Aisle seats? You get that extra room on one side, and you don’t have to clamber over anyone to get to the bathroom. Middle seats? The advantage there is… nothing really, no one takes a middle seat by choice (although you might just survive a crash there). Ah, but window seats? You get a gorgeous view of the magnificent sky above and ground below. Unless you don’t, that is, because the window seat has no actual window, and you just paid a little extra to stare at the plane’s interior wall for a few hours.
Now, class action lawsuits are being brought against United Airlines (one word, as is appropriate) and Delta Air Lines (two words, for some reason) for false promises. If you buy a window seat, say the lawsuits, you should get a window! Especially if that ticket goes for a higher price. For reference, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Ryanair all notify passengers about the windowlessness of certain window seats before they buy, as Business Insider points out. United and Delta do not.
You’ll be amazed to learn that United disagrees with the suit. The airline is asking to have the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that “The use of the word ‘window’ in reference to a particular seat cannot reasonably be interpreted as a promise that the seat will have an exterior window view.” That actually sounds pretty reasonable to me, but then, I am not a lawyer. The claim is that the term “window seat” just refers to its position against the interior wall (i.e., it’s not a middle or an aisle seat).
Implications and estoppels
According to People, the specific accusations in the suit against United are breach of contract, breach of contract (again), breach of implied contract (which is probably how most relationship fights start), and promissory estoppel (which is when lawyers cheat at Scrabble, claiming it means breaking a promise). Reuters says both this and the Delta suit are for millions of dollars on behalf of millions of passengers.
The judge has plenty of time to consider United’s request for dismissal: the trial is scheduled to begin on June 7, 2027. The wheels of justice are taking the scenic route on this one, apparently. Of course, to actually see the scenery, you’d need a window seat. You can buy a ticket for one right now, window optional.
