Alaska Airlines is in clean-up mode after a gay couple was asked to move seats on one of its flights to make room for a straight couple that wanted to sit together.
David Cooley, CEO and founder of The Abbey Food and Bar and The Chapel at the Abbey in West Hollywood, took to Facebook to express his anger with the airline.
“I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before,” Cooley said. “I was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight #1407 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to LAX to give preferential treatment to a straight couple.”
The incident occurred after Cooley and his partner had already been sitting in the seats for a while, Colley stated.
After telling the flight attendant that Cooley and his partner were a couple, Cooley said the attendant gave them the choice of either moving from their premium seats to coach or to get off the place. They got off the plane.
Alaska Airlines responded by giving a statement to Gay Star News stating, “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.”
