ midday or maybe lack of knowledge on fellow travellers regarding jetlag.etc.

The last daytime flight I took before this was QF127 SYD-HKG I sat in upper deck economy, ~10am-~4pm 80% of pax kept their window shades open and the cabin crew dimmed the lighting down but still left it on.

Do you keep your window shade up during day flights? Do you close it during day flights? Does it annoy you if you're flying in a dark cabin during the day?

Please no flaming, just serious thoughts/observations.

I'm with window shades down. helps with IFE viewing and sleep if I want to. And it seems the majority of pax want it that way especially on Asian carriers. (JAL even has sticks with a rubber foot to allow FAs to walk down the aisles shutting shades!)

I have not been on the QF127 (10am departure) where a window shade has been left open in the F cabin after the meal service. Maybe the economy cabin is not so conducive to sleep and pax prefer to stay awake?

I was sitting on the ground the other day boarding a QF flight in SYD - the sun was beating down so I lowered the shade during boarding (it really was very hot). The FA asked me to open the shade as it was a QF requirement for shades to be open during boarding (she would not allow the shade to stay closed until push-back). I ended up putting a newspaper over the window (which was fine). Anyone know for sure if this is actually a QF requirment? It's the first time I have heard of it and in marked contrast to the USA where widow shades can be down until push-back.

 

[RickyT84]

As noted by under the radar...

in a nutshell...it gives cabin crew a greater range of sight during takeoff/landing..these are 'crititical phases' of a flight..it's part of the airlines Standard Operating Proceedures (SOP)...(QF)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

As noted by under the radar...

is that in response to my question? boarding isn't the same as taxi. I offered to open the shade as soon as we pushed back but that wasn't allowed.

there was no refuelling at the time.

 

[jukebox333]

Agree. Sometimes the scenery really is stunning and worth a look. Annoying to be told that I can't look at it.

I should be able to decide whether I want the window shade up or down if I am sitting in a window seat. More so on a day flight. And more so if I am in premium economy or business class.

But you see some people want everything their way. A recliner has every right to recline regardless of whether the person behind is inconvenienced or not. Yet a person is not allowed to have the window shade up if everyone else decides they want the shades down for fear of inconveniencing someone. Hmmm....

Emirates were, in my experience, total shade naz_s JFK-DXB, and this would be reason enough that I would not fly them again by choice. The cities of Europe rolling out underneath us, 1pm local time, 6am JFK time, and the terse FA's were all over anyone - like me - who wanted to open the shades and take photos of London, Paris etc as they passed below.

I don't care if we are mid-Atlantic, but over land on a clear day, it was just pig headed stubborness and mindless adherence to a edict that had no reasonable benefit given the timeframe involved... clearly chosing a window seat is pointless flying Emirates: you have been warned!

 

[jetlagger]

Emirates were, in my experience, total shade naz_s JFK-DXB, and this would be reason enough that I would not fly them again by choice. The cities of Europe rolling out underneath us, 1pm local time, 6am JFK time, and the terse FA's were all over anyone - like me - who wanted to open the shades and take photos of London, Paris etc as they passed below.

I don't care if we are mid-Atlantic, but over land on a clear day, it was just pig headed stubborness and mindless adherence to a edict that had no reasonable benefit given the timeframe involved... clearly chosing a window seat is pointless flying Emirates: you have been warned!

Oh that sounds harsh..
I was conjuring up the scenario & images of 'Helga" the horrible reprimanding you whilst you sneakily attempt to take photos of the passing scenery.
I have never experienced such 'Gestapo" style of service on any Emirates flight, such as what you unpleasantly & surprisingly endured.

 

[sinophile888]

I recently flew CX 136 departing at 07:50 from PER to HKG in PE. We had two windows and we left both blinds up. My husband and I were the only passengers who had their blinds up.

My husband hates flying and likes the window blind open and aisle seats: I get a little claustrophobic with all the blinds down during the day. I like to knit while flying so daylight is valuable. He had no trouble with his IFE. There are no issues with jet-lag for anyone on that flight.

We returned on CX 171 at 14:55 and the same deal with blinds up. We had a recliner in front of us in an exit row who had come through from Toronto, so Mr. sinophile and I had to swap seats a few times to allow us to eat. The recliner used a scarf tied around his head to decrease light.

At one stage I went down to the Y toilets and it was so dark, I had trouble navigating all the bodies sprawling across the aisle.

I think it is completely unreasonable to close all the blinds during the daytime part of a flight.

 

[legroom]

I think it is completely unreasonable to close all the blinds during the daytime part of a flight.

The 'daytime part' may in fact be midnight at the destination zone and some sensible people may be actually trying to adjust their body clock by sleeping or just relaxing without the harsh glare into their eyes.

The issue is about 'containment' where a personal reading light provides you (and you only) with adequate lighting for personal needs but an open window would unnecessarily cast light onto others who may not need it.

Takeoff and landing are two critical stages (? QF boarding too as per MEL_Traveller) but at other times please consider others.

Scenery ? By all means but if just blue sky and shining light when most people are trying to relax / IFE / sleep ?

It's about considerations for others IMHO*


*: nobody in their right mind would watch an iPad movie without a headphone (or would they)?

 

[quick_dry]

Takeoff and landing are two critical stages (? QF boarding too as per MEL_Traveller) but at other times please consider others.

this is likely like "using electronics at takeoff" - but why is there the big requirement for shades open at takeoff and landing? This always seesm to be enforced in international Y and domestic everywhere, but up the front international they rarely care (and all my UA internationals in J/F they've had the shades already closed when boarding).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

this is likely like "using electronics at takeoff" - but why is there the big requirement for shades open at takeoff and landing? This always seesm to be enforced in international Y and domestic everywhere, but up the front international they rarely care (and all my UA internationals in J/F they've had the shades already closed when boarding).

shades open for take-off and landing is a safety requirment - for visibility (fire and debris) and also to save time for pax becoming adjusted to the light conditions outside the aircraft in the event of an emergency.

but i cannot understand why shades have to be up during boarding if there is no refuelling in progress. As soon as we push back, sure. But at the gate??

 

[drewbles]

shades open for take-off and landing is a safety requirment - for visibility (fire and debris) and also to save time for pax becoming adjusted to the light conditions outside the aircraft in the event of an emergency.

but i cannot understand why shades have to be up during boarding if there is no refuelling in progress. As soon as we push back, sure. But at the gate??

What if a fire breaks out next to the aircraft? Or there's an emergency on the adjoining bay? There's lots of good reasons to have the blinds up at boarding. It also reduces the workload on the FA's which can be heavy during tight turn-arounds. They'd need to close the blinds before pax boarded, let them all board, then remind them all to put them up (and enforce it) prior to push-back. People can't comply with multiple messages to turn off their phones, so i'm sure window shade calls over the PA would be similarly ignored.

I've been on various flights where crew close all the blinds during the flight for people to sleep. These have been MEL-PER, on a 9am departure. That to me, makes very little sense (outside of daylight savings at least, as most people at 7am are not going to be wanting to sleep).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

What if a fire breaks out next to the aircraft? Or there's an emergency on the adjoining bay? There's lots of good reasons to have the blinds up at boarding. It also reduces the workload on the FA's which can be heavy during tight turn-arounds. They'd need to close the blinds before pax boarded, let them all board, then remind them all to put them up (and enforce it) prior to push-back. People can't comply with multiple messages to turn off their phones, so i'm sure window shade calls over the PA would be similarly ignored.

I've been on various flights where crew close all the blinds during the flight for people to sleep. These have been MEL-PER, on a 9am departure. That to me, makes very little sense (outside of daylight savings at least, as most people at 7am are not going to be wanting to sleep).

this is not a case of asking the FAs to close the blinds - it is a case of a passenger closing a single blind. given it is common practice in the USA during hot summer months I was just wondering if this was actually part of QF policy. I hadn't heard of it before that last flight. Asking pax to put blinds up is as simple as asking them to put their seat back upright.

 

[drewbles]

this is not a case of asking the FAs to close the blinds - it is a case of a passenger closing a single blind. given it is common practice in the USA during hot summer months I was just wondering if this was actually part of QF policy. I hadn't heard of it before that last flight. Asking pax to put blinds up is as simple as asking them to put their seat back upright.

Ahh gotcha. I would have thought it fell in with the CASA regulations. Personally i'm far happier when they're up (hence my comment about my dislike of travelling in the USA at times, especially in the summer months; I'd rather be warm on boarding and be able to see out in case of an emergency). I don't have any fears of flying, but I believe you can't have enough safety for simple things such as visibility.