Journalist argues airliner cabin windows should be eliminated
An automotive journalist's critique of cabin windows has drawn attention in aviation circles, arguing the openings add weight and cost to commercial aircraft.
Automotive journalist Brad Brownell has argued that commercial airliners should be built without cabin windows, calling them an unnecessary design feature. His critique appeared under Jalopnik's Planelopnik outlet and has prompted discussion among aviation observers.
Brownell's position is that windows make commercial flying heavier, more expensive and less efficient. Cutting roughly 100 openings into a pressurised metal or composite fuselage, he wrote, is an engineering compromise the industry ought to abandon, rather than an oval window being a passenger benefit that cannot be given up.
He draws on his background as a transportation writer and former museum director. The debate his piece started centred on how much the window matters to passengers against what it costs in weight and efficiency.
The source does not state any manufacturer or airline response, nor any engineering study of the proposal.
Sources
- simpleflying.com"An Irredeemable Nuisance": Why This Journalist Believes All Airplanes Shouldn't Have Windows