A federal judge on Monday denied United’s bid to throw out a lawsuit filed on behalf of passengers who claim they paid extra money for window seats on flights and ended up sitting next to a windowless cabin wall.
According to Reuters, U.S. Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California rejected United’s argument that the term “window seat” refers only to a seat’s position in an aircraft cabin and does not imply proximity to an actual window. He also noted that the airline’s ticketing terms, reservation system, and booking interface do not disclose the possibility of missing windows.
“No more is needed at this stage for the breach claims to go forward,” Donato said.
United declined to comment on the ruling but told Reuters that it has added more detail to its seat selection process to improve the customer experience.
Attorneys filed a proposed 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 airline asked the court to dismiss the case in November. In a filing, its lawyers wrote 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.”
Many major carriers operate 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. They vary, however, in how this information is communicated to passengers. American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, for instance, alert customers when a wall-adjacent seat does not have a window view.
The plaintiffs are seeking “all appropriate monetary relief,” including punitive damages, against United.
