Watch! Emirates First Class Seats Have Virtual Windows

Emirates is taking luxury to new heights with their first class suite on the new Boeing 777-300ER. Watch the video above for a full tour of their impressive project!

As we reported at the end of 2017, the company debuted an essentially windowless plane, as all windows were replaced with high-definition displays dubbed “virtual windows”.

The displays are fed live footage from fiber-optic cameras embedded on the exterior of the aircraft. According to Emirates president Sir Tim Clark, the image quality is “so good, it’s better than with the natural eye”.

However, image quality was not the only driver of this decision, as the removal of actual windows will have a big impact on the aircraft’s performance.

By removing windows, the Boeing 777-300ER loses extra weight, which translates to lower fuel consumption and better flying speed.

While a windowless plane could be the future, especially with high-quality screens, some experts think we’re not there just yet.

“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?” asked Professor Graham Braithwaite, an aviation safety expert from Cranfield University.

Indeed, these are all valid concerns. Then again, they could be waved away by the fact that passengers can relax in comfortable leather seats, with plenty of leg space, while browsing through 2,500 TV channels.