United becomes first US airline to offer non-binary gender options when booking flights
Travel 25 March 2019 Arabia Day Newsdesk 0
United has become the first US airline to offer non-binary gender options for those booking flights.
As well as giving “Mx” as a title option, the airline is also offering various choices of nomenclature, with U (undisclosed) or X (unspecified) available in addition to M (male) and F (female).
Passengers’ selection must correspond to what is listed in their passports or IDs.
“United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity, and we are so proud to be the first US airline to offer these inclusive booking options for our customers,” said United’s Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist.
“United is excited to share with our customers, whether they identify along the binary of male or female or not, that we are taking the steps to exhibit our care for them while also providing additional employee training to make us even more welcoming for all customers and employees.”
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The airline worked with the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project to launch employee training programmes alongside the new gender options.
Initiatives include teaching employees about preferred pronouns, the persistence of gender norms and LGBT competency in the workplace.
The move comes after two trade groups, Airlines for America in the USA and the International Air Transport Association, approved a new international best practice standard that accommodates passengers who identify as non-binary on their identification.
The standard comes into effect in June, with airlines encouraged to incorporate an “unspecified” or “undisclosed” gender option into their booking platforms before then.
American, Delta, United, Southwest and Alaska airlines have all said they will execute these changes, but United is the first to do so.
“Please know that while we don’t have a timeframe to share, Southwest is currently investigating solutions and the technical requirements needed to provide our customers non-binary gender marker options during the booking process,” said a spokesperson for Southwest.
Delta and Alaska have also reaffirmed their intentions to include non-binary options but have yet to reveal launch dates.
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