Alaska Airlines accused of anti-gay discrimination

Alaska Airlines apologized on Tuesday following accusations that it forced a gay couple to move seats in favor of a straight couple. The airline said in a statement that the "unfortunate incident" was the result of a "seating error."

The circumstances involved David Cooley, the owner of the popular West Hollywood gay bar The Abbey, and his partner while they were traveling from New York City back to Los Angeles on Sunday.

Cooley described what happened next in a Facebook post: "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."

Airline: We have a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination

In their statement, Alaska Airlines responded that, "We've reached out to Mr. Cooley to offer our sincere apologies for what happened and we are seeking to make it right. Alaska Airlines has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind. All of us at Alaska value inclusion for our guests and each other."

The airline added that the other couple had mistakenly been assigned the same seats as Mr. Cooley and his partner on a fully booked flight. It went on to reaffirm its commitment to equal treatment of its LGBT passengers and staff.

Before this incident, Alaska Airlines had a good track record of supporting LGBT rights. It has a perfect score on the 2018 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, and routinely has special offers for passengers traveling to Pride celebrations across the country.