It would make me sad to remove windows on small commuter jets, since it's so much fun looking out the window and you spend a significant proportion of the flight closer to the ground anyways, watching interesting things like cities.<p>But on long-haul flights like Emirates has? Only 2/10 people per row have a window seat to start with, and airlines usually require everyone to close their window shade anyways for much/most of the trip, for people who want to sleep.<p>Sure you lose a bit of romance, but honestly for the majority of the passengers and for most of the time there's going to be zero difference... except burning less fuel means being better for the environment and hopefully slightly cheaper tickets.
Even with virtual windows, I think knowing that I can't directly see outside would make me extremely claustrophobic, and I think a lot of people would feel similarly.<p>All in all this is a cool concept, but I don't think it will be executed well. What happens when my "window" inevitably breaks (as technology is apt to do) and the illusion of being able to see is broken? What about annoying dead pixels or color banding? I can't imagine the displays being used are very high quality.
A counterexample to the majority view in this thread:<p>The idea is cool, but I could never take a flight in a windowless plane. While I am generally only mildly claustrophobic, "artificial windows" have always induced an uncanny valley-esque increase in discomfort due to the lack of parallax; the reminder of what's outside while still being evidently not a direct view might well be worse for me than no window at all. Though I'll usually spend flights reading or on my laptop/phone, the presence of the window in my peripheral vision is essential for my comfort even on a shorter flight, and the concept of being trapped in a box with no direct view of the outside (and no guaranteed knowledge of if something goes wrong) for 10-12 hours is the stuff of nightmares. The fact that digital windows can <i>fail</i> or display false information only makes it more horrifying.<p>Several commentors have made the comparison of either nighttime flights or a train in a tunnel. Nights are never pitch-black, and between moon/starlight and the plane's own running lights, even if you encounter high-altitude clouds there is always some visible outside environment. The same goes for train tunnels, with the replacement of tunnel lights instead of moonlight, and significantly more tactile feedback on the tracks compared to an airplane.
For me, the biggest issue with “virtual windows“ would be the lack of parallax. It would be very jarring to not see the view change as you move relative to the window.<p>They could implement head tracking to solve this, but that breaks down as soon as more than one person need to look through the same window.
> it would save 50 per cent of the weight of an aircraft.<p>Surely this is nonsense, even if you are considering empty weight, when you take the engines and main spar into consideration?
For an example of this been done well, check out Royal Caribbean's Virtual Balconies:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4__AIB8Bl-4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4__AIB8Bl-4</a><p>Note that RCI did not remove any windows, but instead used tech to give a window to people in inside cabins where there are no windows. IMHO this should be the way to go for planes as well: Give everybody a window seat, with VR. And then also use that VR to show all those movies in a virtual cinema, show VR games etc.
> Are there any safety concerns?<p>> Not really, aviation expert Douglas Drury from the University of South Australia says.<p>Not a common need (thankfully) but windows also provide a way to look <i>into</i> plane as well, say in times of emergency or a hostage taking. That’s one of the reasons you’re required to open them when you take off and land.<p>I wonder if their answer to that is a live video feed of the inside of the plane to the tower.
Here's video of current emirates virtual windows. Initially I didn't realize they were virtual. Guessing a lot more obvious in person, but still impressive:<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ZachHonig/status/936584456755929089" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/ZachHonig/status/936584456755929089</a>
I'd imaging these would go blank in an emergency or at landing/takeoff. Can't imagine that reducing the terror factor for certain folks.
Windowless planes would be a useful step. If people can get used to not having windows then there's more scope to change the design of the aircraft, so something like Boeing's Blended Wing design[0] might have a chance of not failing before it gets off the ground.<p><a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/flying-wing2.htm" rel="nofollow">https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/flight/modern/fl...</a>
Does anyone know why the standard seatback entertainment systems in planes don't have channels showing feeds from an external camera or cameras? I would love to be able to watch the scenery or cloud formations.<p>Is it a security issue? It seems like such a no-brainer.
I get this feeling that the displayed images just won't be the same, not the least because they'd just be flat images instead of what you see when you normally look out. As someone who regularly requests window seats this doesn't appeal to me in the least, but I don't fly Emirates so I guess it doesn't really matter. I suppose I might be in the minority, though, of people who love just staring out the window, especially on takeoff and descent.
I don't have a problem with this. The one guy that opens their window on an "overnight" flight that is actually during the day kind of messes up everything.<p>I have certainly been on some nifty flights where you could watch thunderstorms out the window the entire time (I made a neat timelapse)... but in the end, I guess it doesn't matter.
I assume that the pilot will still have windows, but it's possible to imagine an aircraft with no windows at all.<p>An interesting thought experiment is to consider a car with no windows; the driver wears a head-mounted display and sees the environment via a 3-D model reconstructed from cameras.<p>My initial reaction is that it seems terribly unsafe to have a safety-critical system like that with no backup if your HMD fails for some reason.<p>On the other hand, I could imagine becoming accustomed to seeing all around without obstruction, and feeling uncomfortable driving a regular car with it's opaque pillars and huge expanses of fragile glass.<p>Another consideration is that encountering a car with no windows would feel really creepy. We're used to be able to make eye contact.
3 things:
"would you like the upgrade package that shows the outside?"
and
"Ads on windows" Gee joy, more useless garbage to have to listen to.
On the other hand you would have some joker make a virus to have the displays put a buzzing insect on it.
Offtopic: I found the article format quite hard to read. The mix of headings, bold, block quotes and embedded media made it feel very messy and I was never sure when the article was finished.
What about opening the window shades before flights land / take off ?
I thought it was for the firefighters to see inside during an emergency. Or was it not ?
Cabin crews (at least on some airlines) tell you to open the window shades for landing and takeoff in the name of "safety":<p><a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/airline-staff-reveal-why-window-shades-must-be-kept-open-during-takeoff-and-landing-a6899681.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/airline...</a><p>So why is it safe to remove the windows entirely?
I'd never, ever, under no circumstances, want to fly on a plane without windows. I <i>hate</i> the 787's stupid way of taking away my control of the window for the idiotic gimmick of controlling transparency through buttons. I like to see the sunrise. I like to see the sunset. I like to see the clouds below and the dark sky above.<p>If people want no windows or a completely dark place, let them add walls, curtains or put bags on their heads.
This will make a lot of people severely airsick. I'm a pilot with an iron stomach, but one sure-fire way to make me queasy is to hide visual cues from the natural horizon during maneuvering (i.e. during takeoff and landing).<p>You don't have to have a window seat to benefit from real windows -- even a very slight peripheral view of nearby windows, or a view of shadows cast on the inside of the cabin are enough to make you feel better.
Take a look at the video linked in the article:<p><a href="https://twitter.com/ZachHonig/status/936584456755929089?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2018-06-07%2Fwould-you-travel-on-a-windowless-plane%2F9843722" rel="nofollow">https://twitter.com/ZachHonig/status/936584456755929089?ref_...</a><p>This seems very well executed to me.
I once flew on a plane that had electric window tints instead of manual blinds. It was neat, until the airline turned my window off which disabled my personal control of it. What a frustration, to not be able to control my own view of the sky!
Kill the windows entirely if it can be safely done. I don't care. Cost, safety, speed. All else is optional.<p>And wtf are these guys who panic without windows going to do when they have to close them so others can sleep. I think that's a stupid objection. People are intelligent. They aren't going to panic for this shit. That's idiotic.
I think this would cause a subset of passengers to have psychotic episodes. It's not important to constantly look out the windows, but knowing that they exist gives everyone on the plane psychological comfort.
I think it's completely perverse. How about saving even more weight and not building airplanes and traveling anywhere at all? That's just as absurd.