Europe flight shade pulling!
 

On a different forum there is a long running string on whether or not you have to pull a shade. i only ask because as we are flying to Europe soon I wonder--Do you have the LEGAL right to control the shade???? <BR>I once witnessed a flight attendant threaten a passenger who did not want to pull the shade. She indicated that not doing what she said was the same whether it had to do with the shade or smoking!!!! She was not rude but VERY firm. As well this happened 5 yers ago and I had not given it much thought because I thought the flight attendants really do have power. Can someone tell me--Do they have the LEGAL right to force the shade down?!

Scott: There are US federal regulations that govern authority of the flight crew, and following their instructions, but I have not ever seen anything about SHADES. <BR> <BR>It is customary to close your shade when the plane reaches cruising altitude, but I imagine that's it. It allows for passengers to try and rest and not shine additional light for movie viewing. At 35,000 feet, there isn't much to see anyway. <BR> <BR>Last Saturday, I spent an entire flight from Rio to JFK, across the aisle from a guy without socks AND shoes. He did, however, have his pants on. No one said anything to him. Such is life!

The only rule about shades is that they must be UP when the plane is on the ground; never heard about them being down. <BR> <BR>As for following the flight crew's instructions, I remember years ago being told that crews on airplanes were just like crews on ships; assaulting them or defying their instructions was tantamount to mutiny, incurring very long prison time. I choose to continue believing that, but will politely ask a crew member to explain a request. If a flight attendant asks me to close a shade, I will do it (usually it's for the reasons mentioned above, to darken the cabin so that the movie can be shown or to allow folks to sleep). At 35,000 feet, all those stupid clouds look exactly the same...

Just an FYI: the other thread on blind-closing was begun by someone who was visually impaired and needed the extra light to read, not someone who was planning to stare at the ocean or say "Look! Cumulonimbus! Oooh! Cirrus! (Will they accept my ATM card?)" <BR>This poor soul was criticized by a woman who felt her right to see an Adam Sandler movie was greater than another passenger's right to see anything.

Personally, I think that unless you have a medical problem that requires the shade up, and are willing to explain it to the crew, then keep the shade down at cruising altitude out of courtesy of the other passengers. What on earth do people expect to see at 35,000 feet? If there is something of note down below, then in all likelihood, the pilot will point it out, and you can raise your shade. On the other thread, the woman did not want to explain her condition to the crew member, thus giving the impression that she merely wanted the shades up. If you want to read, then bring along a little booklight that clips onto your book. Additionally, and maybe I am mistaken, I was under the impression that you purchase your seat, and not the portion of the plane surrounding it.

Obviously those people stating "there's nothig to see at 35'000 feet" never have looked out the window. Flights on clear days are wonderful geography lessons. <BR> <BR>Keep the shades up, if you want. There's no reason not to use an eye shade, if anyone wants to fly in the dark. And in-flight movies... well, they're about the quality of in-flight meals.

There was a very interesting thread in "smart travel tips" that asked the same question, but with a slightly different twist. Got pretty ugly, pretty quickly and folks were generally pretty humorless about the matter. For the record, I tend to believe that the person sitting near the window ought to be courteous enough to put the shade down. Depending on where you're sitting the glare does come right into your eyes and you can't always move to another seat to avoid it. <BR> <BR>But to answer the original question specifically, no one, legally can make you put the shade down. Everyone who's getting the glare on the plane will hate you, but you're well within your legal right to keep it up.

As I asked on the other thread: what about seatbacks, especially on long flights in coach. What's the feeling on "rights" here? During meals, when the bloke or blokess in front has the seat all the way back, I'm sometimes intimidated to ask if they'd raise it; after all they paid for the seat. (I will for others at mealtime, but feel it a right to recline the rest of the way.) Generally, with all the tension and possible problems at 35k up, I think we should all lighten up, be as thoughtful as possible, and be happy we are going in a forward direction!

I'm with you, lola. The person in front of me paid for the seat, but not my leg room. That's mine.

Kim, Kim, Kim,Kim, Kim. Relax. Why must you absolutely have the last word - on any forum. Drop it! Nobody cares!

I am one who likes to keep the shade up, when feasible. I enjoy looking out the window, even if it is only clouds &/or ocean. If the shade is up at night, does it matter? If I do get bored looking at the ocean & clouds on the way to Europe, I will close the shade completely so as not to interfer with others environment. When there is a need to keep it closed or I see it could be interfering with the movie or sleep time, I will just leave it a crack open to see out, but block most of the light from getting in. There are times when I can have vertigo problems if I can't see atleast alittle bit out the window. Sometimes, if I have problems with that, I will standup & go look out the window on the doors. Compromise could be a solution. But how about a problem where there is no compromise - do you like the toilet paper to roll from the top or bottom of the roll? I know that has nothing to really do with travelling, but I would suspect similar responses to that & all like problems. It comes down to personal preferences, likes & dislikes, & your value of compromise.

Just another valid reason to keep the shade up at least during the day. It helps to decrease the dizziness some people feel when the flight becomes turbulent. I know it's definitely worse for me during a night flight than when I can have the shade up during the day. I think fellow passengers might rather have a glare on their movie than me using the "burp bag."

You gotta be: Obviously you care.

Fodors ate my reply!!! <BR> <BR>I sat at the window on 5 out of 6 flights that I have taken in the last three weeks and only once was I asked to pull the shade down (during Wild Wild West). I pulled it down but I would rather have left it up and been able to look out of the window at the fields below. Do I have to sit staring at some hearing-aid beige plastic shade 6 inches from my nose?? <BR> <BR>Incidentally the quality of the projection of the movie Sixth Sense on Northwest Minneapolis to Amsterdam was so poor the issue of shade up or shade down was irrelevant. It looked like it was being projected onto a bath mat. I told my sister I had seen it and she said 'Oh, not even I got the twist at the end' and I replied with 'Well, what twist was that?' <BR> <BR>I'll keep it up.