A man and his partner say they were forced to separate on an Alaska Airlines flight in order to accommodate a straight couple who wanted to sit together.
Restaurant owner David Cooley took to Facebook over the weekend to explain his side of the story.
He says he and his parter were flying from New York to Los Angeles. They had purchased two premium class seats next to each other. After settling into their assigned seats, a flight attendant approached.
Cooley writes:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
My companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach, so a [heterosexual] couple could sit together. I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together. He was given a choice to either give up the premium seat and move to coach or get off the plane. We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane.
I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before. I was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight # 1407…
Posted by David Cooley on Sunday, July 29, 2018
Cooley says he’s “never been so discriminated against while traveling before.”
“I cannot believe that an airline in this day and age would give a straight couple preferential treatment over a gay couple and go so far as to ask us to leave,” he writes.
So far, Cooley’s post has received over 100 comments and nearly 800 shares.
In a statement, Alaska Airlines acknowledges that it did take place and that it’s looking into the matter:
When boarding flight 1407 from JFK to LAX, a couple was mistakenly assigned the same seats as another couple in Premium Class. We reseated one of the guests from Premium Class in the Main Cabin. We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details while communicating directly with the guests involved to try and make this right. Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, and our employees value inclusion for our guests and each other.
Related: This man can’t become an airline pilot because he’s HIV-positive
Hussain-TheCanadian
There are multiple issues that the airline needs to address: firstly when the flight attendant found out that the gentlemen are a couple why didnt she fuck off? What did she exactly say when she was told that the men are a couple?
Secondly if this is an issue of overbooking, guess who bares responsibility of any inconvenience or monetary loss? Hint: it’s not the guests.
Thirdly, why would any guest, in their right mind, would degrade from a premium (that they paid for) to a coach seat for ANY reason that does not include saving another passengers’s life?
rray63
We are the last minority. There are protections for everything under the sun. The protections for LGBTQ are few and far between. So far we are on our own. Even Hollywood, who allegedly fights for us hasn’t really done so. The gay groups that purport to support and help us, what do they really do? I’ve been a victim for over ten years, not one of those groups has ever even bothered to answer an email, much less a regular letter. It’s pathetic, and what happened to me was so much worse than being asked to give up a freaking seat. Though that is still horrible to the person it happens to. So wise up, we have to fight for ourselves, no one else will.
JAWIWA
Gurl, please. Black and Brown people are still regularly facing atriocious discrimination, as are disabled people, as are heterosexual women. All of that is regardless of whatever is written into law. So, please stop with this “we are the last minority” twaddle.
Kangol
I hear you, though as JAWIWA says, racist, sexist, and ableist discrimination are ongoing and have in some cases gotten worse, and when you think intersectionally, it’s hell for some people out here. That said, I am surprised that not a single LGBTQ organization you’ve contacted has responded. Where do you live? How have you been victimized? I’m asking not to pry but to say that I’d strongly recommend skipping email and just calling; I can tell you from my experience with several different LGBTQ advocacy and rights groups that a phone call usually sparks a response, but it may take two. A letter alone these days, not so much, and many people ignore email. But contact them by phone, or by their social media (DM Twitter, post on their FB page if they have one), and you are likely to get a response. Lastly, Hollywood does not allegedly fight for LGBTQ people, it fights for money. That’s all it cares about. Many actors are pro-LGBTQ, but the industry is still struggling to deal with its homophobia and transphobia (and racism, misogyny, classism, etc.).
picthis
I’m Alaska million miler and like the airline, so willing to at least hear their position on this. Certainly doesn’t sound good.
As far as the nasty comments about the gay couple involved – can the gay community ever stop worrying about age different couples?! Some of those relationships work, some don’t … stop the shaming judgmental crap.
Know your enemy. Stop division in the community.
Kevan1
JAWIWA I agree with you. However the one thing that does not happen to the majority of blacks, the disabled and women, they are not refused service from cake decorators,florist or restaurants. Gays are. There are laws to protect people of color, women and people with disabilities.
Kevan1
P.S. not to mention transgendered people.
tudugipoju89
hjjjjjjjjjj
as Annie replied I didn’t even know that any one able to earn $8091 in four weeks on the
computer . why not check here…
Brian
I’m very tired of the scripted lines about “inclusion” and “zero-tolerance.” Corporations love to say and do one set of things, and then say that they don’t say and do those things. It’s as if they’re saying, “The words I just said are words I don’t say, and the things I just did are things I would never do.” No one should stand for that fake crap.
broadshoulder
It happened to me on Easyjet from Pisa to London. We were asked by the stewardess if we could make room for a couple who turned up late and found themselves separated
I gave because there was no choice and the girl is likely to kick off.But there was no one there to stick up for us..
matt2414
This happened to me on Allegiant Air. There are no assigned seats on Allegiant unless you pay for one, but me and my husband happened to be seated next to each other anyway. Well a straight couple, who hadn’t paid to sit together, wanted my husband’s seat so they could sit next to each other. The flight attendant then forced my husband to move to the back of the plane. When we landed, I had to wait for him to deplane last, delaying our arrival to our hotel. This may seem like a minor inconvenience, but it’s basically discrimination. Why don’t airline personnel at least ask permission before moving people? Some people complain there are too many gay people depicted in movies and television. This just proves there aren’t enough gay people depicted if people keep acting like we don’t exist.
Juanjo
I would want to know more information about this. I was a frequent flyer on United, Alaska, and America for a very long time and held the highest status on Alaska and United in their programs for about 10 years or so. Airlines have rules on how they handle this issue. Sometimes seats are accidentally double assigned by the program. Sometimes there is a change in the plane and people get reassigned. But in deciding issues over who gets a seat, the full fare flyer gets the seat before the person on a companion ticket, award travel, or upgrade travel. If both parties paid full price then who bought first. The fact this person says his partner was sent to coach with no refund or compensation indicates to me he might have been on a companion ticket.
All said, read the fine print on the ticket, you are only promised transportation between point A and point B. Nothing more. Your seat assignment can be changed, the mode of transit can be changed.
walterhpdx
Plus, it’s not the whole couple issue. It’s one person of the couple.
So the gay couple got assigned seats A and B, and the straight couple got assigned B and C. Most likely the straight couple were assigned the seats first, which means that the couple gets B and C, whereas one of the gay couple gets A, and the other gets reassigned.
This isn’t a gay vs straight issue. It’s a seat reservation issue. I’m a million miler on Alaska Airlines, plus half a million miles each on American and Delta. I have seen more support from Alaska Airlines for the LGBTQ community than I have on any other airline, hands down.
I do not doubt that the gay couple felt discriminated against. But if they weren’t assigned the seats first, then they weren’t entitled to them.
DCguy
Except if what you said was true Alaska Air would have already announced that. Instead they admitted that this happened and said they are “Investigating” it. Which is code for “Sh*t, our flight attended scr*wed us on this one and we need our P.R. team to come up with a good response”.
KevinG
The article specifically says that the gay couple purchased two premium seats. It was not a companion ticket. If they paid extra and were the airlines then tried to make them take lesser accommodations, that’s fraud unless the airline compensated them.
ChuckGG
This needs to be investigated, of course. I would not be surprised to discover this is just yet another example of a poorly designed seat assignment system. We all know airlines overbook a plane in order to make up for no-shows and cancellations. Therein lies the problem.
The seat reservation system should handle these situations and certainly not break-up seat placement in situations where the tickets were purchased together, as one would presume was done here.
It does not take many of these situations to sully the reputation of a business. The airlines would have been better off flying a couple of empty seats than to have caused this situation. I wager they wish they had after today’s fallout.
Rob
I call bullshit on “accidents”. I’ve been a programmer for over 30 years and this is something that could have been prevented 30 years ago. It’s always easy to blame the “computer”, but it’s a load of shit. The first time it happens, you call IT, tell them the problem and have them fix the bug. Don’t blame the “computer”, and don’t explain it away with “this happens”. They tell you it happens because people believe it. As an IT professional for over 30 years I’m telling you it should happen once, it should be identified, and it should be fixed permanently.
dwes09
“So the gay couple got assigned seats A and B, and the straight couple got assigned B and C. Most likely the straight couple were assigned the seats first, which means that the couple gets B and C, whereas one of the gay couple gets A, and the other gets reassigned.”
A classic example of fuzzy thinking. This poster makes a series of assumptions with no factual underpinning and then suddenly comes to a conclusion as if they were true. Maybe this the case, maybe not. i don’t know, but I have little faith in an airline that used to hide bible verses in its napkins (don’t know if they still do, but a “christian company” is unlikely to see a gay couple as a “real” couple or worthy of the same respect). And the fact that they are “looking into it” rather than stating that it was an issue of ticket price or time of purchase (which could be checked via computer in a matter of seconds) casts doubts on that hypothesis.
Kevan1
Juanjo Yes but this was a situation where the srt8 couple would not have been ask to move, that is the point. Sounds like you also have a prejudice for the str8 couple.
Kevan1
walterhpdx This was not Alaska Airlines it was a stupid bigoted airlines hostess.
MacAdvisor
Walterhpdx wrote:
“So the gay couple got assigned seats A and B, and the straight couple got assigned B and C. Most likely the straight couple were assigned the seats first, which means that the couple gets B and C, whereas one of the gay couple gets A, and the other gets reassigned.”
Except, in the class the incident took place in, the seats A, B, aisle, C, and D. If the gay couple had been assigned A and B, they were sitting together. If the straight couple had B and C, they were not seated together, but across the aisle from each other. For someone who claims in another post to be a Million Mile member, you seem oddly unfamiliar with the seating arrangement in business and first class.
Chrisk
David Cooley into very young boys. I’m sure to a normal person when he said that they were a couple it csme off as completely ridiculous
paul dorian lord fredine
that’s a very incendiary comment (suggesting pedophilia) and i think it deserves some kind of proof. also insinuating that being gay is not ‘normal’ by your standards. imo, you’re a prick.
Kangol
You are making an inflammatory, homophobic accusation (gay man into boys, also the term “normal person”) against Cooley, owner of the famous Abbey bar-restaurant-hangout spot in LA.
In case anyone cares, Cooley was dating and was engaged for a while to a younger man, but they apparently called things off. But his fiancee was an adult young man, not a “very young boy.”
Ukin Blome
!!!QUEERTY MODERATORS!!!!! This comment is an obvious violation of your terms of service. Please remove it and the user who posted it from your system. I am asking you to do this out of respect for the dignity of the rest of your commenters
Vince
@Ukin Blome.. It’s no secret that Cooley likes em young. Is that alright for me to say or do you want me banned now too?
jsmu
@Vince Yep, we want you banned now too, TROLL.
jsmu
Yo, MODERATORS???????? Why is this piece of crap ‘ChrisK’ not already banned?
Vince
@jsmu. Who’s we you vile POS? Speaking of trolls I checked your history. Every single post you make is to attack others by name calling. Pot calls the kettle black. Lol
dwes09
You hardly seem like a “normal person”, as vitriol and bitter judgement are not “normal”.
“Very young boys” assumes things I doubt are true (as it refers quite obviously to neo-pubescents) but then it is well documented that regressives care little for the truth.
walterhpdx
Tweeted this already, but putting here to make a point: To be honest, I don’t see this as a gay or straight issue. Whomever had been assigned the seat first, regardless of when the parties boarded the plane, had the right to sit there. Based on how it unfolded, it seems one of the straight couple was assigned first.
DCguy
You’ve now posted the same thing twice. What’s your agenda? If it was a simple policy Alaska would have already stated that, they haven’t, they are launching an investigation which means your simple explanation is not what happened.
Shirley Marquez
This is where we part company. In my book, if a passenger has a valid boarding pass and is SEATED first, that is the passenger who has the right to stay. Once a passenger is boarded and seated, the airline should not have any right to relocate or remove them just because they want the seat for somebody else.
The policy would have also solved the issue of United Express 3411, when a passenger was forcibly removed from his seat because the airline wanted it for a member of a flight crew. Sorry – you’ve already seated him, you have to find another solution.
Shaugn
This seems conjecture on your part. Do you have access to a time stamp that confirms your position? Maybe your stance is in hopes that the airline will compensate you or maybe they already have. The only thing you’re correct about is that of all cases of discrimination, this is a small pimple on the butt of the problem. To be viewed as valid and not just another whiny bitch issues need to meatier than this one.
PinkoOfTheGange
Is there a financial interest in AKA here?
dwes09
“This seems conjecture on your part. ”
It doesn’t seem conjecture. It is conjecture. In the first post he simply makes assumptions and then accepts them as true.
Here he acts as if privy to information he offers no support for.
Jaybyrd53
I cant believe that after you have paid for your seats that the airlines are allowed to do that and why would they want to accommodate one couple and put another couple in that same situation? They should have told the couple wanting to sit together thats too bad other passengers have paid for their seats and you will have to take your seats and next time you fly, pay for 2 seats together to avoid the issues in the first place. Why should others have to pay because you want to sit together? Next time threaten them with a lawsuit and see how fast they jump to accommodate you and if they continue to harrass you follow through with the lawsuit. This is the only thing that makes them understand, hit them in the wallet where it hurts the most.
russellhm
When I lived in San Francisco, I would fly often to Palm Springs on Alaska and found it to be a superb airline. But then, I was a single passenger. But the obvious scenario here is an attempt to kowtow to the straight couple. NYC to LAX is a long flight–I don’t fault either couple for wanting to sit with partners. The airline is a fault. Why was the gay couple seated if their seats were in question? Doesn’t add up. I submit that lots of First Class passes by issued to the gay couple to make amends as a boycott could be significant.
Lance Mullholland
Being from Texas (and having marched in Act-Up protests, AND having watched the Color Purple several times), it would’ve been stand your ground, and “HELL NO!”. Come and get me if you’re that determined to break us up ! Everyone get your cameras out – this is gonna be a viral rodeo…
derek mcgillicuddy
Actually, you are wrong: a confirmed reservation (and a reservation is only “confirmed” when the ticket is issued) is a contract for carriage no matter what the circumstances of the ticketing arrangement, whether it is paid, a “companion” ticket, or a so-called “free” ticket. When I worked for PA & UA there were occasionally seat duplications. This would happen when someone is issued a BP for a seat, then changes the seat, and then boards with the old boarding pass. So, the person who was re-assigned the then vacant seat will have a boarding pass for the same seat. I do not understand how this happens to-day because all boarding passes now have a bar code and are scanned when you board so if you try to use an old boarding pass it won’t scan and you have to recheck. What we would do in this case, is reseat the passengers who are standing because it is awkward and unseemly to ask someone to change seats once they are settled.
jsucese
Okay, I’m not sure if Queerty qualifies as a news org but I like to have both sides of the story before I come to a conclusion and this reeks of headline baiting. What is the response from Alaskan Airliines? Why are you promoting down a corporation before you get their side of the story? I have a sneaky suspicion that there is way more to this story than what the person highlighted is telling us. If Alaskan did do this then I’ll be glad to boycott them but I’d prefer to know what their side of the story is before I make my decision. I hope the rest of you do the same.
fur_hunter
What truly irritates me are these uneducated straight folks who say they are so disgusted with Gays wanting ‘Special Rights’ and ‘Special Privileges’. The ignorance in the country and the world for that fact is incredibly profound. And NO ONE wants to accept the unbiased and legitimate studies and research that have been done since 1973 regarding homosexuality. They would much more prefer to listen to some moron preaching from a pulpit and swearing up and down that what has been said would NEVER be a lie. IMBECILES! It is sad and pathetic.
Dakotahgeo
Even though Delta was kind in this instance, the client may not be so lucky next time. Delta, like any other airline, has its faults. As for Alaska Airlines, may all their jets crash empty! Little bastards!
pharaon.em.joe
Instead of everyone posting their frustration here, i invite you to go on their social media pages and post it there so that everyone can see it. This is how you help.
EricJon 69
Excellent reply.
EricJon 69
Disgraceful. Being forced to give up a seat regardless is unacceptable. Let alone from Premium to economy & splitting up a couple or they would be removed from the plane. That would also suggest the other couple was in economy. Why their upgrade?
ripzippysf
The airline was started in Alaska. This is the land of Sarah Palin. It is NOT a progressive state. If you fly them, lower your expectations. Don’t spend your money with backwoods companies.
Kangol
But didn’t they merge with Virgin America, a fairly progressive airline? I’m not defending Alaska Airlines, but I am saying their story is a bit more complex than where the airline was founded.
Aires the Ram
That’s right, we need to blame Sarah Palin. Brilliant.
jcoberkrom
I’m tired of “we’ll look into it”. Comment should be we take customer equally regardless, and if it is found that this is true the offending employee will be dealt with appropriately !
bobnla
There is more to this story than what we are being told.
Aires the Ram
Correct.
yaletownman
I wanna know the details and policies before I jump to a final conclusion. Living in San Francisco Alaska air does have a lot of direct routes but they aren’t the only airline flying out of SFO that does. If it turns out to be discrimination the they won’t be getting my nor my husbands business and we fly a lot. Especially my husband for work.
joesey
Its only going to get worse
The trump admin just anounced the religious liberty task force. More discrimination to come.
Kangol
And Georgia’s GOP candidate, Brian Kemp, who is openly anti-gay and has said he’d sign a religious freedom law to discriminate against gays, just received support from the quisling Log Cabin gay Republicans, over the Democratic candidate Stacy Abrams, who is pro-gay, has supported LGBTQ people her entire career, and, if elected, would become Georgia’s first black woman governor. Of course Trump actively supported Kemp’s bid. And well into early last year, Republican Kemp seems to have done little to secure Georgia’s voting system, even after a researcher discovered a security breach in late 2016 (there’s a great online piece on it in a recent New Yorker).
dinard38
@Kangol. I don’t know if you live in Georgia, but you should have seen Kemp’s hillbilly campaign commercials. I was like…..is he fo real? Commercials with him holding a rifle (guess that’s his way of stating that he’s an NRA supporter, haha) stating (in his best hillbilly accent) that he’s a hardcore Trump supporter and will eliminate sanctuary cities, blah, blah, blah.
We need some change here in GA. I’m just not sure how Stacy Abrams will fare in this bloody red state. They’ve already started running nasty commercials against Abrams, comparing her to Nancy Pelosi and Hillary Clinton. Republican attack ads are so unimaginable. They all the the same shit. Nancy Pelosi. Hillary Clinton. Liberal blah blah blah.
Hurry up, election day!!!
Nightman
Well, all of this doesn’t surprise me at all. I flew Alaska airlines once & decided never again! When I was served a very mediocre lunch, under the napkin was a religious quote from the Bible. BIG RED FLAG!!!!! On my return flight they lied & said my flight was cancelled due to “mechanical reasons”, BIG RED FLAG!!! & I’d been book on the next flight, 7 hours later. The truth is there were only 1/2 a dozen passengers book on the flight & it wasn’t worth their expense to fly the plane. This was a late night flight that would’ve gotten me home at a decent time to get ready for work, etc. Instead I missed a day of work with no compensation from Alaska. They didn’t give me a hotel room cuz the delay wasn’t over 8 hours. So I sat in the airport all night with no luggage (they refused to return checked bags – this was also a lie cuz the baggage staff had gone home & the b*tch at the counter was to lazy to get someone to get out bags – she laughed at me when I made my request.) so I could get clean clothes & freshen up, etc. Stay away from ALASKA AIRLINES & THEIR AFFILIATES. They may say they are Gay friendly but it’s just a legal thing they have to do to avoid litigation. In practice the Bible thumpers blatantly discriminate against Gays.
Nightman
Well, all of this doesn’t surprise me at all. I flew Alaska airlines once & decided never again! When I was served a very mediocre lunch, under the napkin was a religious quote from the Bible. BIG RED FLAG!!!!! On my return flight they lied & said my flight was cancelled due to “mechanical reasons”, BIG RED FLAG!!! & I’d been book on the next flight, 7 hours later. The truth is there were only 1/2 a dozen passengers book on the flight & it wasn’t worth their expense to fly the plane. This was a late night flight that would’ve gotten me home at a decent time to get ready for work, etc. Instead I missed a day of work with no compensation from Alaska. They didn’t give me a hotel room cuz the delay wasn’t over 8 hours. So I sat in the airport all night with no luggage (they refused to return checked bags – this was also a lie cuz the baggage staff had gone home & the obnoxious “person” at the counter was to lazy to get someone to get out bags – she laughed at me when I made my request.) so I could get clean clothes & freshen up, etc. Stay away from ALASKA AIRLINES & THEIR AFFILIATES. They may say they are Gay friendly but it’s just a legal thing they have to do to avoid litigation. In practice the Bible thumpers blatantly discriminate against Gays.
leauxbeaux
Glad to see she was upgraded to “person.”
ShaunNJ
This (nearly) happened to me and my partner at the time on a Caribbean trip, aboard American. We were seated next to each other returning home, though we had separate flight reservations. In our case, we weren’t even asked; we arrived to check in and found we were moved, to accommodate straight couple. I inquired what and why we aren’t in the seats we’d confirmed. The bullsh*t answer I got was the travel agent screwed up the reservation. I politely as I could explained I was the travel agent who made the reservations for us, we had printed confirmations. I demanded our seating be reinstated or we be upgraded to first class to compensate for the lie. Our coach seats were reinstated.
It is ridiculous that gay couples (or any passengers) who plan in advance and book their seat assignments (which we now often pay for) are asked to accommodate last minute requests by others. To accommodate an elderly or disabled person, or some passenger with a tight connection needing to deplane first – I have no problem changing. Otherwise, people should not be expected to move. The straight couple can be apart a few hours, it won’t kill them.
Mack
I have to say they do change the seating arrangements around on everyone. I was traveling with my brother and sister-in-law and we had our seats together assigned. When we flew on the first leg, they were in the back of the plane and I was in the front of the plane. Second leg, we were all assigned three different seats throughout the plane. We had book our flights SIX MONTHS in advanced and paid full price.
Christopher
I had to fly for an emergency repair in South Korea for work, so my company had to pay for a full fare business as no more coach seats were available (or they cost as much as a business). Something like $9000 and change. I had to leave right from work in the am, so I was in jeans and tee. I am sitting in my aisle seat in the middle 2 (2 2 2 layout in business) and one of the attendants wanted to move me for a couple. I said no, I picked this seat because I am claustrophobic and this makes it easier for me to fly, I cannot sit next to a window. She threatened to have me removed, I pulled out my platinum flyer status card and told her what I paid, and asked do they trump me? She moved someone else to next to me, I still filed a report with the platinum desk when I landed to let them know. She saw how I was dressed and figured I didn’t belong there. I don’t take that crap and I will speak up, I don’t yell and threaten, but I just lay it all out as I see it and let them decide their next course of action. If I didn’t of have that status however I am not sure how it would of played out. Also I am not sure how I would of handled the AK Airlines issue either, I would throw up a fuss enough so people start to notice but beyond that I would of most likely done what they did and raise hell with every manager I can get a hold of for the airline.
Mark Behar
Southwest Airlines is very gay friendly, and probably less expensive than Delta, without the silliness of “assigned seating” and “classes” of seating.
Aires the Ram
Southwest Airlines is not cheaper than Delta, and a good majority of people who fly, want an assigned seat. Having an assigned seat was always how business was done when you booked a flight on any airline, most still want that and are not ‘silly’ for it.
elliott_hankin
When an airline gives you a pre assigned seat everyone sits where their ticket says to sit. If you sit where your ticket says they can ask you if you would like to change but they cant force you to change. There has to be more to it. If they wanted to press it you can stay where you are and refuse to get up. If the police come you simply show them youre in tge seat they GAVE you and thats all the proof you need. I think there has to be more to this. Iam a gay man and i dont use the gay card and cry discrimination unless iam sure thatvall other possibilities are ruled out.
GentlemanCaller
I love all the sad little attempts by airline employees, Alaska frequent flyers, and other air-industry fan-boys to somehow justify this situation, or wring their hands that they just need more detailed information before they could possibly make any judgment. The point is that no heterosexual couples on the plane were asked to split up and move, only the same-sex couple, who were asked to accommodate a heterosexual couple. That action clearly indicates that either the airline or its agent assumes that same-sex couples are less worthy of respect than opposite-sex couples, and there’s no excusing that based on the fine print on the back of the ticket or the airlines’ companion program, so stop trying. If the flight attendant claims a deeply-held religious objection to same-sex couples, of course, then the full force of the United States Department of Justice will come to her aid.
ShowMeGuy
How about we first focus as CUSTOMERS at this situation where a customer who paid for a premium seat was told to relocate to coach ! ! ! ! ! ! !
Craig
His post says that they got off the plane for being humiliated while the airline’s statement says the passenger was reseated, so which is it?
djmcgamester
That’s not what it said. They said ONE of them would be reseated OR they’d have to leave the plane. They chose, rather than being humiliated by having to have one of them reseated, to exit the plane.
Rhysiee
Without any controversy, I’d like to say that Virgin Australia has always been gay friendly and supportive of the LGBTIQ…et al. community in Australia. As for Alaska airlines well I can’t say much. I wonder if this would have been bigger news on the major news channels like CNN and SKY if it were a mixed racial couple or a black couple or a reversed situation? Just putting that out there. ?
PinkoOfTheGange
And a lot of AKA interns trying to win hearts and minds…right?
PinkoOfTheGange
That showed up on the wrong post sorry it needs to be one down.
Lacuevaman
put your hair fire out!!! mistakes were made for sure. sounds like (hopefully) the airline admits to the mistake and will do better. i hate sissy vapid queens and this site celebrates them.
djmcgamester
While I don’t always agree with the “problems” presented in articles here – I tend to be more in the center politically rather than to the left – I actually see this as problematic. The flight attendant and the airline press release gave different stories. Something is up.
paljim
Amen!
djmcgamester
Interesting how they backslide and say the straight couple was always supposed to have those Premium seats when that’s not what the flight attendant told them. And I find it hard to believe the gay couple booked seats that weren’t together, meaning that if they were accidentally seated in the wrong section than they should have been re-seated, together, in the right section. Clear cut case of discrimination. I’d file a lawsuit because they’ll continue to get away with this stuff until it hurts them monetarily.
Hussain-TheCanadian
There are multiple issues that the airline needs to address: firstly when the flight attendant found out that the gentlemen are a couple why didnt she back off? What did she exactly say when she was told that the men are a couple?
Secondly if this is an issue of overbooking, guess who bares responsibility of any inconvenience or monetary loss? Hint: it’s not the guests.
Thirdly, why would any guest, in their right mind, would degrade from a premium (that they paid for) to a coach seat for ANY reason that does not include saving another passenger’s life?
howardmarc
Alaska Airlines day they are aware of the incident, and are looking into the matter. How about an apology to the couple, and the attendant put on probation or given sensitivity training. I still can’t believe this shit happens.
GayEGO
The airline employee should be fired as this is unacceptable, this is 2018!
phillip197
The only surprise here is how Alaska Airlines service of any kind can be “top rated”. I fly Alaska from time to time when it can’t be avoided, but the level of service in and out of the aircraft and the attitude of the staff has always been poor compared to the other national carriers (which is not a high bar by any means, let’s face it). It’s easy to believe the cabin staff was rude and inappropriate. It will take a lot more than some “sensitivity training” to fix this. I would start by replacing some senior managers and Board members. Based on my travel the last few years, it’s getting worse, not better.
garybw
In this circumstance, never give up your seat. Make them drag you off. This gets tv publicity. And a big check in you bank account.