“An Irredeemable Nuisance”: Why This Journalist Believes All Airplanes Shouldn’t Have Windows

Automotive journalist Brad Brownell sparked an interesting debate across aviation circles when he published a sweeping critique of commercial airliner design under Jalopnik’s Planelopnik outlet. Writing with the pragmatic eye of a transportation writer and former museum director, Brownell argued that cabin windows are “an irredeemable nuisance” that render commercial flying heavier, more expensive, and less efficient. Instead of viewing the traditional oval window as an irreplaceable passenger perk, he posited that cutting roughly 100 holes into a pressurized metal or composite tube is much more of an engineering compromise the airline industry should abandon.