In August, consumers filed two class action lawsuits — one against Delta and the other against United Airlines — for charging premium prices for window seats that did not have windows adjacent to them.
In the complaint against Delta, the consumer’s lawyer contends:
For many years Delta has knowingly and routinely sold windowless window seats to travelers. For instance various models of Delta’s Boeing 737 Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 aircraft are built with one or more seats that would traditionally have window but do not include one due to the placement of air conditioning ducts electrical conduits or other interior components. Delta operates hundreds of these planes which each make multiple flights every day. As result Delta has likely sold over million windowless window seats throughout the class period.
This poor consumer who brought the case, the complaint says, spent four-and-a-half hours on his flight from Atlanta to Orange County, California seated against a blank wall.
Apparently other airlines like American and Alaska that sell windowless window seats provide a warning during the reservation process disclosing that those seats have no actual window.
*MOUSE PRINT:
In the United Airlines case, lawyers for the airline are asking that the case be dismissed, arguing that “window” refers to the position of the seat and not any potential view from that seat, saying in part:
“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.
Rather, the word ‘window’ identifies the position of the seat — i.e., next to the wall of the main body of the aircraft.”
United’s lawyers also made a very clever argument when they asserted that the airline’s contract of carriage — the formal agreement between the airline and passengers — “does not contain any promise that seats in the window position of any aircraft will have exterior window views.”
*MOUSE PRINT:
We scoured their contract of carriage and in fact there is no disclosure at all in reference to window seats having or not having a view. There is also nothing in the contract of carriage that guarantees you won’t be sucked into the airplane’s toilet and be ejected from the plane somewhere over Kansas!
Safe travels. Happy Thanksgiving to all our loyal readers.
P.S. You can visit Aero Lopa to see window placements and seat maps for most major airplanes and carriers.
True. The contract of carriage should be amended to guarantee that passengers won’t be sucked into the toilet (regardless of where they’re ejected).
CW should launch a campaign!
I’m sure United’s lawyers think themselves quite clever and are patting each other on the back over their cleverness. However, their argument that window seats do not imply a window at that seat don’t pass the reasonableness test, and definitely don’t explain the premium charge for a blank wall.
Some people like window seats so they can lean against it and sleep. Of course calling it window is nonsensical and I’m surprised they didn’t just settle and change the name to wall or window/wall. I don’t see how United can win this.
United’s claims of how the meaning of the word “window” is to be construed, is to every reasonable person, not sensible. Also fatal to their defense, is the imposition of a premium price for a feature that does not exist. But for the imposition of the price premium, United might successfully defend their definition of the word “window”. Instead, their ridiculous assertion becomes an aggravating factor that undermines their claim. Further, since other airlines disclose lack of a reasonably-expected feature in an airplane seat, so too can the defendants in this case. The fact their choice not to do so was willing, will be to the disadvantage of their defense.
You think they’d see right through this, but no…
i didn’t even know that United charges more for a window seat. Why not charge more for a seat cushion or an arm rest or a bad in front of your seat or a table or electricity with a plug in – all good idea – I bet that they’re reading. Also upcharge for coke vs pepsi – extra for ice?
Then I guess aisle seats are necessarily going to be next to an aisle!
This is why we need those seat map websites like Seat Guru, which give you the lowdown on your exact seat on your particular airline and plane model. They even give passengers a chance to rate and review them. I wouldn’t book a flight without it.