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Alaska Airlines is under fire after a man said he and his boyfriend were told to sit apart on a California-bound plane because the straight couple wanted to sit together. David Cooley is an owner of a popular gay bard in Los Angeles, he said he and his partner had been in their assigned premium seats abroad Alaska Airline Flight 1407 at John F. Kennedy International Aiport in New York City.
A flight attendant approached David and his partner and David told the attendant that they, too are a couple and they wanted to sit together. However, his partner was given a choice; move to coach or get off the phone. Via a Facebook post, David said, “We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an enter cross-country flight and left the plan. I cannot believe that an airline is this day and age would give a straight couple preferential treatment over a gay couple and go so far as to us to leave.”
Alsa Airlines has since apologized and it is investigating the incident. According to The Washington Post Alaska Airlines released a statement, This unfortunate incident was caused by a seating error, compounded by a full flight and a crew seeking an on-time departure and nothing more than that, It’s our policy to keep all families together whenever possible; that didn’t happen here and we are deeply sorry for the situation. We’ve reached out to Mr. Cooley to offer our sincere apologies for what happened and we are seeking to make it right.”
At least one advocacy group has spoken out about the incident. “Good morning, @AlaskaAir. How is this investigation going? Inquiring #LGBTQ and #Ally minds would like to know!” PFLAG National, a Washington-based LGBTQ group, tweeted Monday.
Source: The Washington Post
Written By: Fantasia Harvey