Their ‘window seats’ lacked windows. Now they’re suing the airlines

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When California-bound Nicholas Meyer made it to his seat Saturday on Delta Flight 826, he was looking forward to a cross-country journey admiring the view.

But the only view Meyer got during his 4½ hours in 23F, the “window seat” for which Delta charged him a premium, was of the blank wall next to his seat.

So this week, Meyer’s attorneys filed one of two class-action lawsuits against Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, seeking redress on his behalf – and all passengers who have experienced similar disappointments – over the carriers’ allegedly deceptive practice of charging fees to sit in windowless window seats.

According to the lawsuits, the airlines charge passengers extra to sit in the seats, despite knowing that they won’t be able to enjoy an unobstructed window view.

His attorneys accuse the airlines of “intentional misconduct” and are seeking the value of the money or benefits that passengers paid to United and Delta for “upgrading” to a window seat that turned out to be windowless, as well as punitive damages.

According to the two lawsuits, Delta and United each operate hundreds of Boeing 737, Boeing 757 or Airbus A321 aircraft in which at least one wall-adjacent seat has an air-conditioning duct, electrical conduit or other internal component in place of a window.

While other carriers alert potential passengers that these seats are windowless, the lawsuits contend that Delta and United advertise every wall-adjacent seat on the aircraft as a “window” seat, including ones like Meyer’s 23F.

“Many other airlines affirmatively disclose to consumers that the very same seats have ‘no window view.’ United and Delta could easily do the same, but they conveniently omit this fact and accept substantial extra fees that consumers would not have otherwise paid,” Casey Olbrantz, Meyer’s attorney, said in an email Wednesday.

The class-action suits contend that the two carriers have collectively sold millions of windowless window seats in recent years, amounting to deceptive unlawful conduct and breach of contract with affected passengers.

“Discovery will reveal the precise numbers, but we estimate that the overall number of affected passengers is in the millions,” Olbrantz added. He said his firm had received a flood of interest from passengers who say they have been harmed by the practice and wish to join the lawsuits.

In response to requests early Wednesday, United declined to comment on an ongoing legal matter, and Delta did not immediately respond.

Meyer’s lawsuit against Delta was filed in New York, while a suit against United from attorneys at the same firm was filed by Marc Brenman and Aviva Copaken.

According to the suit against Delta, passengers who want a window seat must generally pay for the opportunity to select a seat, then pay again to choose a specific seat. In one example of a typical basic economy fare, the fees to select a window seat can exceed $30.

United fees to select a window seat can exceed $50 on domestic flights and $100 on international flights, according to the second lawsuit.

As one example, Copaken said she purchased tickets for three United flights around May, paying an additional $45.99 to $169.99 for “window” seats on each of the three because she enjoys the view and experiences claustrophobia on planes.

“On each of the three occasions, she was disappointed to discover that her ‘window’ seat did not have a window at all,” according to the lawsuit, which included a photograph of a wall-adjacent seat without a window. It said United refunded the fees she paid for two of her flights after she provided notice of her complaint, but not for the third.

According to Seat Guru, a website that advises air passengers on choosing the best seats, some planes have areas where air ducts or wires are required to run up the wall in place of a window. “When this is required, it is not possible to have a window in this location, so instead, a solid blank wall will be there instead. Yes, airlines still advertise the seat as a ‘Window Seat’ even though there is no window.”