Two class-action lawsuits filed Tuesday target Delta Air Lines and United Airlines, alleging the carriers misled passengers by selling “window” seats that offered nothing more than a blank wall.
The suits, filed in federal courts in Brooklyn and San Francisco, seek millions in damages for more than 1 million passengers at each airline. The complaints focus on Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Airbus A321 aircraft, where some seats lack windows due to air conditioning ducts, electrical conduits, or other components.
Nicholas Meyer of Brooklyn, lead plaintiff in the Delta case, said he booked a window seat for an August 5 flight from LaGuardia to Orange County, with a layover in Atlanta, only to spend “the ensuing four-and-a-half hour flight next to a blank wall,” ABC News reported.
The suit claims he paid more than $30 to select the seat after upgrading his basic economy ticket for another $40.
In the United case, Aviva Copaken of Los Angeles said she purchased three window seats — priced between $45.99 and $169.99 — seeking relief from claustrophobia with a view, but all were windowless.
Marc Brenman of San Francisco, another plaintiff, used points and benefits to choose a window seat on a San Francisco-to-Washington, D.C., flight, receiving a refund of 7,500 miles he called “insufficient.” United refunded Copaken for two flights but not the third, according to the complaint.
The lawsuits argue that Delta and United, based in Atlanta and Chicago respectively, fail to disclose these seats during booking, unlike competitors American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
“Had plaintiffs and the class members known that the seats they were purchasing (were) windowless, they would not have selected them — much less have paid extra,” the United complaint states, with the Delta suit echoing the sentiment, Reuters reported.
United’s basic economy window seat fees can exceed $50, rising over $100 on international flights, while Delta charges up to $70 for specific seats.
Carter Greenbaum, the attorney behind the suits, criticized the airlines’ reliance on third-party sites like SeatGuru for seat details.
“A company can’t misrepresent the nature of the products it sells and then rely on third-party reviews to say a customer should have known that it was lying,” he said in an email, per Reuters.
Delta and United did not respond to requests for comment.
The cases are Meyer v. Delta Air Lines Inc., No. 25-04608, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and Brenman et al v. United Airlines Inc., No. 25-06995, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of San Francisco.