WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA – The owner of a popular West Hollywood gay bar claims he and his partner were discriminated against while on an Alaska Airlines flight Sunday from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to Los Angeles International Airport.
David Cooley, founder of The Abbey, wrote on Facebook that he and his boyfriend were sitting in their assigned seats on flight 1407 when he was approached by a flight attendant. Cooley’s companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach so another couple could sit together.
Cooley said that he told the flight attendant that he and his partner were also a couple and wanted to sit together, but his companion was given the choice to either give up his premium seat and move to coach, or get off the plane.
“We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane,” Cooley wrote on Facebook. “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.”
While the couple was embarrassed, they both managed to catch another flight home. Cooley thanked Delta Air Lines for getting them home safe, and urged others to spend their “travel dollars with an LGBT-friendly airline like Delta.”
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Alaska Airlines reached out to Cooley in response to his tweet about the incident that allegedly occurred on one of their flights. A customer service representative for the airline wrote “David, I’m so saddened to hear about this. Can you message me a good number to contact you at?”
Another representative named Dalce tweeted that the airline mistakenly booked two people in one seat.
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“We are truly sorry this event occurred,” Dalce tweeted on the Alaska Airlines Twitter account. “I can assure you we are an inclusive airline and hold a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind in our workplace.
In a statement obtained by Fox News, the airline acknowledged the event took place and said that two couples were assigned the same seats as each other in Premium Class.
“We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details while communicating directly with the guests involved to try and make this right,” the statement said. “Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, and our employees value inclusion for our guests and each other.”
Photo: LOS ANGELES, CA – APRIL 22: An Alaska Airlines jet passes the air traffic control tower at Los Angles International Airport (LAX) during take-off on April 22, 2013 in Los Angeles, California. Delays have been reported throughout the nation because of the furloughing of air traffic controllers under sequestration. The average delay overnight in the Southern California Terminal Radius Approach Control (TRACON) was was three hours. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)