Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are being sued for selling windowless 'window seats' at high prices

Passengers on Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are suing the two airlines for paying extra for "window seats"—without a window. According to the New York Times, two class actions were filed this week in courts in New York and San Francisco. They accuse the carriers of charging millions for seats advertised as window seats, when in fact they faced a wall.

The complaints specifically target certain Boeing 737s, 757s, and Airbus A321s, which have seats adjacent to air conditioning ducts or electrical components, eliminating the need for a window. Despite this, Delta and United reportedly continued to describe these seats as "window seats" when booking. Passengers sometimes paid more than $70 on Delta or more than $50 on United for this type of seat in economy class, with prices as high as $100 on international flights.

Very concrete examples

A New York-based plaintiff says he discovered on a Delta flight from Atlanta to California that he would spend four and a half hours against a bulkhead instead of enjoying the outside view. Two California passengers named in the lawsuit against United say they paid between $45.99 and $169.99 for "window" seats that weren't. While United has partially reimbursed some claims, lawyers estimate the number of affected passengers is in the millions.

The class action lawsuits seek full reimbursement of the additional costs as well as punitive damages. If the court rules in their favor, this case could be very costly for the two airlines, accused of having exploited an invisible loophole... but one that was very real for travelers.