Passengers sue Delta, United over windowless 'window seats'

BROOKLYN (CN) — In a pair of class actions filed Tuesday, passengers from each coast quibbled with United Airlines and Delta Air Lines’ policies charging extra for window seats that are not actually beside windows, instead offering a view of a blank aircraft wall.

“Delta indicated to the plaintiff and class members that the particular seats they chose had a ‘window,’ even though Delta knew full well they did not,” the plaintiffs taking on Delta said in an 18-page complaint filed in federal court in New York, accusing the airline of false advertising and deceptive business practices.

Half of Delta’s fleet of nearly 1,000 aircraft comprises Boeing 737s, Boeing 757s and Airbus A321s — all of which have at least one wall-adjacent seat with no window, according to the plaintiffs. It’s where vertical air conditioning riser ducts are located, making putting a window there impossible, the competing Alaska Airlines explains on its website.

But unlike Alaska and others, the plaintiffs complain, Delta advertises the seats as having a window, offering them as a “window seat” option on its seat map during checkout.

The plaintiffs cite posts on Reddit and X from passengers complaining about their windowless seats, and who were denied a refund.

“Delta! Can you please do a better job of noting when window seats don’t actually have a window? Some of us are nervous flyers and the window helps ease the anxiety. There is nothing worse than picking a window seat and arriving to no window,” one Redditor said.

The plaintiffs, who are represented by law firm Greenbaum Olbrantz, profess other reasons travelers may be willing to pay extra for a window seat.

“For many, it is a special experience to see the world from 30,000 feet, or to watch a descent into LaGuardia. Windows can captivate or distract an antsy child. Many people have a fear of flying, or get claustrophobic or motion sick on planes, andwindows give them a greater level of comfort in an otherwise stressful environment. Others just want a burst of sunlight to brighten their days. Whatever the motive, had plaintiff and the class members known they were choosing a windowless seat, they would not have selected it at all, much less paid more money for it,” the passengers say.

The passengers ask for damages for the extra fees they paid for window seats and to certify a nationwide class of people who received a windowless window seat.

Casey Olbrantz, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit saw great interest from passengers frustrated by their windowless seats.

”We have received an outpouring of interest in the lawsuit because customers are rightfully angry that they have paid extra for window seats, only to be seated next to a blank wall," Olbrantz said in an email.

The firm Greenbaum Olbrantz also represents passengers in separate class action filed in California against United Airlines on Tuesday over a similar practice of selling windowless window seats.

The plaintiffs in that suit say United — whose fleet is also made up partially of Airbus A32s and Boeing 737s with the same air conditioner duct location — violates the contract it and passengers agree on during the ticket transaction.

“Because United describes windowless seats as ‘window’ seats during the check-out process that generates the terms of the sale, and does so as well on the ticket itself and/or boarding pass, United expressly undertakes an obligation to provide such passengers with a window seat,” the plaintiffs in that suit write in their 23-page complaint.

Alongside the breach of contract claims, the plaintiffs in the United suit also accuse United of unfair competition. They also ask for certification of a nationwide class, alongside a California-specific subclass.

The United plaintiffs also ask for a public injunction for United to properly disclose the “window” seats.

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