Judge Not Buying United's Windowless Window Seat Excuse

United passengers who paid extra for a window seat that turned out to be a blank wall can keep pressing their case. As ABC News reports, a federal judge in California has refused to toss a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing United Airlines of misleading customers by selling "window seats" that lack an actual window. United argued that "window seat" simply refers to a seat's position relative to the aisle, while USA Today reports that the suit characterized the seats as simply being "adjacent to a blank wall."

But Judge James Donato said the claims can move ahead, adding, "The reservation screen used to buy the ticket made unequivocal representations 'at the time of booking' that United would provide a window seat. No more is needed at this stage for the breach claims to go forward." United says it has since added more detail to its seat-selection tools. While a similar suit targets Delta, the complaints note that some rivals, including American and Alaska, flag so-called "windowless" seats in advance.