Passengers who paid extra for window seats on Boeing and Airbus jets found blank walls instead
Passengers who paid extra to reserve window seats on United Airlines flights discovered their seats lacked windows entirely, placed next to blank cabin walls where windows would normally be located, according to a lawsuit a federal judge allowed to proceed Monday.
U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco rejected United’s bid to dismiss the proposed class action, ruling that the airline made an express promise to provide window seats to passengers who paid for them.
Donato said the airline’s ticketing terms, boarding passes, and reservation screens state expressly that United would provide window seats to passengers who paid for them. “No more is needed at this stage for the breach claims to go forward,” he said.
The walls sometimes align with aircraft operating components, such as air conditioning ducts, the plaintiffs said.
The lawsuit, filed last August, involves passengers seated in window rows on Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 aircraft where no window existed. According to the complaint, passengers typically purchase window seats to manage fear of flying and motion sickness, keep children occupied, access more light, or take in the view.
United, based in Chicago, declined to comment on the lawsuit but said it has “added more detail to our seat selection process, so customers can have more information about what to expect when they choose a seat.”
The airline had argued that federal law pre-empted the claims and that the term “window” refers to the seat’s location relative to the cabin wall and aisle, not a guaranteed view. Donato rejected both arguments.
Delta Air Lines is seeking to dismiss a similar lawsuit pending against it in federal court in Brooklyn, New York.
Lawyers for the United passengers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Both lawsuits seek millions of dollars in damages for more than 1 million passengers per carrier.