Alaska airlines bumps gay couple from premium seats

Alaska Airlines is apologizing for an overbooking situation in which a gay couple was asked to relinquish their seats to a heterosexual pair. We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details," the carrier said in a statement, adding that it has a "zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind.

Later, the carrier said, ""This unfortunate incident was caused by a seating error, compounded by a full flight and a crew seeking an on-time departure and nothing more than that. It's our policy to keep all families seated together whenever possible; that didn't happen here and we are deeply sorry for the situation.

We've reached out to Mr. Cooley to offer our sincere apologies for what happened and we are seeking to make it right. 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," Cooley, owner of the iconic LA gay bar The Abbey wrote in a Facebook post shared more 2, times.

I have never been so discriminated against while traveling before. I was removed from an Alaska Airlines flight In acknowledging its error, Alaska Airlines said the gate agents involved in the incident did not realize the men were a couple. Federal rules allow carriers to set their own criteria for picking passengers to bump, but the practice can be costly, both in damage to an airline's reputation and in compensating those compelled to give up their seats.

Random acts of kindness: Keeping airline seats in the upright position. Posted by David Cooley on Sunday, July 29, More from CBS News. Couple with spina bifida finds family despite adoption barriers. Palestinian-American beaten to death in West Bank, family says. Paul says "we aren't going to know the motive" of Trump's shooter.

Alaska Airlines Allegedly Bumps Gay Couple

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