A prominent gay businessman has taken to social media to complain about the discrimination he and his partner allegedly faced on an interstate flight with Alaska Airlines.
David Cooley, Founder and CEO of popular gay nightclub The Abbey in West Hollywood, described the incident in a lengthy Facebook post, which has since been deleted.
According to The Independent, the situation occurred due to a double-booked seat in premium economy, with Cooley's partner being asked to move to an economy seat to allow for another couple to sit together.
“I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before,” Cooley wrote on social media.
He continued: “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.
“We will never be flying Alaska Airlines or their recently purchased Virgin Airlines Group ever again.”
According to Cooley, he explained to airline staff that the couple wanted to sit together but were eventually given an ultimatum.
“He was given a choice to either give up the premium seat and move to coach or get off the plane," Cooley said.
“We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane.”
A spokesperson for the airline told CBS that the occurrence had nothing to do with Cooley and his partner being in a same-sex relationship.
“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," the spokesperson said.
The airline later released a lengthy statement apologising for the incident and pledging to investigate internally: “We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details.”
It added: “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. We’ve reached out to Mr Cooley to offer our sincere apologies for what happened and we are seeking to make it right.
“Diversity and inclusion are part of the fabric of Alaska Airlines. We are an airline for everyone and reflect these values through our work with dozens of nonprofit LGBTQ organizations, Pride Parades along the West Coast and a perfect score in the HRC’s Equality Index.”
