United Airlines escapes class action lawsuit over misleading climate claims

Update:

• A Maryland judge has agreed to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging United Airlines makes false and misleading claims regarding the friendliness of its environmental initiatives.
• On Aug. 13, 2024, U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis granted United Airlines’ motion to dismiss with prejudice. 
• The now-dismissed lawsuit claimed United violated the Maryland Consumer Protection Act as it uses a biofuel it calls “sustainable aviation fuel” and has used marketing such as “eco-skies” on the side of its planes, indicating that the airline is environmentally friendly. 
• Plaintiffs argued those claims are misleading, as airlines are some of the worst CO2 producers that have a harmful effect on the environment. 
• In dismissing the lawsuit, Judge Zinis agreed with United’s argument that the claims alleging deception in United’s pricing and services brought under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act were preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act and therefore could not proceed.

United Airlines is facing a class action lawsuit saying the company makes false and misleading claims regarding the friendliness of its environmental initiatives.

The lawsuit claims the airline uses a biofuel it calls sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and has used marketing such as “eco-skies” on the side of its planes acting as if the airline is environmentally friendly.

Those claims, however, fall short as airlines are some of the worst CO2 producers that have a negative effect on the environment, the class action says.

“If the aviation sector were a nation, it would be among the top 10 CO2 emitters, responsible for 8% of global emissions,” the United Airlines environmental lawsuit says. “Beyond carbon dioxide, aviation emits soot, water vapor, sulfur, and nitrous oxides, which have substantial negative impacts on the upper atmosphere.”

Biofuel claims don’t address fossil fuels used in production, cost of crops, lawsuit says

United markets its fuel as sustainable aviation biofuel but those claims do not include the fact that the continued use of those fuels have a cumulative negative effect on climate change.

The aviation biofuel may have lower CO2 emissions than fossil fuels, but the production of those biofuels and their use result in CO2 and non-CO2 emissions, the lawsuit claims.

The equipment used to grow the biofuel crops uses fossil fuels and leads to land clearing, deforestation, agricultural pollution and competes with food production, the United Airlines environmental lawsuit claims.

“These activities require significant energy usage and cause direct environmental harm,” the United Airlines class action says.

United Airlines agreed to revise how it formats wage statements for California-based pilots as part of a five-year consent decree proposal submitted in late October.  

Have you flown on United Airlines recently? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Spencer Sheehan of Sheehan and Associates PC.

The United Airlines class action lawsuit is Zajac v. United Airlines Inc., Case No. 8:23-cv-03145-PX, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland Southern Division.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Passengers on sabotaged Alaska Airlines flight file class action lawsuit
• Southwest faces possible Dept. of Transportation fine over flight cancellations
• New study estimates airline passenger weight decrease could save millions in fuel
• Skiplagged seeks dismissal of American Airlines lawsuit over ‘unauthorized’ sales