United Airlines Faces New Trouble Alongside Delta After Charging Passengers For Misleading Seats

Passengers have sued United Airlines and Delta Air Lines in separate lawsuits over paying extra for window seats only to discover, once on the plane, that the seat does not have a window. On July 6, a federal judge dismissed United’s bid to have the proposed class-action lawsuit dismissed.

The lawsuits seek millions of dollars in damages for more than a million passengers of each airline. This comes amid a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspector suing United after the airline imposed a lifetime ban on him.

In the window-seat lawsuit, United passengers have stated the premium-cost seats are not flagged as being windowless.

Breakdown Of Window-Seat Lawsuits Against United Airlines And Delta Air Lines

The proposed class-action lawsuits against United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, both filed in Aug. 2025, seek refunds for the extra fees. United’s push to dismiss the lawsuit centers around its argument that a “window” seat refers to the seat’s location relative to the cabin wall and the aisle, rather than a seat with a literal window.

In addition, United has argued that it has never contractually guaranteed that those seats would have an outside view.

U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco rejected that defense on July 6. United Airlines declined to comment on the lawsuit to TheTravel.

Meanwhile, Delta’s motion to dismiss, filed in Brooklyn, is still pending. TheTravel contacted Delta Air Lines but did not receive a response in time for publishing. The court said United’s argument over what a “window” seat actually entails may be revisited later in the case, according to a document obtained by TheTravel.

The plaintiffs said that passengers generally purchase window seats for flight anxiety, motion sickness, keeping children occupied, more access to light, or taking in the view.

Part of United Airlines’ defense is the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, which preempts state lawsuits related to an airline’s prices, routes, or services. The court disagreed that the claims fell within the preempted category, since they concern the airline’s own promises, rather than state regulation being imposed on the airline.

The judge said the Chicago-based carrier’s ticketing terms, boarding passes, and reservation screens all state that the airline would provide window seats to passengers who paid for them.

“No more is needed at this ​stage for the breach claims to go forward,” the judge said.

The complaints concern the Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Airbus A321 aircraft.

Passengers Who Have Called Out “Window” Seats

Over the years, several passengers have shared images of where they are seated on the plane, claiming they paid extra for the seat believing it had a window view. In 2017, one traveler shared a post on X, stating he paid $75 extra for a window seat. The image shows that he is next to the cabin wall, with no window in sight.

Another United passenger shared a similar picture that showed his purported window seat, which he said he paid $40 extra for, was also next to a wall.

Since the lawsuit, United Airlines has made a change to its app and website that reflects when a window seat doesn’t in fact have a window. The carrier hinted at this change in a statement to TheTravel.

“As part of our regular review of united.com and the United App to enhance the customer experience, in 2025 we added more detail to our seat selection process, so customers can have more information about what to expect when they choose a seat,” the airline stated.

An Aug. 2025 post on Reddit highlighted the change, showing “No Window” marked for seat 11A on a flight from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) to Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport (MSP).

That particular seat, in addition to 10A and 12A, on Boeing 737 variants and the Airbus A321 family, is known to be windowless.

John Melvin, Alaska Airlines’ director of fleet engineering, described why this is the case in a 2019 press release.

“That’s the spot where Boeing places the air conditioning riser ducts from the belly – where the air conditioners are located – to the cabin ceiling, where the air distribution ducts are at,” Melvin said. “The vertical ducts are located behind the passenger compartment sidewall panels and they prevent the installation of a window in one row on the left side. This is standard on all Boeing 737 aircraft, not just ours.”

These two carriers aren’t the only airlines to face criticism over windowless seats.

Other Airlines That Have Had Complaints Over Window Seats

Southwest Airlines announced a major change in early 2025: no more open seating. The airline’s shift to assigned seating, which went into effect on Jan. 27, 2026, made several frequent flyers emotional.

Adam Savage, who co-hosted Mythbusters, shared his tribute on Instagram, writing, “Might be the last time I ever sit in my favorite airline seat!”

The image shows his legs stretched out right behind an exit-row seat. But with Southwest’s move away from open seating, customer complaints followed.

One traveler shared a video on X showing her windowless window seat.

She wrote, “I literally paid for a window seat and all I got was a wall.”

Southwest has since added a notice to several seats. The travel blog Your Mileage May Vary detailed the airline’s warning about each windowless seat on the aircraft.

An American Airlines passenger called out the carrier in a July 5 post on X, sharing a video showing that her seat didn’t have a window.

She wrote, “Can I have my points back that I used to upgrade my seating to a WINDOW seat?”

The Fort Worth, Texas-based carrier responded to her, stating that, “There’s some important wiring behind that panel. Since seat assignment isn’t guaranteed, a refund wouldn’t be eligible.”

“So I paid for a ‘chance for a window’?” she replied.

It remains unclear what will happen with the lawsuits against United and Delta; however, any ruling could have significant implications for passengers and airlines.