Two major US airlines have been sued by millions of passengers for falsely advertising window seats. Separate lawsuits filed against Delta and United Airlines are seeking millions of dollars in damages from the carriers for extra charges levied on ‘window seats’ that didn’t have a window. More than a million customers from each airline say they were charged a premium for the seats, only to be seated next to a blank wall on their respective flights.
The case, lodged by law firm Greenbaum Olbrantz, has called on Delta and United to refund travellers the extra costs. Both airlines describe every seat situated on the far side of their planes as a ‘window seat’, despite some not actually having windows because of the positioning of wiring, air conditioning ducts and other structural components.
In legal documents seen by the BBC, customers said they would not have paid extra for the seats if they had known they would be ‘windowless’.
Lawyers said their clients had chosen the seats for a number of reasons, including for the view, to keep children occupied or to quell a fear of flying or motion sickness.
They described the levying of extra charges on seats without windows as “deceptive” and “unlawful”.
The complaints related to Boeing and Airbus aircrafts and pointed to the practice of rival carriers Alaska and American Airlines, who both flag the ‘windowless’ seats during the booking process.
Passengers can use websites such as SeatGuru to find details of specific seats, including where they are in the plane and benefits and drawbacks of their positioning.
However, Carter Greenbaum, whose firm filed both lawsuits, said customers shouldn’t have to use third-party websites to ascertain basic facts about their bookings.
“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 told Reuters.
United Airlines and Delta Airlines have been contacted for comment.