In fact, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines are today fighting off two separate class-action lawsuits. These lawsuits target their seat layout, especially the so-called window seats with fake windows. The plaintiffs in the lawsuits allege that millions of passengers were sold seats that were misrepresented as standards compliant. These seats were all found on Boeing 737s, Boeing 757s and Airbus A321s.
Nicholas Meyer, a resident of Brooklyn, New York, is the named plaintiff suing Delta. Meyer reserved a flight on August 5, 2025. For example, he will fly from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Orange County, California, but with a layover in Atlanta. He pre-selected a window seat to enjoy this view and paid a higher fare to do so. The added fees for the additional seat selection ranged from $45.99 to $169.99.
Once he boarded the plane, Meyer learned that his seat came without a window. He recalled the process to be discouraging and demoralizing. He went on to detail the four-and-a-half hour flight next to a wall of blankness as anything but what he dreamed it would be. As an apology for this inconvenience, Meyer was issued a refund of 7,500 miles. He found “definitely insufficient” to make up for the deceptive sale.
In a closely related case, Aviva Copaken is the class-action plaintiff steering the suit against United Airlines. Though she had booked three window seats on her flight, all three turned out not to have windows. She was frustrated, she said, explaining that she feels claustrophobic on regular flights and loves to look out the window when she flies.
Together, both lawsuits bring to light a critical safety issue in today’s airline seating configuration. They claim that the layout of air conditioning ducts and electrical conduits preclude the possibility of putting in windows. Consequently, the seats they sell as window seats don’t come with windows. This neglect has caused millions of passengers to be deceived and disappointed by their travel experience.
The class action lawsuits claim that Delta and United knowingly sold millions of windowless seats. It turns out that people who just wanted to see the beautiful countryside are now paying the penalty. Surprised and pleased passengers quickly snapped up cabin space in a new expanded aesthetic window seat. They found themselves gazing at a connecting wall instead of the beautiful landscape views they dreamed of.
Travelers will be hit by additional international extra seat selection fees which can be well over $100. This does nothing to prevent their disappointment when the experience falls short of the promise.
