Gay couple forced to move plane seats to make way for straight couple to sit together
Jul 31, 2018, 6:39 pm
#61
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Totally with you on this. I've posted my support for LGBT equality under the law here in FT maybe a thousand times. This story stinks to high heaven. My guess is that at best, this couple mistakenly inferred discrimination. At worst, they have a Delta connection.
Jul 31, 2018, 9:09 pm
#62
Join Date: Feb 2008
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Regarding the "keeping families together" policy... I've seen GA's do gymnastics trying to move people around to allow people to sit together, especially parents & kids (which is nice). Of course if airlines would just let these families book together instead of only offering them middle seats throughout the plane, that'd also be nice.
Jul 31, 2018, 9:18 pm
#63
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 116
I usually fly with friends. We always try to sit next to each other, but we're usually on separate PNRs. Despite booking together, we'll sometimes get moved around. Bumped up or back a row. Usually keeping our same window or aisle seat but in a new row and never being bumped completely down a cabin.
Do you link your reservations? Never been separated while linking them. Could just be lucky though.
Jul 31, 2018, 10:24 pm
#64
Join Date: Apr 2009
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Even if one of the couple was handicapped and needed care...why not a regular coach seat?
So what it sounds like was AS had to separate and/or downgrade one couple with boarding passes with seats assigned together. I don't know how they chose which couple to downgrade, though I don't entirely buy the "possession is 90% of the law" argument that the couple seated in the seats should have been allowed to stay there.
So that is a particular situation in which it's certainly OK; they had to downgrade one couple. AS certainly should have done so with an apology and an offer of compensation: obviously a (cash) refund of any Premium Class fee paid, a comp drink in the regular economy seat, and probably also something like 5,000-20,000 miles or an equivalent discount code. Whether the downgraded couple was gay of course has nothing to do with it.
Whether or not that is actually what happened in this case, it is certainly a situation in which it is OK to downgrade someone from premium seating to reunite a couple.
Not being there and not having seen any description of what happens that gives enough detail to judge, I can't say if AS IT, the AS FA, the AS GA, the downgraded (and ultimately deboarded) couple, or more than one of the above were out of line.
All this said, the way unconscious discrimination could easily play into this is a GA or FA seeing a man and a woman with boarding passes for 3EF who want to sit together, looks at 3EF and sees two men there, and doesn't think the two men are a couple. Then the GA/FA says to the man and woman "sure, I can put you in your assigned seats to keep you together".
Jul 31, 2018, 10:57 pm
#65
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Federal way Wa USA
Posts: 344
What a crock.
From the FAs working the flight the guy who was asked to move to coach where his seat actually was.
He decided he was just going to sit next to his husband even when it wasn’t his seat.
They chose to get off
From the FAs working the flight the guy who was asked to move to coach where his seat actually was.
He decided he was just going to sit next to his husband even when it wasn’t his seat.
They chose to get off
Jul 31, 2018, 11:45 pm
#66
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If that is truly the case, I hope Alaska makes a proper public statement (preferably in local LA media) and adds these guys to their no flight list. Self upgraders are bad enough, self upgraders believing this world is meant to rotate around their inflated egos are a major annoyance to everyone. I was in situations when passengers would take my seat and get aggressive when I didn't agree to swap my F seat for theirs in Y.
Jul 31, 2018, 11:47 pm
#67
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,021
So you are saying you have first hand account that one of the passengers was NOT in his assigned seat? It seems like Alaska would just come out and say this if true.
Aug 1, 2018, 12:01 am
#68
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Even if that is the case, AS might just be taking a put-the-fire-out-now approach to get this to blow over as quickly as possible. I don't blame them after UA's PR disasters last year.
Aug 1, 2018, 12:50 am
#69
Join Date: Sep 2001
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he was moved to the EXIT ROW & refused to assist in the event of an emergency.
why won't Alaska go public with this info while they keep getting beat up in the press.
Gays are among the worst groups of bullies in existence,and I AM GAY! If we don't like something, we will bully you into submission.
why won't Alaska go public with this info while they keep getting beat up in the press.
Gays are among the worst groups of bullies in existence,and I AM GAY! If we don't like something, we will bully you into submission.
Aug 1, 2018, 12:58 am
#70
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: SEA
Posts: 2,021
Can you share your source? Also, do you mean he was moved from his original seat to an exit row, and then refused to help in the event of an emergency?
Aug 1, 2018, 1:10 am
#71
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: San Francisco
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An error happened, and two people got boarding passes for the same seat. OK, fine. It happens.
But Alaska Airlines has still not stated any reason for what happened next, that it chose to separate the same-sex couple to seat the opposite-sex couple together. That silence is starting to sound very loud.
But Alaska Airlines has still not stated any reason for what happened next, that it chose to separate the same-sex couple to seat the opposite-sex couple together. That silence is starting to sound very loud.
Aug 1, 2018, 1:10 am
#72
Join Date: Sep 2001
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Unfortunately Alaska Corp Comm monitors this board ... so I am not going to disclose it.
But as FlyerTalkers and Alaska/Virgin loyalists, we can be assured that the staff did not act in any homophobic means or ways.
But as FlyerTalkers and Alaska/Virgin loyalists, we can be assured that the staff did not act in any homophobic means or ways.
Aug 1, 2018, 3:33 am
#73
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 88
I would like to throw a wrench into the works and argue that Alaska PR's bend-over-backwards-mentality had less to do this passenger's sexual orientation, and more to do with his racial profile and social-standing in society.
Last edited by wkc; Aug 1, 2018 at 5:50 am Reason: I cannot grammar...
Aug 1, 2018, 7:36 am
#74
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Aug 1, 2018, 9:02 am
#75
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This is probably the most believable scenario that has been posed. Add to it the comment from another person about alcohol having played a role, and it all comes together. As I gay man who has suffered genuine discrimination (six cops cars surrounding my car as I tried to leave a Denny's years ago) this doesn't even remotely meet any definition of discrimination. In order for this to even be consider such, the pax would have had to have been re-seated BECAUSE they were gay. THAT is discrimination, and it's clear no one was singled out or targeted here.
Last edited by transportbiz; Aug 1, 2018 at 9:07 am Reason: typo correction