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United Airlines is facing a massive lawsuit from one million passengers after selling them window seats for flights that didn’t actually have a window.
There are plenty of things to consider when you’re flying by plane, especially when it comes to tacking on extras for your flight. Plenty of thrifty fliers have found ways to travel without needing to pay for baggage, seat selection, or even faster boarding.
However, if you don’t pay up to select a specific seat, you’d hope that you get what you’re paying for. That includes window seats, which can typically cost as much as seats with extra room.
So, when you do select a window seat, you want to be able to see outside, right? Well, there are some airlines where that isn’t the case, and that includes United.
1 Million passengers can sue over non-window seats
As per a report from The Independent, the US-based airline is facing a class-action lawsuit from around 1 million passengers who bought window seats and didn’t actually get a window.
It comes after a judge in San Francisco rejected United’s case that a window seat refers to the position of the seat, not actually having access to seeing what is outside. Typically, these seats are next to the cabin walls with nothing to see.
“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,” a United spokesperson told The Independent.
UnsplashWhen you pay for a window seat, you want to see the outside.
The controversy has been ongoing since August, when passengers filed proposed class-action lawsuits against United and Delta, with courts in San Francisco and New York, respectively.
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At that time, United’s defense stated that: “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.”
While Delta has been named in the case, they are reportedly trying to get the suit dismissed on their own side.
United also has rules that now allow them to kick passengers off flights if they don’t use headphones while playing music.
