Why is it a must to make sure the windows are open during takeoff and landing?

Question

Planes...... geez.
And why must we keep the "seats upright"??

Anyone has any ideas of airlines with the best "Economy Class"

Answer 1

The widows up allows everyone to be seen from outside the plane, insuring the plane is not in distress, i.e. highjacked
saets up are in case of a crash your seat backs are not in the way of people getting out.

Answer 2

I heard on some documentary that the blinds? are left open on over the windows because that during a flight (somewhere in Europe I think) there was a fire in one of the wings and the pilot said the fire was on the right wing (over the PA system) and everybody was looking out their window and could see the fire in the left one.

Apparently it mattered which wing was on fire (probably was supposed to do something to the fuel in the wing that was on fire and did it to the other wing in error.) Anyway, the plane crashed and they changed the rules to state that during take off and landing the blinds have to stay up so that the flight attendants can keep an eye on anything dogdy happening outside the plane so they can report it.

I probably remembered that a bit wrong, but I believe that was the general gist of the doco :)

Seats are upright, I imagine, incase of sudden landing you don't want a chest full of chair when you jolt forward.

I only fly economy (all I can afford :P) and I've never stepped off a plane thinking..."Gee, can't get much better than that. What do those ponces in first class have that we back here don't?"
:)

Answer 3

The window shades are opened so that passengers' eyes can adjust to the light outside (in a crash you might not have time to be able to adjust to very bright or very dark), and so that in the event of a crash, you can easily tell if fire or debris is blocking your exit. Otherwise passengers would scramble for the emergency exit, find it blocked, and it would be horrible.

The seats being upright makes it much easier for you to evacuate your seat into the aisles. That's also why all your carry-ons have to go far under the seat in front of you--- so you don't trip or get your feet tangled.

Once you're at cruising altitude, the chances for crashing/emergency goes way down so they can lift these restrictions till it's time to land.

As far as economy class, it's all pretty rugged. Not fun. But check your planned route for anyone flying an Embraer 170 aircraft, which you should see on the airline or travel booking site before you make your purchase. These are very roomy, comfortable planes. I will say, JetBlue does have excellent economy travel but they don't fly to very many destinations so I don't really count them.

Answer 4

This is more for safety, in case of emergencies the rescue people can look in and see what had happened inside and plan their rescue. Also allow the cabin crew to be the additional eyes for the pilots to see the status of the plane through the windows.

Have you tried walking out with the seat infront tilted back? This cramps up space and you need the space to get out quick. So upright seat gives you that space to evacuate fast if necessary. Anyway, it is only for take-off and landings, and in event of emergency.

Economy is all about the same. Most airlines use average size to determine number of seats in a cabin, so unless the airline is willing to forego passengers for passenger comfort, any economy seat will be the same.

Answer 5

So the flight attendants can see the conditions outside in case of an emergency. you don't want to open an exit into a fire would you? or against a pile of wreckage? would you want them to waste the very precious time it takes to open your shade to check outside? , it's only an inconvenience for a few minutes of Take off and Landing, get over it!
In the upright position the seatbacks are "locked". In the case of a "minor" crash your seat wont fold over ( with the person behind you) and snap you in two.

Answer 6

If your on an airplane with openable windows, close them before taking off because you lose areodynamics with them open. The upright seat has an airbag effect in case of a sudden stop.