Emirates Looks to Windowless Planes

It could work until all passengers see a window that reads, :( Your PC ran into a problem and needs to restart...

soon to be followed by advertising. Sorry but that idea sucks.

although I understand the principle of making aircraft lighter,i much prefer the option of looking out at the stars,or that beautiful mountain range,or even the clouds,than a "virtual reality" projection..years ago (50's and 60's vintage) there was a tv show called "the twilight zone",a bit of fantasy,a bit of reality and a bit of science fiction..one of their more memorable shows was that of a man (played by a young William shatner)looking out the window of a passenger plane,(not a jet) who saw some kind of strange "creature" chewing on the wing..no one believed him and when the plane landed, they took him away in a straight jacket,only to find damage to the wing ! it was entertaining,and this virtual window" idea reminded me of that!

Never never i should accept that.

no -never

I would rather see out an actual window than look at a screen.

Sorry Emirates, bad idea.

Inherently not the worst idea in the world. We used to deadhead in the downstairs lounge in the L1011, There were also only 14 seats but the backlit colourful murals on the sidewalls were interesting. I’m not sure a boatload of pax could stand it for a long trip without going nuts and there’s enough of that going on already. Windows in the emergency exits and all doors might satisfy the gov officials. I’d much rather have bigger washrooms with a sink that holds more than 2 ounces of water.

I would call this an awful idea even if I wasn't a passenger who has flown millions of miles sitting, on purpose, in window seats.

THE LANGOLIERS - STEPHEN KING.
What a thought. :O

The vast majority of self loading cargo will hate this

I can see this now... Seat 1A window deferred, since it would be an NEF item it could be deferred for 120 to 160 Days...

No Thanks... I do like the idea of windows, even though a windowless plane may be safer due to flying Derbies... IE SWA woman Sucked out.... Piedmont Dash 8 in MDW, Prop hit bird on take off, goes through window.. Hits PSU and falls on woman's lap.... That one really did not hit the news, but friends I worked with sent me pics. Even with all of that in mind... I still like the windows.

One of the reasons, I am told, that the cabin lights are on during take offs and landings is so in an emergency, the first responders can see inside the plane. They can figure out how best to help from viewing what is going on inside when they arrive. With windowless airliners this will be impossible. I don't see the safety people going for this at all.

take away the windows and no point in flying for me.

Emirates needs to just STOP what they are doing with their virtual windows and projecting images of the flight. Like I said, JUST STOP IT! I would NEVER get on an airplane for transport in the civilian world and be stuck in a windowless tube. Modern technology is good, but don't go there on modern day transports. I think enough changes are already in play and being developed, that we don't need to be playing with windows, how about improved service and bigger seats rather than squeezing every cent out of a Seat Mile and causing unpleasant flying conditions for the other 95% that travel in coach. Emirates, STOP IT, no matter how much money you think you have. I'm sure the traveling public would agree, and if they implemented this, I'm sure that your aircraft would be flying around nearly empty. I won't be held in "plane jail", as it's bad enough already!
JB/ Miami FL

Maybe the future of air travel is the airline gasses you upon take-off, so you sleep soundly in your obscenely tiny seat upright until 30 minutes before landing when they wake you with a shot of real fresh air, thereby saving the need to feed you or have you use the lav on that 12 hour flight. Just think,they could reduce the number of crew on board (saving weight), replace the galley with more tine seats (more revenue), and adopt auto-pilot flying, thereby removing the need for two pilots.

To recap... airlines are cramming more people into planes the same size, shoving the seats ever-closer together, taking away free drinks and peanuts, killing our dogs in the overhead bins, giving away our seats and having us forcefully removed from them, ignoring medical emergencies instead of diverting....

And now they're taking away our windows too.



Sardine cans don't have windows either.

Seriously - WHY??????????

No window, I will take a train for intra-continental traval instead and I won't accept to pass more than 6 hours in a place if I cannot see natural light!

Air traveling is unpleasant today, it's getting worst!

Please keep the windows!

I'd like to see a smart window. A HUD overlay that could somehow show a map of what I'm looking at with adjustable levels of detail. I don't know how it would work given different window positions and passenger eye-levels, but I can dream.

Personally, my eyes already have enough screen time without having more.

Oh, and: ""Everything that reduces weight on an aircraft is going to reduce fuel burn," he said." Hmm, then why doesn't adding more seats for even more pax adding even more weight seem to matter?

It's a terrible idea.

Really surprised to see such strong responses. Most people I see on planes are looking at their own phones or the IFE. Hardly anyone ever looks out of windows anymore.

Unexpected Error: Please REBOOT WINDOWS

Taking away windows in order to reduce weight is a ploy to add more seats to increase revenue. It's all about the money, not safety!

Guess what , won't see ole Rick on it .

I guess it's better than hitching a ride on a military cargo or tanker aircraft.

Why aren't they giving the passengers VR headsets? Different prices of course for different features and resolutions. They must be thinking of profit points here.

Fair call bentwing - I should know better

When I flew on Qatar, they make you close the windows panels when flying into Doha.

The theory sounds good; the practicality is that as the aircraft ages how well will the system operate. As the plane ages I can foresee any number of the window viewers being inoperative. This would not be a cause for a maintenance delay or could it be fixed at just any overnight facility.

Yea Right - Until the Optics change to a BLUE SCREEN. That's a really DUMB idea. I always sit at a Window seat. Sometime for the view, other times to look at the wing configurations. Instead of making windowless aircraft - Fibre Optics should be available in the cockpit for the crew to see the state of all engines and airfoil structures, including the vertical stabilizer. It's generally the Cabin Crw that informs the Captain that an engine is smoking, or part of the wing has been damaged. Now that's a good idea.

I'm probably in the minority here... but I think this is a good idea.

Though the idea is pretty sound, there's just something inside me that yells out actual windows play critical parts in providing air access, and even a port to extradite young children in the event of an accident. Overall.... Hmmmm, no...bad idea. Cool tech, just a bad idea.

I’m having a hard time believing properly fared windows contribute enough drag to offset the weight penalty of hundreds of displays. How about removing half the windows and let the passengers that want one have one.

Great idea. A provided image array is better than the limited view out the window. Especially in first class: the variety of activities for the passenger really doesn't require a window to see out.
I'm probably one of the few, though.

The cabin staff already control when you can and cannot have the window blind up, and more often than not they require them down so that sleep patterns are not disturbed by sunlight, so what's the difference here?

Another Isaac Asimov prediction about to be fulfilled. Look it up...

Great idea. Now all the passengers can view images, not only those with window seats.