United has asked a federal judge in California to throw out a lawsuit filed by passengers who claim they paid extra for window seats on flights and ended up sitting next to a windowless cabin wall.
According to Reuters, the carrier argued that it never contractually guaranteed that “window” seats would have a window view.
“The word ‘window’ identifies the position of the seat — i.e., next to the wall of the main body of the aircraft,” United reportedly wrote. “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.”
Attorneys filed the class action lawsuit against United in August on behalf of clients who said they paid higher fares with the understanding they would get a seat with a window and felt cheated by their actual, windowless seat.
The two named plaintiffs claim they got windowless window seats on United flights departing from airports in California. One was refunded money for her purchase, while the other was refunded in miles, which their lawyers maintain was not enough.
A similar lawsuit centered on windowless window seats has been filed against Delta in federal court in New York.
In both cases, the plaintiffs are seeking “all appropriate monetary relief,” including punitive damages against the airlines.
The lawsuits noted that both carriers fly aircraft with one or more seats that would ordinarily have a window but do not due to the positioning of air conditioning ducts, electrical conduits, or other systems. This feature is present on Boeing 737s and Airbus A321s operated by both airlines, as well as 757s operated by Delta.
Both complaints also pointed out that American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, and Ireland’s Ryanair alert customers when a wall-adjacent seat does not have a window view.
