A same-sex couple traveling from San Francisco to Taipei via EVA Air was apparently told only one of the men could board the flight with their child during family boarding.
According to his Twitter account, Jeff Cobb and his husband made a point of getting to their gate at the San Francisco airport in order to board early and get settled with their 19-month-old child.
But upon arrival, Cobb was informed that it was airline policy to only allow ONE parent to board early with a child. But when Cobb joined his husband onboard after waiting in the normal line, it turns out straight families were allowed to board all together.
“My husband and I were told only one of us could join our 19 month old in the family boarding group of EVA Air 27 from SFO on 9/1/18,” Cobb shared via Twitter. “I explained we were both the fathers of the child, and they said it was their policy that only one parent can board…and the other has to wait in the normal line. Not having flown EVA before, I accepted it and let my husband and child go while I boarded later. When I met him on the plane, he said there were many other (straight) families all boarding together."
@EVAAirUS 1/3 My husband and I were told only one of us could join our 19 month old in the family boarding group of EVA Air 27 from SFO on 9/1/18. I explained we were both the fathers of the child, and they said it was their policy that only one parent can board…
— Jeff (@jeffcobb415) September 2, 2018
@EVAAirUS 2/3 and the other has to wait in the normal line. Not having flown EVA before, I accepted it and let my husband and child go while I boarded later. When I met him on the plane, he said there were many other (straight) families all boarding together.
— Jeff (@jeffcobb415) September 2, 2018
When the family boarded their connecting flight on the same airline in Thailand, no one at the gate raised an issue of ‘one parent per child’ boarding.
Cobb expressed his consternation with EVA Air: “I’m very disappointed that the EVA ground staff at SFO thinks it’s ok to separate same-sex families during boarding. I will definitely not be flying this airline again after this incident.”
@EVAAirUS 3/3 I’m very disappointed that the EVA ground staff at SFO thinks it’s ok to separate same-sex families during boarding. I will definitely not be flying this airline again after this incident.
— Jeff (@jeffcobb415) September 2, 2018
According to Attitude, the airline issued a statement in response to the kerfuffle saying the incident was “due to a misunderstanding.”
“EVA Air and most especially our San Francisco International Airport team sincerely apologise to all the passengers affected by this incident.
“It is our policy that passengers traveling with infants can have priority boarding. The policy does not limit the number of accompanying adults or specify the relationship to the infant.
“This unfortunate incident was due to misunderstanding. Our San Francisco ground-handling agent understood that only one parent could board with an infant.
“We have apologised to our passengers and reminded our airport staff and agents about our priority boarding policy so that we can prevent this kind of incident from happening again.”
What do you think, readers?
Was this just a ‘misunderstanding,’ or was there something else in play here?
It really depends on the
It really depends on the ground staff. If they are on EVA's payroll, then clearly they need further sensitivity training. If they are a 3rd party contracted staff (especially for foreign stations), they will just send a memo and it will go nowhere. The fathers should have raised a big fuss in SFO and the airline should have given more than a simple apology to ensure continued patronage/loyalty.
If there is inequity, there
If there is inequity, there is usually discrimination.
Misunderstanding my ass, the
Misunderstanding my ass, the agent let the straight family's on the plane, but the couple that were to dads only 1 could go with child. This is bullshit. The agent knew exactly what they were doing. I say DISCRIMINATION!
This after-the-fact apology
This after-the-fact apology is quite weak. They should have upgraded the entire family to Business Coach on the return leg of their flight and made sure that the San Francisco gate agent met them at the gate to apologize in person.
Calling bullshit!….this is
Calling bullshit!….this is becoming all too common….obvious discrimination and hate marred with after the fact apologies that are shallow and filled with empty promises……