Is the future of flying window free?

Would you still ask for a window seat if there were no windows to look out of?

Because that’s exactly the position you could be in if you’re flying Emirates any time soon.

Well, technically you’ll only experience the windowless world of flying if you’re in the first class suite, but according to the airline, windowless planes are the future.

As per the BBC, passengers will still be able to view the sky and views outside – it will just be through projection images instead of through a window.

Using fibre-optic cameras, passengers will be able to view images that are “so good, it’s better than with the natural eye”, according to Emirates president Sir Tim Clark.

Having windowless planes also makes them lighter and faster – and Emirates said it was paving the way for all future planes to be built without windows.

You can check out the non-window windows (or virtual windows) on Emirates’ newest Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. But only in first class.

Sir Tim told the BBC that eventually, the airline would aim to have planes with no windows at all.

“Imagine now a fuselage as you’re boarding with no windows, but when you get inside, there are windows,” he said.

“Now you have one fuselage which has no structural weaknesses because of windows. The aircraft are lighter, the aircraft could fly faster, they’ll burn far less fuel and fly higher.”

The virtual windows show the outside as it would look through a regular window, and passengers can also see front and below views of the plane.

https://twitter.com/ZachHonig/status/936584456755929089

But aviation safety expert Professor Graham Braithwaite of Cranfield University told the BBC that in the case of an emergency, cabin crew need windows to see outside of the aeroplane.

“Being able to see outside the aircraft in an emergency is important, especially if an emergency evacuation has to take place,” he said.

“Flight attendants would need to check outside the aircraft in an emergency, for example for fire, before opening a door and commencing an evacuation – and anything that needed power to do this may not be easy to get certified by an aviation safety regulator.”

However, the professor said the main thing holding back a windowless future would be passengers preferences around technology.

“An aircraft could be very claustrophobic and for many, air travel is anxiety-inducing already.

“The refresh rate of screen technology may also have some undesirable side effects – will they flicker? What is the lag? How will it affect someone on a long haul flight?” he asked.

But the European Aviation Safety Agency said there’s nothing to worry about.

“We do not see any specific challenge that could not be overcome to ensure a level of safety equivalent to the one of an aircraft fitted with cabin windows,” they told the BBC.

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