Response from Northwest Airlines re: alleged anti-gay discrimination

[Skinner]

This is a follo-up to this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=221x27442

I just got this reply from Northwest Airlines. It does appear that this situation is more complicated than the ACLU originally made it sound, and involves some system of reciprocity with other air carriers. The individual in question has been given a pass for his domestic partner.

Dear Mr. Allen,

RE: Case Number XXXXXXXXXX

Your correspondence regards allegations lodged against Northwest
Airlines, Inc. by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) about an
airline employee pass provided to an Air New Zealand employee. Those
allegations are false. The ACLU never contacted Northwest to understand
the facts before issuing its press release or putting its version of the
events on its website. Northwest believes the ACLU's actions in this
matter have been highly irresponsible. If they had only asked Northwest
about the matter in question, we could have cleared it up without being
subjected to these false allegations.

You should understand that Northwest Airlines offers the same employee
benefits and travel privileges to its employees' domestic partners as it
does to employees' spouses, including benefits and privileges that
extend to domestic partners' children. Northwest does not discriminate
against domestic partners and is fully compliant with California's
employee discrimination laws.

The issue underlying the ACLU's false accusations involves a unique
travel benefit shared by most airline employees. Many airlines provide
employees of other airlines the privilege of traveling on a
space-available basis at a significantly reduced rate. In other words,
for a nominal fee airline employees are permitted to fly on another
carrier when the carrier has vacant seats. This is referred to within
the airline industry as interline or non-revenue travel.

Interline travel privileges typically are not uniform. Some airlines
permit the employee, the employee's spouse or domestic partner, the
employee's children, and even the employee's parents to travel on this
space available, reduced rate basis. Other airlines may limit the
privilege to the employee or to the employee and spouse. Some airlines
do not offer travel privileges to domestic partners.

Northwest's policy is to only offer travel privileges to other airline
employees to the same extent that the other airline offers travel
privileges to Northwest employees. In other words, we require
reciprocity. If the other airline does not permit our employees'
domestic partners (or parents, children or any other class) to travel
on their airline, Northwest does not permit the other airlines'
employees' domestic partners to travel on Northwest. This is not a
matter of unlawful discrimination, but one of fairness. It would not be
fair to offer other airline employees privileges that the other airline
does not offer to our own employees.

When Northwest extended travel privileges to domestic partners, it
reached out to all airlines it had interline agreements with and asked
them to sign a new interline agreement that granted mutual interline
privileges to employees' domestic partners. Many airlines signed the
new interline agreements and we currently extend interline privileges to
those carriers' employees and their domestic partners. Other carriers
did not sign the new agreements.

In August 2000, Northwest sent Air New Zealand a letter requesting them
to sign the new interline agreement. Air New Zealand never responded to
Northwest's letter, and since that time neither airline has permitted
the other's employees' domestic partners to travel on an interline
basis. Northwest has always been willing to offer such privileges to
Air New Zealand employees and their domestic partners, but only if Air
New Zealand were willing to offer such privileges to our employees'
domestic partners.

The airline employee involved in the ACLU's press release, a Mr. Robert
Anders, is an employee of Air New Zealand. He apparently won an
interline pass from Northwest Airlines as a prize at an Air New Zealand
holiday party. Unlike typical interline travel, the pass won by Mr.
Anders was for travel without the nominal fee normally charged. It is
not uncommon for Northwest to trade such no-fee interline passes with
other airlines to be given away for employee celebrations or fundraising
activities. In exchange for the pass that Northwest provided it
received a similar pass to offer one of its employees for travel on Air
New Zealand. These passes are subject to the terms and conditions of
the interline agreement between Northwest and Air New Zealand.

When Mr. Anders contacted Northwest to use his newly won pass, he was
informed that Northwest's interline agreement with Air New Zealand does
not permit domestic partners to travel.

Northwest has since reviewed the pass letter Mr. Anders received and
concluded that, while intended to be subject to the interline agreement,
it is not clearly stated on the letter. Consequently, Northwest has
decided to permit Mr. Anders and his domestic partner to use the pass.
We apologize to him and his partner and we hope they will understand how
and why the incident arose. Northwest will also reiterate its proposal
to Air New Zealand to sign the interline agreement that permits mutual
travel privileges for our respective employees and their domestic
partners.

We want to reiterate that Northwest offers equal benefits and travel
privileges to employees' domestic partners and does not discriminate on
the basis of the employees' sexual orientation.

Sincerely,

Barb Carranza
Customer Care
Northwest/KLM Airlines

[xchrom]

1. air new zealand?

interesting.

i would have thought them to be more progressive -- i'm guessing they'll have statement about this.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Probably a breakdown in communications

It would be difficult under NZ law for Air NZ to allow wives but but partners: I'm guessing the letter is probably sitting somewhere waiting for someone to read it.

But a statement from them would be more useful :)

[xchrom]

6. yeah -- i'ld like to hear what they have to say.

my image of new zealand in general doesn't jibe with this -- but you never know.

[pitohui]

2. thanks skinner

northwest is one of the better gay-friendly companies out there in my experience

i had a feeling that mr. anders and partner would soon be flying and i'm glad to have my faith in humanity restored

[ret5hd]

3. wouldn't anti-gay discrimination actually be pro-gay?

damn double negatives.

[Cornus]

4. Seems like a reasonable response

I would blame the ACLU for jumping the gun on this one without knowing all the facts...and I'm a card carrying member!

[Meldread]

7. Thanks Skinner!

This was greatly informative. I'm glad that this has been cleared up. I'm also glad that Northwest took the time to give such a detailed response. When I read what happened, I had written them off, but now knowing this they've gained points in my book.

I'd like to know why the ACLU jumped the gun the way they did, and I think they should apologize and come out with a statement correcting their mistake.

[TaleWgnDg]

8. Uuumm, if not for the ACLU sending a "demand letter"

to Northwest Airlines advising Northwest that it was in violation of California law and that it was about to be sued by ACLU, then Mr. Robert Anders would not have had his (prize-winning) travel tickets honored, period.

Doncha love the way a defendant (here, Northwest Airlines) calls in their public relations department as well as their law department and outside counsel to write a letter "explaining" how misunderstood they are? Well. That's what that reply letter (posted in OP) that you received is, Skinner, an ooops we made a mistake letter but let's see how we can paint it to the public. Golly, had the ACLU just told us what frig-ups we are, we woulda shoulda changed. That's what legal "demand letters" are all about, to inform potential defendants that they've screwed-up and that if they don't straighten-out then they will be sued.

Enuf said. BTW, I hope Northwest Airlines continues to be "reminded" that when doing business in California, it must obey California law, particulary laws that respect the rights of all California citizens including, of course, gays. Maybe it should hire new lawyers that fully understand and will advise Northwest as to what "doing business in California" means, legally.

__________________________

See, e.g., ACLU press release:

Gay Airline Employee Denied Free Roundtrip Tickets Won at Northwest Airlines Holiday Party

Company's Policy Violates California Law, ACLU Says

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (dated 2/9/06)
CONTACT: (email addy)


LOS ANGELES – Northwest Airlines violated California's anti-discrimination laws when it refused to allow a gay couple to use tickets an employee won at a holiday party, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California said today in a letter urging the company to change its policies.

The ACLU sent the letter on behalf of La Mirada resident Rob Anders, a longtime airline industry employee, who won round-trip domestic airfare on Northwest Airlines for him and a companion at his company holiday party last December. But when he tried to redeem the tickets for himself and his registered domestic partner, Northwest refused.

"What happened to Mr. Anders and his partner violates California law and is clearly discriminatory," said Christine P. Sun, ACLU of Southern California staff attorney. "We are asking that the company not discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or marital status and honor Mr. Anders' ticket for him and a companion."

Anders, who has lived with his partner for 15 years, had been planning to use the tickets to visit his 89-year-old mother in Florida for a family reunion last month. "I felt terrible,” he said. “I thought what they were doing was unfair."

A representative from Northwest Airlines told Anders that the airline would only recognize a spouse, another airline employee, or a dependent child as a companion. The representative specifically stated Northwest Airlines would not recognize a registered domestic partner as a "spouse" for the tickets.

In its letter to Northwest, the ACLU said that the Unruh Civil Rights Act, part of California law, "mandates 'full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments of every kind whatsoever' without regard to sexual orientation or marital status."

"Because same-sex couples who wish to marry cannot currently do so under California law, using marriage as a criterion discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation,” Sun said. "Northwest's policy also discriminates on the basis of marital status because it does not permit unmarried heterosexual individuals to bring the companion of their choice."

Anders, who is 60, has lived in Southern California since 1971. He and his partner Pat registered as domestic partners in California in 2004. Anders is part of many local civic groups and has traveled the world.

http://www.aclu.org/lgbt/discrim/24127prs20060209.html
.

The ACLU rocks !!

.

[joeybee12]

9. Barb sounds like a liar to me...

...very venomous in her attack...my experience with airlines is they don't know their asses from holes in the ground--they probably screwed up, and now are inventing facts to make them sound blameless. I'm sure the ACLU contacted them, and I'm sure they blew the ACLU off. The squeaky wheel gets the grease,a nd if ACLU hadn't gone publci with this crap from Northwest, Barb would still be sitting filing herr nails--that's Northwest's idea of customer care.

[pitohui]

10. best email response team bar none in my experience

i would be curious to know the experience and when it happened that causes you to hate on northwest's "customer care," the recently deceased beth shultis was best in the business, and i bet barb will be a good one too

northwest has the best substantive response time by email to complaints of any business i've ever dealt with, bar none, anyone can put in a bot that sez we got your email and one day we'll even answer it, but northwest seems to hop on these questions super-fast w. a live person

i predicted in the first thread that anders and partner would soon be flying, and they are

sounds like a simple mis-communication between air new zealand and northwest to me

even w.out the agreement, northwest is going to let the partner fly, which i think is terrific and the right thing to do

my hope is that air new zealand will now get on board w. northwest and get this agreement done to allow for domestic partners flying on ea. other's flights w.out further hassle factor for future flyers

how northwest is to blame in all this is beyond me, they cannot really put a gun to air new zealand's head and say, "provide domestic partner benefits now or else!"

a problem was reported, northwest resolved the problem -- and quickly too

what else can a reasonable person ask?

now their telephone lines are another issue for another day, but their "customer care" by email service is impressive

i like aclu too but this time they made a mistake

[joeybee12]

11. I see, just because Barb says this is what happened, you believe it?

Northwest, and all airlines, give a rat's ass about customers. That's the state of the airline business today. Barb says the ACLU didn't contact them--they say they did. Sorry, but just because you're in love with Northwest doesn't point to any facts being proven.