mridley2

+1
Delta has long been a visible and proud supporter of LGBT people, rights, equality, etc. 15 years ago when I attended my first pride event in Atlanta (as a wee 18 year old college freshman) Delta was then a very visible supporter of LGBT pride etc. I forget the levels in the sponsorship recognition but Delta has always been a $$ sponsor at one of the highest levels of sponsorship. To this day they still sponsor ATL & NYC Pride and probably other cities as well though I'm not familiar enough to confirm.

Thanks Delta. It really does mean a tremendous amount for you to show your vocal support.

knit-in

u.s.3: 1
m.e.3: -1

^

readywhenyouare

Gay people have a greater need for air travel than non-gay people?

knit-in

It's just "Marriage" now.

You're probably correct in believing that there isn't a substantial population that disagrees with the SCOTUS verdict on Marriage. A consumer oriented company will be well served by keeping that in mind. Nothing wrong with that.

Hopefully the political leadership will also realize that the largest percentage of the country's populace consists of social progressives. ^

Widgets

Leisure air travel is more economically appealing to childless couples (DINKs) and single people. Driving has high fixed cost (car maintenance, gas, etc.) and low variable cost (additional fuel cost per passenger). Flying has no fixed cost and high variable cost (ticket per passenger). This correlation was glossed over in a transportation econ course I took last year (DINKs and singles traveling, not necessarily gay people). It seems true from anecdotal experience, too. I know lots of medallions who travel for leisure at my airport, and they're definitely more than 10% of whatever the out gay population is now.

Gay people don't fly more because they're gay. The legal climate indirectly encouraged it. Now that gays are closer to having the same family size with the same costs as straight people, there's no telling what might happen.

Robert Leach

And if only someone, somewhere, could put together a coalition of those who are socially liberal but at the same time conservative on issues of economics and defense. It is that group of people, of which I am one, that really have no home with either of the current political parties.

As to the point of this thread about Delta, I am very proud of what the company has done to proudly embrace the LGBT community. This was a company that once upon a time, despite being a great airline, was terribly homophobic when it came to its hiring practices. After the PanAm route acquisition, Delta allegedly endeavored to exclude gay PanAm flight attendants from those it hired to come over to Delta from PanAm.

To transform from a company with that sort of entrenched homophobia to a company that welcomes gay employees and isn't afraid to market to gay people strikes me as truly remarkable. It would be hard to fathom that this is all based on some sort of marketing calculation. The marketing to customers certainly could be, but to go from trying to limit the hiring of gay people to welcoming gay employees without hesitation strongly implies to me that there has been a cultural change within the company.

runninaway

Perhaps if you meditated on Matthew 5:10 it would help you cope with the situation.

Crazyhotelguy

I also fit in the socially liberal (to a point), economically conservative, category. Throw in a strong national defense and I am in.


There has been a cultural change for sure, but rest assured there is a financial benefit that keeps that change in place.

Sabai

Which one? There are so many to choose from.

avidflyer

I am not buying this. Business travel makes up far more of a % of air travelers in my estimation. Maybe on weekends this is true but not the other 5 days of the week.

Crazyhotelguy

While there are many gay/lesbian businesses travelers, it would be interesting to see a demographic breakdown on this.

A number of my gay friends have elite status in various programs, but it's the bigger picture that must be considered.

It is however, a widely accepted idea that the gay population tends to have more expendable income, which is often used for travel and other luxuries. Perhaps this attributes to FCM, etc.

avidflyer

I would think the make up of business travelers exactly mirrors the general make up of the gay/straight population. There are plenty of gay business people but greater than 50% would not make sense. Same goes for people with money. I know quite a few and I certainly have many gay/lesbian friends but I would still say they are in the minority. BTW I could be totally wrong I am just conveying my own personal experience.

SuperG1955

+1

Crazyhotelguy

I too would be shocked if the number was over 50%. Heck I would put the number closer to 20%. As a gay man, I tend to gravitate/(notice more) toward other gay men. That often skews one's perspective, but I would still say while one is likely to encounter more gays while flying than they might elsewhere, the percentages to total flyers would likely still be a lower % overall.

However, that lower % is separate from the revenue aspect, as I tend to believe that the higher expendable income would lead to potentially more GAPFJ fare purchases/club memberships/booze, etc. All of which have decent mark-up (- some of the FCM fares )

As a gay man, I can say with confidence that a lot of my peers tend to gravitate toward the "nicer" things. If that means sitting in F/J, or going to the club, so be it.

paterwdb

It is worth pointing out that this is not a "closed issue". There are many of us who still do not agree with the redefinition of marriage, whether it be for reasons or faith, natural law, or constitutionality.

Delta can do whatever they want as a private company, but they should realize there is (at least according to public polls) a significant population that does not agree with them. This may not be something people decide to complain about or that keeps them from flying Delta, but it doesn't mean it might not push people away.