GneissGuy From Singapore, joined Jul 2006, 198 posts, RR: 0 Posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 2496 times:
I know that its standard procedure for window shades on aircraft to be up during take-off and landing, but i don't know the precise reason why.
Some of the theories i came up with are:
1) With all window shades up, more eyes will be able to see if anything bad happens during takeoff and landing, e.g. engine fire etc
2) Passengers need to get accustomed to outside environment in case of emergency disembarking. Eyes need time to adjust to outside lighting. Same reason why cabin lights are dimmed for night landings.
3) Control towers needs clear view of the plane? If window shades closed, maybe somehow the view is obstructed?
LawnDart From United States of America, joined May 2005, 968 posts, RR: 4 Reply 1, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 2490 times:
Quoting GneissGuy (Thread starter): I know that its standard procedure for window shades on aircraft to be up during take-off and landing, but i don't know the precise reason why.
Some of the theories i came up with are:
1) With all window shades up, more eyes will be able to see if anything bad happens during takeoff and landing, e.g. engine fire etc
2) Passengers need to get accustomed to outside environment in case of emergency disembarking. Eyes need time to adjust to outside lighting. Same reason why cabin lights are dimmed for night landings.
1) With window shades up, the flight attendants eyes will be able to see if anything bad happens...for instance - fire on the right side of aircraft.
2) To a point.
Quoting GneissGuy (Thread starter): 3) Control towers needs clear view of the plane? If window shades closed, maybe somehow the view is obstructed?
Khobar From United States of America, joined Mar 2006, 2379 posts, RR: 4 Reply 2, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 14 hours ago) and read 2402 times:
Quoting LawnDart (Reply 1): 1) With window shades up, the flight attendants eyes will be able to see if anything bad happens...for instance - fire on the right side of aircraft.
This can actually be a bad thing if the FA doesn't take into consideration which way s/he is facing when reporting a problem to the captain.
S5FA170 From United States of America, joined Sep 2005, 534 posts, RR: 4 Reply 4, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2348 times:
We just had a topic on this last week - you will find a myriad of informative answers in there. But everything said in this thread so far is correct. One of the biggest reasons is it allows everyone (flight attendants and passengers) to assess conditions outside of the aircraft in an emergency. It also allows people outside of the cabin to assess conditions inside of the cabin. Things you would be looking for include smoke, fire, water and debris.
Also, one of the first things all flight attendants should (and do) learn about in initial training is "Aircraft Right" vs. "Aircraft Left". At my airline we are taught to always use those designations when relaying information to the flight deck. I make a habit of using them in my mind when observing passengers, the cabin, etc so I am used to using those terms should it become necessary in an emergency.
UnattendedBag From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 2151 posts, RR: 1 Reply 5, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 2322 times:
What country are we talking about here? I have been on many carriers and have never seen a flight attendant checking the cabin for window shades.
RobertS975 From United States of America, joined Aug 2005, 832 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2212 times:
Not only is the "shades up" policy not in the FARs, I find that it is variable depending on the individual crewmembers. On DL, sometimes they ask for it, sometimes they don't.
PYP757 From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 148 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2197 times:
I think passengers should be prevented from closing those shades regardless. Honestly, I cannot believe some people lucky enough to sit by a window, and not having the least interest in looking outside! But by closing the shade, they are also preventing the person next to them to have a look. If cruising at 35,000 ft, I can understand, but during taking off and landing? Are these people too nervous to look, or suffering from vertigo? In that case, why not choose an aisle seat?
EWRCabincrew From United States of America, joined May 2006, 5479 posts, RR: 59 Reply 9, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2185 times:
The only window shades I care that are up for take-off and landing are the ones closest to my jumpseat (as these are the ones that I will be using to access conditions, in addition to the window at my door, for opening my exit).
It is not FAA or CO policy to have them up or down. Until they are, I will just ask, politely, I might add, to raise them.
For me, it's common sense and thinking ahead. Just in case.
Jammin From India, joined Nov 2006, 133 posts, RR: 0 Reply 10, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2154 times:
Maybe this is slightly off-topic, but besides having the window shades up for take-off and landing, I believe F/As should tell passengers not to take off their shoes as soon as they settle in and wait for after take-off, in case there's an aborted take-off maybe leading to an evacuation. Same thing would apply to landings, put on your shoes before landing.
Maybe falling asleep should also be a point of concern. I've seen some passengers of really late departure flights (like 2 am intl departures from MAA) who fall asleep even before push-back. In the event of an aborted take-off/evacuation, it would be paramount that all passengers were alert.
I had trouble with this on my flights to China (ORD-NRT-PEK). I'd stay awake the whole ORD-NRT sector in order to make me real tired for when I arrived at night in PEK, but I would find it pretty hard to stay awake on the NRT-PEK sector, sometimes falling asleep even before take-off. At times like that, I resorted to loud techno to keep me awake or some other means.
Maybe I'm just paranoid or just super-prepared for aborted take-offs, but another thing to consider is to tighten your seat belt real good for take-off and landing, it can be loosened in-flight. After seeing a JL F/A sit across me and strap herself in real tight and later asking her why her seat belt was so tight, I've adopted that on every flight.
Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our mind.
LawnDart From United States of America, joined May 2005, 968 posts, RR: 4 Reply 11, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2132 times:
Quoting Jammin (Reply 10): Maybe I'm just paranoid or just super-prepared for aborted take-offs, but another thing to consider is to tighten your seat belt real good for take-off and landing, it can be loosened in-flight. After seeing a JL F/A sit across me and strap herself in real tight and later asking her why her seat belt was so tight, I've adopted that on every flight.
That is a very good thing to do...make sure you are up against the back of your seat, and pull your seatbelt as tight as possible. Passengers have suffered sprained or broken backs because the force of impact threw them against a loosely tightened seatbelt.
PYP757 From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 148 posts, RR: 0 Reply 12, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2084 times:
Quoting Jammin (Reply 10): Maybe falling asleep should also be a point of concern. I've seen some passengers of really late departure flights (like 2 am intl departures from MAA) who fall asleep even before push-back. In the event of an aborted take-off/evacuation, it would be paramount that all passengers were alert.
I have always wondered about these people who seem to fall asleep within minutes of settling into their seats. Last time I flew, I noticed a couple to my left who really appeared to be sleeping during taxiing and take off, but were fully awake 10 minutes later!! And I am not talking about a red eye departure. Are some people just too nervous about flying that they prefer not to be looking around during take off, or do some poeple really doze off during one of the most exciting parts of the flight? Seems very strange to me.
UnattendedBag From United States of America, joined Oct 2003, 2151 posts, RR: 1 Reply 13, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 8 hours ago) and read 2032 times:
I think this is the most ludicrous idea I have heard in a long time!
Are all passengers supposed to open their window shade and stare out at the wing just incase something happens so they can yell out to the flight attendant? Most adults get on the aircraft and either fall asleep immediately or bury their nose in a book or magazine. It is usually the small kids you find looking out the window. Are we going to make a small kid give up the window seat in the rare case something might happen. And in the event something does happen, engine fire for example, the pilot is going to know about it long before the guy in seat 34a.
You guys must be scared to fly thinking the worst thing is going to happen everytime you get onboard. There is being cautious and there is being paranoid. Sure pay attention to the safety instructions and note the exit doors, but don't be a little girl about it.
My airline would beg to differ, as this is our policy - all window shades open for taxi, takeoff and landing.
Quoting Jammin (Reply 10): I believe F/As should tell passengers not to take off their shoes as soon as they settle in and wait for after take-off, in case there's an aborted take-off maybe leading to an evacuation. Same thing would apply to landings, put on your shoes before landing.
Actually, it is recommended that women wearing high-heels remove their shoes before evacuating the aircraft as they may puncture the slide. My last airline also recommended female flight attendants wearing high heels, time permitting (during our cabin emergency landing preparations) to change out of high heels and into flats. This was also part of our announcement to the female passengers - if flat shoes were accessible from their seat - to change into those.
Quoting Jammin (Reply 10): Maybe falling asleep should also be a point of concern.
You would hope most people would wake up during an emergency - their would be lots of shouting, loud noise, perhaps fire/smoke, etc.
I did have a gentleman once board my plane in JFK and told me he had taken some sleeping medication as he was afraid of flying. He fell asleep not long after taking his seat. That particular aircraft ended up having a maintenance problem and we needed to swap. I couldn't get the guy to wake up to change planes. It took myself, the other flight attendant and one of the pilots to finally wake him. He was pretty groggy and certainly not aware of what was going on. Thank God nothing happened on the next plane!
VHXLR8 From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 500 posts, RR: 4 Reply 15, posted (5 years 2 months 3 days 4 hours ago) and read 1915 times:
Quoting EWRCabincrew (Reply 9): The only window shades I care that are up for take-off and landing are the ones closest to my jumpseat (as these are the ones that I will be using to access conditions, in addition to the window at my door, for opening my exit).
At QF, it is a requirement that all window shades are in the fully upright position for takeoff and landing. The primary reason, as already stated, is for visibility in case anything happens outside the aircraft.
Quoting Jammin (Reply 10): I believe F/As should tell passengers not to take off their shoes as soon as they settle in and wait for after take-off, in case there's an aborted take-off maybe leading to an evacuation. Same thing would apply to landings, put on your shoes before landing
On a kind of similar note; at QF, pax in the exit rows are told this.
Quoting S5FA170 (Reply 14): Actually, it is recommended that women wearing high-heels remove their shoes before evacuating the aircraft as they may puncture the slide.
Absolutely further to that, we would actually 'insist' on it (it's part of the evac commands that would be shouted)
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From Singapore, joined Jul 2006, 198 posts, 
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From India, joined Nov 2006, 133 posts, 
From Australia, joined Feb 2005, 500 posts, 
further to that, we would actually 'insist' on it (it's part of the evac commands that would be shouted)
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