Gay couple kicked off flight after refusing to give up seats for a straight couple

A gay couple in the US has claimed to have been kicked off a flight so a straight couple could sit together, reports Newsweek.

David Cooley, founder of the famous West Hollywood gay bar The Abbey, was on an Alaskan Airlines flight heading from New York to LA when he was asked by a flight attendant if his partner would give up his seat so a heterosexual couple could sit next to each other. “I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together,” Cooley wrote on Facebook. “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 have never been so discriminated against while traveling before.”

Alaskan Airlines has told Newsweek they are currently investigating the incident and that the couple were “mistakenly assigned the same seats as another couple in Premium class.”

“We reseated one of the guests from Premium class in the main cabin. 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,” a statement from the airline read.

“Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind, and our employees value inclusion for our guests and each other.”

This is not the first time the airline has gotten in trouble for discriminatory practices. In April of this year a teenage boy with down syndrome was asked to leave a flight after being a little sick before take-off.

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