Seat 10A sounds like an ordinary window seat, but on several aircraft flying to Hawaii, there’s no window beside it. Alaska has acknowledged the problem on its Boeing 737-800, and Southwest now identifies the same seat as windowless on two of its aircraft types. This can come as a particularly unwelcome surprise when you’ve paid extra to choose where you’ll sit for five or six hours across the Pacific.
We recently looked at how airlines are charging more for ordinary window and aisle seats on Hawaii flights. Yet choosing the right letter on the seat map doesn’t necessarily guarantee the view you expect. There are specific seats worth checking on Hawaiian, Alaska, Southwest and United, although the answer depends on the aircraft rather than simply the airline or flight number.
Which Alaska, Southwest and United seats have no windows.
Alaska has been unusually forthcoming about this issue. In an explanation that actually used a flight to Maui as its example, the airline identified seat 10A on its 737-800 and 11A on its 737-900ER as having no window. The reason is surprisingly mundane: an air-conditioning duct runs behind the cabin wall where a window would otherwise go.
The 737-900ER remains in Alaska’s fleet and continues to fly to Hawaii, even though the older, non-ER 737-900 has been retired. Current independent seat guides also flag 11A on Alaska’s 737 MAX 9, but the airline’s original explanation didn’t cover that aircraft since it predated the plane, so we’d verify the particular configuration before relying on that seat number.
Southwest offers an especially interesting comparison because it abandoned open seating on January 27, 2026. Previously, passengers could see what they were getting when they boarded and choose another available seat. Now, with assigned seating and charges for certain locations, passengers often decide well before they step aboard.
Seat 10A on Southwest’s 737 MAX 8 has no window, and the same problem exists on its older 737-800. The MAX 8 is now the aircraft Southwest commonly flies on its Hawaii routes. Seats 11A and 11F on both aircraft have limited visibility or misaligned windows. Southwest has displayed warnings about these seats during booking, although passengers should check carefully before buying.
United’s 737 MAX 8 and MAX 9 both operate Hawaii flights and have problem seats in economy. On both aircraft, 11A is windowless. On the MAX 9, 12A has a misaligned window, and 12F does as well in certain configurations. United’s seasonal Maui-to-Newark service, scheduled to return December 19, provides a business-class example. On Gayle King’s January 2026 flight from Maui, she discovered that seat 18L aboard a United 767-300ER with the 46-seat Polaris business cabin had no window. In that configuration, seat 18A is another assignment worth checking before booking.
Hawaiian’s window problem is different.
Hawaiian’s Airbus A321neo narrow-body has its own problem seats. Seat guides flag 15A and 15J, though descriptions range from completely missing to badly misaligned windows. Those positions are also in a non-reclining row immediately ahead of the exit row, making them worth checking even if the outside view isn’t one of your biggest concerns.
On Hawaiian’s A330-200 widebody, seats 17A and 17J are commonly identified as lacking a window directly beside the passenger. Recently, one passenger reported having no window in row 17, while another said they could see the islands on approach from 17J through a nearby window. The experience can depend on where the adjacent window is relative to your seat.
Before you pay for a window seat.
Before paying for a particular seat, check the aircraft type shown in your reservation, look for any warnings about missing or restricted windows, and compare the actual configuration with AeroLOPA’s detailed seat maps, which show where the windows actually line up with the seats. It’s also worth checking again before departure because an aircraft substitution can change the layout after you’ve made your selection.
Meanwhile, the courts are beginning to examine what airlines owe customers who pay for window seats and don’t receive the view they expected. We covered that related United court ruling in July. A federal judge allowed a similar case against Delta to proceed in November. Neither ruling establishes that passengers are automatically entitled to compensation, but the dispute over what constitutes a window seat remains unsettled.
We’re interested in hearing from readers who have actually encountered these seats on flights to or from Hawaii. Which airline, aircraft, and seat number were involved, and did the booking process warn you beforehand?
If you paid to select the seat, did the airline offer anything when you complained? We’d also like to hear from those who don’t particularly care about the view, or might even prefer a solid wall simply to lean against while sleeping.
By Rob and Jeff, Beat of Hawaii.
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