United Airlines breaks the binary gender options
Another little step towards LGBT inclusivity. United Airlines now offers non-binary gender options throughout all their booking channels, the company informed in a press release last Friday. But what does that mean in practice?
It means that travelers are able to identify as male, female, undisclosed or unspecified, also giving the option of “Mx” alongside Mr. and Ms. in user profiles, corresponding with what is indicated on the traveler’s passport or identification. The changes to the booking process are now currently available.
With this measure, United Airlines is the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options.
“United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity”, the company says. The press release also informs that United is taking the steps to provide additional employee training to make the company even more welcoming for all customers and employees.
The airline confirmed that its employees are being trained to better serve all passengers, including its LGBTQ travelers, by learning about “preferred pronouns and the persistence of gender norms, LGBT competency in the workplace”, among other issues. The airline worked alongside the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project – the latter of which is an organization that offers crisis intervention services
Besides United, other companies like American, Southwest, Alaska and Delta have already agreed to adopt the new standard.
About United Airlines
Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 million customers. United has the world’s most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 770 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express carriers operate 559 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines.