David Cooley, the well-known owner of The Abbey Food & Bar and its sister bar The Chapel, is calling for a boycott of Alaska Airlines after a flight attendant insisted Cooley’s traveling companion give up a first class seat to accommodate a heterosexual couple.
“I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before,” Cooley said in a post today on his Facebook page. “I was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight # 1407 from John F. Kennedy International Airport to LAX to give preferential treatment to a straight couple. After my traveling companion and I had been seated in our assigned seats for a while, we were approached by the flight attendant and my companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach, so a couple could sit together. I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together. He was given a choice to either give up the 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.
“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. We will never be flying Alaska Airlines or their recently purchased Virgin Airlines Group ever again. Thank you to Delta Air Lines for getting us home safe. If you are an #LGBT person, please spend your travel dollars with an LGBT friendly airline like Delta.”
WEHOville has reached out to Cooley for more information on the incident and to Alaska Airlines for a response. TO CONTINUE READING, CLICK HERE.
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Just read the Alaska Airline’s statement from New York Times. The airplane attendant asked Cooley and/his friend to move so the other couple couple sit together. Cooley/friend objected, so the attendant said they had to comply or leave the plane. They chose to leave.
The airplane attendant should be disciplined for telling Cooley to comply or leave, and Cooley might be able to sue the airline. I don’t think a boycott is called for here.
“When boarding flight 1407 from JFK to LAX, a couple was mistakenly assigned the same seats as another couple in Premium Class,” Alaska Airlines said.
Don’t all you self-loathing gay naysayers above have second thoughts now?
Calling for a boycott because ONE gay person had a bad experience is an over-reaction.
A lot of information missing. I like how he stresses they’ve been sitting there awhile in assigned, not necessarily purchased seats. Further, he said he was removed. He wasn’t, his partner was offered another seat. They chose to leave. No mention of reimbursement for having to move from premium to coach. Definitely not getting the whole story, just the (always the victim) side. My guess is the heterosexual couple had those seats originally and were running late. Or, the heterosexual couple paid for those seats, while the gay companion was a standby upgrade, or something to that effect. You weren’t… Read more »
Never had that problem on Alaskan but didn’t get my seats on others. My partner and I flew home from Newark after the opening of our musical, deemed the queerest play on broadway” and have never had any problems on any flight except Delta with drunk guy throwing up, American making me 30 minutes behind a complaining couple and I was now late she said. United reconfigured planes some many times. Now I am not Cooley nor have I ever really been to Abbey due to smoke so can say. But they have been perfect and 100% for me. Unlike… Read more »
I’m fairly certain we’re not getting the whole story here. Alaska Airlines has a pretty good rep when it comes to the Lgbt community.
It’s very simple—show us the tickets with seat assignments.
Yes, IF they were assigned those seats—Cooley should present those two tickets with seat assignments. The airlines actually has a great record with these issues.
Total nonsense. If Cooley and his companion were assigned those seats, they shouldn’t have to give them up for anyone unless they volunteer to do so. Did the couple purchase their tickets at the last minute and couldn’t sit together? Tough! Would love to know more.
So much for the “post gay era” & the “we can live & work & be anywhere without discrimination” declarations that have been so dangerously asserted by some members of this city council & others. The fight – any fight – against discrimination & for equal human rights for everyone – is never over & young people should not be mislead into buying into the delusion that it is. I hope Cooley sues the pants of Alaska Airlines & helps stop them from treating other gay passengers in this hateful way & hopefully send the same message to all airlines.… Read more »
Woody, aren’t you jumping to some conclusions here? You are taking his experience at face value? If two other passengers paid for those seats and one of Cooley’s party was an upgrade, does that change your stance? And don’t you think this “I was removed” statement is a little dramatic? I’m not saying I know what happened here, but you immediately call for him to sue the airline? How about you get some additional information here, before making a statement like that?