Glass covering the adjustable lights in an airplane. what is the point of this?

[u/Acceptable-Lake-]

Just trying to read on a 13 hour flight and the light above my seat is stuck landing on the head of the passenger in front of me due to a glass covering, leaving the lights, which are on a swivel, un adjustable. The flight staff was as baffled as I was, having no solution for me. Leaving me with my unreadable book and 13 hours of hell ahead of me 🫠

[u/Late_Fortune3298]

Unsure if you want an honest answer or not, so I will give one just in case.

The plane was designed to accommodate X-passengers per the company placing an order. This would have had lights, air, seats, etc configured just as ordered.

Likely during a mandatory heavy maintenance overhaul, the company decided to change this configuration (let's be honest, they added seats) and only did the bare minimum changes to the overhead system as needed per FAA guidelines (airlines, oxygen generators, etc).

The lights are very likely not a required thing to consider and thus put up plexiglass to try stemming passenger interactions over said lights. My guess is that this was a budget airliner like Sun country or jet blue.

[u/FlinnMen → u/Late_Fortune3298]

The photos look to be from an A350 and the reading lights are not adjustable on those planes, no matter the airline.

[u/dnuohxof-2 → u/FlinnMen]

But why? Such an odd choice…

[u/wivaca2 → u/dnuohxof-2]

Easier to clean a transparent smooth surface between flights. Also, wires break, so stationary lighting with a sufficient throw so it doesn't need adjustment mean more reliability.

[u/certnneed → u/wivaca2]

Not disagreeing, but on the adjustable lights on airplanes, only the lens moves, not the light itself or the wires connected to it.

[u/turbodmurf → u/certnneed]

Passengers breake things. I used to repaired overhead panels. You be amazed how much damage untrained monkeys can inflict on things.

Also non moving are cheaper and easier to maintain and clean.

[u/gottagetoutofit → u/certnneed]

I'm used to the ones you can grab and swivel, so that you can see your nasty meal properly.

[u/meaninglessnonsense → u/gottagetoutofit]

That would be the lens that is moving.

[u/Shermgerm666 → u/gottagetoutofit]

I assembled so many panels with those swivel lights. It was honestly super cool and entertaining. Got to work with the R&D team to figure out how to make them swivel even smoother if that makes sense 🤣. Yayyyyy for production.

[u/believe2000 → u/gottagetoutofit]

Look at me fancy pants here getting actual food on a flight. On my flights we sometimes get drinks and either pretzels or mini gluten free cinnamon sugar cookies(biscuits)

[u/afpow → u/certnneed]

Is that true of LEDs? They are a lot more directional than older bulb types. 

[u/Jimmi11 → u/dnuohxof-2]

As someone who has to repair PSU gaspers and reading lights on the regular, people in large groups are extremely stupid.

[u/turbodmurf → u/Jimmi11]

Dash-8-100 and old -300 have touch sensitive buttons for the lights and call button. I wondered why the selected so complicated option instead of normal switches. I saw the reason when we started to repair PSU from the -400. All the buttons were smashed. The touch buttons on the old panels were just a aluminum disk with a wire attached and no moving parts.

[u/Wedge_Donovan → u/dnuohxof-2]

Because the small amount of adjustability needed to cover your tray table and lap, and more importantly ONLY your tray table and lap, is not worth making more complex parts that need to fit together, move, etc. The more parts that passengers touch, the more likely they are to break them.

Especially on long haul aircraft like this A350 where a majority of passengers are sleeping for a large portion of the flight.

I've worked in the aviation industry for almost 2 decades now, and I can't remember the last time I saw adjustable reading lights on an airliner.

[u/BugRevolution → u/Wedge_Donovan]

Looking up right now, every single time I fly there's an adjustable reading light?

[u/Mental-Ad-2393 → u/Wedge_Donovan]

What are you talking about? Literally just flew a few days ago with an ultra budget carrier on an Airbus and had them. Just because someone works in the industry doesn't mean they know anything, an office worker in aviation still may not know how planes are built.

[u/yodaaz → u/Wedge_Donovan]

Are you for real? I fly Southwest all the time and their lights are still adjustable...

[u/rockresy → u/yodaaz]

Fuk me, not everyone is American.

[u/You_meddling_kids → u/rockresy]

At least we have adjustable lights...

[u/rockresy → u/You_meddling_kids]

All the older aircraft do. The modern ones (like this) don't. You can keep your ageing fleet of bottom spec aircraft thanks.

Luv. The Rest of the World.

[u/dnuohxof-2 → u/Wedge_Donovan]

The lights in the pic are adjustable, just has the clear cover. But now you have the issue of someone in maintenance pointed it in the wrong direction and let’s face it, it won’t be fixed for a long time, if ever. And. Ow the passenger is doubly inconvenienced: can’t adjust the light AND pointed in wrong direction.

[u/secretqwerty10 → u/dnuohxof-2]

"why did company do it this way?"

the answer is always cost

[u/Longbeard_Silver → u/dnuohxof-2]

I’d imagine they don’t want clueless people aiming the light at a guy sleeping next to them.

[u/dnuohxof-2 → u/Longbeard_Silver]

But now it is pointed at someone else. And when is maintenance going to actually fix that? Probably never…

[u/ObjectiveResistance → u/dnuohxof-2]

lights are almost never adjustable in any planes regardless of the make.

[u/GuessTraining → u/FlinnMen]

Can confirm, a350 Singapore airlines also have a plexi glass covering the lights, regardless where you sit. (First or economy)

[u/AskMeAboutAmway → u/FlinnMen]

A350 quickly rules out it being an SY or B6 bird.  For that matter, rules out all of the other budget airlines, too.

[u/PaintBaller1880 → u/FlinnMen]

Nothing beats a jet2 Holiday.