Alaska Airlines has apologized after an incident Sunday in which a gay couple was separated on a flight so that a straight couple could sit together.
The airline said in a statement the incident was not a case of discrimination, but instead resulted from the airline accidentally booking two people in the same seat, CBS News reported.
“We mistakenly booked two people in one seat. We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details,” the airline said. “It’s our policy to keep all families seated together whenever possible; that didn’t happen here and we are deeply sorry for the situation.”
David Cooley, who owns a popular gay bar in Los Angeles, wrote on Facebook that his partner was asked to move from his premium seat to an economy class one so that another couple could sit together. When Cooley and his partner said they too were a couple, his partner was told to either move to economy or get off the flight, Cooley said.
Cooley and his partner chose to leave the flight because they felt humiliated, Cooley wrote. He urged the LGBT community and allies to boycott Alaska Airlines and recently acquired Virgin Group and praised Delta for getting him and his partner home without incident.
Alaska Airlines pointed out that it has a history of supporting LGBTQ rights and that the Human Rights Campaign gave the carrier a perfect rating for its policies on LGBTQ employees and passengers, the Post reported.
“We’ve reached out to Mr. Cooley to offer our sincere apologies for what happened and we are seeking to make it right,” the airline’s statement continued. “Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind.”
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