Every once in a while I like to go through the comments, with an eye toward what's getting people worked up.
Recently we talked about the demonstration at Farnborough of the electronic window shades on the 787. And it seems the whole concept of window shades, starting with the question of who gets to control them, has generated a number of comments.
At Farnborough, some of the windows in the 787 mockup were equipped with working electronic window shade controls.
There's a perception out there that on the Dreamliner flight attendants will have the ability to completely darken all the windows, preventing people from seeing the view. But in reality this new technology will give passengers way more control over the windows than ever before.
Doug in New York sent us a couple of pointed remarks along the lines of, "Do I mind shutting my shade? Darn right I do."
Who is going to have ultimate control of the electronic window shades on the 787? I like to fly back from Europe (or any other daylight flight) with my shade open, enjoying the view and the light. The flight attendant would prefer me to put the shade down, so the cabin falls asleep and requires less service. Who gets the master switch? The customer who has paid, potentially, several thousand dollars for a window seat or the flight attendant? What's the point of putting large windows into the fuselage of the plane if someone in the galley is going to make them dark all the time?
Well, Doug, I feel your pain. Here's what I can tell you. What we're talking to our airline customers about is the idea of "narrowing the band" - or range - of light/dark of the windows during those times when most passengers want to sleep. But no, we're not encouraging flight attendants to "take over" and disable the windows, or make all windows as dark as possible so you can't enjoy the view.
The idea is to allow for a "dimmed" state that produces an appropriate light level for napping, or watching a movie, but that still allows a person to see the landscape out of the window.
Doug goes on to say:
If flight attendants can adjust the cabin shades, that is OK, as along as the individual customer has ultimate control of the full range of electronic shade darkening. Give me the control switch. It is maddening to sit in a plane in darkness on a daylight flight.
Yes, flight attendants may have control over the windows, to set the upper limits of the window shading at times. And, of course, it will be up to the airlines how they want to use the flight attendant control. But passengers will still have significant control.
The technology will allow the passenger to darken the windows themselves, as well as to lighten a window enough to see outside without disturbing passengers when the cabin is darkened for sleep or entertainment.
We also heard from Del in Seattle on the same topic:
I am not impressed by the electronic shading proposal for the 787 windows. I am one who likes to look out the windows of an airplane for the marvelous views .. nothing quite so frustrating as when the attendants force everyone to pull the shades during a day trip in order to show a movie. Will they have the ability to do this remotely for all windows whether you like it or not? I think the shading proposal is the answer to a question no one asked. Yes, I know it might save a little weight, but it is one more thing to make flying just a little more unpleasant.
Del, looking at those marvelous views is what the dimmable technology is all about! And this new concept actually is the answer to a very good question people asked during our research in designing the Dreamliner: "Can anything be done about the uncomfortable position of really wanting to look out the window when many passengers want to sleep or enjoy a movie?"
As you know, trying to open a shade - even partially - can let in a lot of light. It also invites the ire of flight attendants and fellow passengers. Resolving this potential conflict was one of the main things we went after in the Dreamliner interior.
Passengers will be able see the world outside the large 787 windows - at the touch of a button - even when the cabin is "dimmed."
So let me stress this - we want passengers to be able to enjoy the view, whenever they want. And as I said, with the dimmable windows, a passenger will be able to sufficiently "undim" the window to see outside - even if flight attendants have narrowed the range of the window.
On a related note, Kent from Exeter, New Hampshire wants to know if the flight crew will also benefit from this technology.
I'm curious, if they've come up with a shade solution for the cockpit in the 787. It's frustrating to have to put up newspapers in the cockpit of the Boeings I've been flying so far (727,737,757,767,777). Please tell me that the pointy end of the airplane also has a bit of "high tech" when it comes to shading as well.
Excellent question. And here is what we can tell you at this point. The flight deck on the 787 does not currently have dimmable windows. The demands of the flight deck are different from those for passenger windows, as would be the technology involved. We're working hard on coming up with a way to do this in the flight deck, and we're looking at a solution that might be retrofittable.
And Mike in Long Beach, California takes the window question to the newest 747:
Is the 747-8 passenger going to have the same internal features as the 787 such as the electronic window shading? You have spoken so much about the 787, but very little about some of the features on the 747-8.
Another great question. We're doing a number of new interior touches on the Intercontinental. The welcoming feel of the Dreamliner entryway will be found on the 747-8, although it will be carried out using different architectural lines.
But we won't have a final decision on incorporating other features of the 787 interior into the 747-8 such as window shades, passenger controls, latches, and lighting, until firm configuration next year.
And finally, getting back to the original question, here's a good way to look at it. Today's airplane window shade is really just an on/off switch. You can't open it just a "crack" without having a lot of sunlight come spilling in.
Now, with dimmable windows, the passenger will be able to change the amount of light coming through. It will be like looking out the window with sunglasses.
Which means you'll have it made in the shade.
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