Originally Posted by
PTravel
You seem to be confusing conduct with proof of that conduct. Even if the GA said nothing, given the timing and garb of the two men, if the woman was moved and a man took her place, a reasonable inference would be that she was moved because of her gender.
No, I understand. I'm not referring to the legality of the action. I'm saying if the GA had never given a reason for the seat change, or something generic like "operational reasons", similar to when a FAM takes your seat, the woman would likely not suspect any type of discrimination. She probably would have written an email to UA about her displeasure and UA would apologize and throw her 5000 RDMs. It would have ended there.
It would be a pretty big reach to assume that most people assume when an airline moves their seat it's some other passenger's fault. Maybe she would search them out, and wonder if it had something to do with the fact the men were monks, but I don't think most people would threaten lawsuits with such little information.