While we're poking around the southern hemisphere, let's jet on over to South Africa. Oh, perhaps that's the wrong choice of words considering at a South African gay couple's taking on British Airways for alleged discrimination.

It seems the men had upgraded their tickets in order to sit together, making no secret of their sexuality and desire to share the experience. As there were no adjacent seats in coach, the men asked if they could pay the R 20,000 (a little over $2000) for an upgrade. British Airways officials, however, said their tickets could not be changed and they would have to buy entirely new tickets. The Independent reports:

They had inquired at Durban International Airport about sitting together and alone on the international leg of the flight, but had been told it was not possible to guarantee that in economy class ... [A]irline staff in Johannesburg told them that their tickets - for which they had paid R20 000 - could not be upgraded. They would have to purchase entirely new ones and forfeit the original ones.

The men's lawyer, however, called British Airways to see if the tickets could be upgraded. In light of this revelation, the men insist the company intentionally kept them apart because they're gay. A BA representative, however, says the men had originally purchased discount tickets which couldn't be upgraded. Despite this claim, the men insist the company pay them R 80,000 and issue an apology.

Hmmm...this sounds a bit fishy to us. The men say they were holding hands at the ticket counter, a sign of affection which may have led officials to keep them apart. Airline officials insist, however, that the counters are far too high for an attendant to see their hands, thus invalidating their argument.

It seems to us that if these men truly feel BS "did everything in their power" to keep them apart, they would be asking for a little more than R 80,000, which amounts to less than $10,000.

Maybe we're just greedy, but if we were suing an airline, we'd ask for six-figures. And, possibly, our own plane.