United Airlines to face lawsuit over sale of windowless ‘window seats’ – Nationwide
A US federal judge has rejected United Airlines’ request to dismiss a lawsuit filed by passengers who said they paid extra for window seats, only to find their seats had no windows.
US District Judge James Donato rejected United’s argument that the term “window” only referred to the seat’s position relative to the cabin wall and the aisle, rather than guaranteeing passengers a view outside.
He also said that United’s ticket policies, boarding passes and booking screens clearly state that it will offer window seats to paying passengers.
“There is no longer any need at this stage for the infringement claims to go forward,” he ruled, Reuters reported.
A class-action lawsuit was filed last August against United Airlines, after passengers who purchased what they believed to be window seats found themselves sitting next to the walls of Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Airbus A321 aircraft, and claimed that the carriers did not disclose that there were no windows at the time of booking.
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“When consumers choose to book an airplane seat next to a wall, they expect it to have a window,” the lawsuit said.
“In fact, during seat selection on its mobile app, United strictly defines all seats near the wall as ‘window’—including seats without windows,” it continued.
Sometimes the walls of the plane are parallel to other parts, such as air conditioning ducts, electrical pipes and cables, or structural joints.
United, based in Chicago, did not comment on the lawsuit but told Reuters it had “added more information to our seat selection process, so customers have more information about what to expect when choosing a seat.”
Delta, headquartered in Atlanta, is also seeking to dismiss a lawsuit in federal court in New York over the same issue, Reuters added.
According to the legal filing, the plaintiffs say they buy window seats to combat motion sickness and fear of flying, to keep children entertained, or to enjoy the view.
The lawsuit seeks damages from passengers who thought they would be sitting next to the window when they bought a window seat, which they say may have been “millions” in them.
Class action lawsuits against airlines don’t always come from passengers; earlier this year, six former employees of Spirit Airlines sued the defunct company, saying it failed to provide written notice of termination and that they were still owed back pay and benefits.
On May 2, Spirit Airlines announced that it was going out of business after 34 years and “began to streamline our operations, and began operating immediately.”
The lawsuit says about 17,000 workers “were left without jobs or benefits and still owed money for accrued sick leave and vacation time.”
And in May, in an effort to strengthen financial protections for air passengers, the Canadian government announced that it would increase the fine that can be imposed on carriers for repeated violations of the air passenger bill of rights from $250,000 to $1 million and that under the new law, airlines will be required to pay compensation to customers within 30 days.
Although the rules do not include protection against bad seating arrangements, Canada’s air passenger protection regulations (APPR) require airlines to compensate passengers for delays or cancellations under the control of the carriers.
– via files from Reuters, Global News, Katie Scott and Adriana Fallico
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
