Overview
- U.S. District Judge James Donato in San Francisco declined to dismiss the proposed class action against United, finding the airline’s reservation screens, ticketing terms and boarding passes plausibly promised a window to customers who paid for a “window” seat.
- The plaintiffs say United sold more than one million disputed seats on Boeing 737, Boeing 757 and Airbus A321 aircraft where wall-adjacent positions lack exterior windows because of ducts, wiring or cabin layout.
- United argued that “window seat” denotes a seat’s position next to the fuselage and that federal law preempts the claims but the judge ruled those defenses do not defeat the breach claims at this stage.
- Some passengers reported receiving refunds or mileage credits after complaints and United says it updated its website and app in 2025 to add more detail to the seat-selection process, though the court noted those changes do not resolve past bookings.
- The ruling, issued after Monday’s order, sends the case into discovery and class-certification briefing and could lead carriers to change how they label seats, set premiums and disclose windowless positions during booking.