Passengers who paid more for window tickets only to discover they were seated next to a blank wall have filed two different class-action lawsuits against United Airlines and Delta Air Lines. Plaintiff Nicholas Meyer filed the Delta case in a federal court in Brooklyn, New York.  Marc Brenman and Aviva Copaken filed the United complaint in San Francisco.

The complaints refer to certain aircraft type(s), including the Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Airbus A321, that have seats along the sidewall that are sold as window seats but contain no windows. Those locations are blocked by internal components such as AC ducts and wiring. Passengers argue that not disclosing this during booking is misleading, especially considering Delta and United charge more to select those seats. Apparently, competitors such as Alaska Airlines and American Airlines mark those seats as not having windows, but Delta and United do not.

The lawsuits indicate that when it comes to window seating on a flight, travelers may be opting for that seat for a reason. Some travelers choose windows for a view, others to combat motion sickness or a fear of flying, and other travelers may have booked those seats simply to keep children occupied. The plaintiffs argue that they would not have paid the extra money for that seat or booked the seat at all had they known the truth.

The lawsuits are seeking thousands of dollars in damages on behalf of each passenger impacted by the claims. The legal documents claim that more than a million passenger on each airline could be entitled to damages.

The lawsuit claims also point to a larger issue, centered around airline fees. Carriers are becoming increasingly reliant on fees for seat selection, baggage and upgrades to enable them to have competitive base fares. Critics, however, state that if an airline is going to charge fees, they must be accurately disclosed on the booking page. The plaintiffs point out that directing customers to third-party sites like SeatGuru is not a reasonable replacement for being honest about which seats are available.

Delta and United are yet to respond publicly to the lawsuits.