joshua-bwi

PlanetOut Network


Northwest Airlines took heat from the ACLU on Thursday for refusing to honor award tickets that a gay couple in Los Angeles tried to use for a trip to Florida.


In a letter to Northwest, the legal advocacy group said the airline's action violated California's nondiscrimination laws.


Rob Anders, a longtime airline industry employee, won the tickets at a holiday party in December. When he tried to redeem the tickets for a trip with his registered domestic partner, the airline refused, saying it would only recognize a spouse, another airline employee or a dependent child as a suitable "companion" for the award ticket.


"What happened to Mr. Anders and his partner violates California law and is clearly discriminatory," said Christine P. Sun, ACLU of Southern California staff attorney. "We are asking that the company not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or marital status and honor Mr. Anders' ticket for him and a companion."


The ACLU cited the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which mandates "full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever" without regard to sexual orientation or marital status.


Anders, 60, said he had been planning to use the tickets to see his 89-year-old mother in Florida until Northwest's refusal.


"I felt terrible," he said. "I thought what they were doing was unfair."


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If you'd like to know more, you can find stories related to Northwest refuses gay couple's award tickets.

peachfront

Do you have a link? I had the impression that Northwest was gay-friendly, and I would hate to be disillusioned. I hope this is a stupid misunderstanding, and the couple is allowed to use their ticket.

trd

as a gay gold I certainly have not had any hint of a problem with my handicapped partner or otherwise. Heaven only knows there are enough gay employees.

SFO voyageur

There seems to be something missing here. Most tickets for two allow you to choose any travel partner you want. I've never heard of any that were designated for spouse or child only.

Jaimito Cartero

It will be interesting to see what the real story is on this. If it said you could only take your spouse, I don't see how this is homophobic in the least. If it wouldn't allow you to take your girlfriend, aunt or next door neighbor where is the discrimination?

johnep1

It wouldn't be. But some folks would still complain any chance they can in the name of discrimination.

MikeMpls

Were these really award tickets as we know them (W fares) or Non-Rev tickets? If the latter, can Non-Rev tickets ever be used for non-family members?

MEM FA

Here is a link, it's the best I could find right now, but I know I saw a better article somewhere else
http://www.365gay.com/Newscon06/02/020906airline.htm

FWIW, NW does offer domestic partner benefits (travel, health, etc)and it is basically the same as what is offered for married couples (other than some tax implications). While I don't know the whole story, I would have assumed NW would have honored the ticket since a DP can fly alone and unlimited on NW, can use perfect attendance and vacation passes and can fly on other airlines (although limited to that airline's policy). Maybe they just didn't update or chane over the program that handled booking of those kind of passses.

CAL PHL FLYER

Hummm...is this person a NW employee?..sounds like he maybe an employee of another airline(I dont know,just a guess..you were not specific)..Why would a NW employee need to win free tickets on NW?..so my guess is he maybe an employee of another airline that does not give the same type of pass agreement to NW employees traveling on his airline.

SchmutzigMSP

NW employees do not fly with guaranteed seats. Only pilots have access to any "guaranteed" seating and that is purely at the discretion of the captain of the particular flight. Regular employees fly standby, behind paying pax on standby, behind basically everyone. So, this could have been free tickets with guaranteed seating earning miles and everything.

westcoastman

If this part is true than it does not look good for NW. I keep reading this story so I feel that this is really starting to gain steam and for all that NW does (employee benefits, etc.) this may hurt. This seems like a real mistake on their part but people are human. Where this could hurt is if large companies with non-discrimination policies begin to remove NW as one of their preferred carriers. I was with a very large company that removed America West Airlines because of their policies and it did not mater how low their fare was no one could book America West. The key for NW may be explaining why this situation was different or apologize.

Nobbi

You're right. It will be interesting what the real story is.

However, how do you define spouse? "Common law wife--(why didn't you get marriedat the local baptist church?"; my legal Canadian spouse (no matter what sex)--do you accept Canadian marriages or not?; the Couple married in Barcelona; the Vermont domestic partners?

You get my point.

Nobbi

Oh, please................

DHAST

If you're talking about the jumpseat, it's far from guaranteed. However, if you are travelling on company business, such as pilots deadheading, station staff on company required travel, etc, they are travelling under "positive space" which is a reservation like a regular pax. For leisure travel, some airlines may offer a handful of "positive space" passes as a performance incentive. In general, leisure travel is standby only.

dmitzel

Which, I this day and age of schedule cuts and packed planes, must be very difficult indeed.

I wouldn't want to be a standby pax, employee or otherwise, and waiting at the gate this season. You may spend the entire day at the airport waiting, and waiting... for that elusive seat. Try to get a pair together and, oh, that's right, NWA would be labled "discriminatory" since you couldn't get two, or more, together.

(Any legislation that comes out of CA I find suspect to begin with. Must be my Midwestern upbringing.)