Alaska Airlines: Gay couple separated, seats given to straight couple

Alaska Airlines is apologising for an overbooking situation in which a gay couple was asked to relinquish their seats to a heterosexual pair. "We mistakenly booked 2 people in 1 seat. We are deeply sorry for the situation, and are investigating the details," the carrier said, adding that it has a "zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind." In acknowledging its error, the airline said the gate agents involved in the incident did not realise 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. An analysis of govt aviation data last year found passengers bumped from Alaska Airlines flight received the highest average compensation of US$1,605. <br/>