JetBlue Being Sued for Not Delivering On 'Free Seat Selection'

Saman Kohanof paid $379 for a JetBlue flight from Fort Lauderdale to Los Angeles in February. He chose the pricier "Blue" fare specifically because it advertised free seat selection — a benefit not included in the cheaper "Blue Basic" option.

After JetBlue accepted his payment, he went to pick his seat. Every seat was grayed out. No selection available. He was assigned a random seat anyway — exactly what the cheaper Blue Basic customers get, despite paying less.

Kohanof filed a 25-page class-action complaint in the US District Court for the Central District of California on August 31, alleging that JetBlue knowingly sold him — and potentially thousands of other passengers — a benefit it couldn't deliver. The lawsuit claims damages exceeding $5 million, the threshold for federal class-action jurisdiction.

"Only after JetBlue accepts payment and completes the transaction do purchasers discover," the complaint states, that the seat-selection benefit isn't actually available.

JetBlue has not publicly responded to the lawsuit.

Why the Lawsuit Has Legal Legs

The complaint is careful about what it does and doesn't argue. Kohanof isn't challenging JetBlue's right to withhold seats for operational reasons — airlines routinely block seats near emergency exits, hold rows for operational flexibility, or release seats only closer to departure. None of that is inherently illegal.

What the lawsuit challenges is JetBlue's alleged failure to disclose during the booking process that the free seat selection benefit isn't currently available. Kohanof's core argument is simple: JetBlue controls the seat map. JetBlue knows in real time which seats are available for advance selection and which aren't. If no free seats are available on a given flight, JetBlue has the information to tell a passenger that before they choose the more expensive fare — and it allegedly didn't.

That framing puts this squarely in false advertising and consumer protection territory. California's consumer protection laws are among the strongest in the country, and the Central District of California — where the suit was filed — is a common venue for exactly these kinds of consumer class actions.

This Is Part of a Bigger Trend

Airlines are having a rough year in court over seat-related promises they may or may not be keeping.

Last year, Delta and United were both hit with class-action lawsuits from passengers who paid extra for window seats — only to discover their "window seat" was positioned next to a solid wall with no window. Millions of passengers were allegedly affected. Those cases are still working through the courts.

The JetBlue case is a different flavor of the same basic problem: passengers paying more for a specific advertised benefit, receiving something that looks like the cheaper option, and having no recourse when they complain. Airlines have built complex fare structures with dozens of sub-tiers, add-ons, and included benefits — and as those structures get more complicated, the gap between what's advertised at checkout and what passengers actually receive has become a growing source of litigation.

Since Kohanof booked his flight, JetBlue has rebranded its fare tiers to Main Base, Main, and Main Flex. Main and Main Flex are still advertised as including free seat selection. Whether those fares actually deliver the benefit consistently — and whether JetBlue discloses availability during checkout — is now a question a federal court will likely help answer.

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