Ron Wyden — who is one of two senators of the United States who represents the state of Oregon — commended domestic airlines for committing to offer a ticket option for nonbinary customers by 2024; and he thanked the airlines for that commitment in a letter to Airlines for America, which is a trade group which represents the commercial aviation industry in the United States.
Commitment to Gender Neutrality By Domestic Airlines in the United States
Both American Airlines and United Airlines offer X gender markers in addition to male and female; but several airlines had either not previously committed to updating their reservation booking systems — or have previously committed to them but have not updated them as of yet.
The letter was written in response to inquiries by Wyden and advocates of the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex — or LGBTQ+ — community.
“X gender markers allow individuals who do not identify as male or female to avoid having to choose an inaccurate gender category when obtaining identification or documents that sort people by gender. Oregon was the first state to allow X gender markers on driver’s licenses, in 2017. Currently 21 states and the District of Columbia allow residents to obtain birth certificates or identity cards with an X gender marker, and the State Department now offers an X gender option for passports”, according to this official press release from Wyden. “The airlines also committed to publish a page on their websites detailing the specific steps that nonbinary individuals can take to obtain tickets that reflect their gender, such as working with a customer service representative who can manually update the gender marker on their ticket.”
The following text is the aforementioned letter in its entirety:
July 1, 2022
Mr. Nicholas E. Calio
President and CEO
Airlines for America
1275 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Ste 1300
Washington, D.C. 20004
Dear Mr. Calio:
I write to commend Airlines for America for committing to adopt meaningful reforms to ensure that nonbinary travelers are able to purchase airplane tickets that match their gender identity.
The United States government has increasingly realized that the “M” and “F” gender options traditionally offered for identification documents preclude many people from obtaining documents that reflect their gender identity. I’m very proud that my home state of Oregon led the way as the first to allow X gender markers on driver’s licenses back in 2017. Since then, 20 more states and the District of Columbia have passed laws allowing residents to obtain birth certificates or identity cards with an X gender marker. And, as of April of this year, the U.S. State Department followed suit, allowing citizens to request passports with an X gender marker. Because identity documents are so widely used in daily interactions, from purchasing alcohol to checking in at the doctor’s office, documents with X gender markers help protect nonbinary Americans from being misgendered in their daily lives.
But, even nonbinary individuals who are able to obtain a government-issued ID with an X gender marker are often forced, by out-of-date airline computer systems, to pick between “M” and “F” gender options when purchasing a plane ticket. Nobody should have to misgender themselves in order to book a flight. And, by forcing travelers to book their ticket with inaccurate gender information, airlines also end up providing inaccurate information to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), even as the TSA is updating programs like PreCheck to offer the X gender option so its systems accurately reflect travelers’ gender and keep pace with gender markers offered on IDs. United and American Airlines have already changed their booking process to allow travelers to book tickets with an X gender marker, but not all U.S. airlines have followed their example.
After I recently engaged with Airlines for America, you agreed to take several steps to improve the ticket-booking process for nonbinary individuals. You committed to, by the end of 2024, ensure all member airlines update their computer systems so that travelers can purchase a ticket with an X gender marker. In the meantime, you also agreed that member airlines will publish a page on their websites detailing the specific steps that nonbinary individuals can take to obtain tickets that reflect their gender, such as working with a customer service representative who can manually update the gender marker on their ticket.
The right to have documents and paperwork that reflect their identity is an essential protection for trans, nonbinary, and gender non-conforming Americans-whether issued by the Federal government or at the check-in counter. I appreciate Airlines for America’s willingness to work with me to ensure that Americans can fly free from gender-based discrimination.
Sincerely,
Ron Wyden
United States Senator
Final Boarding Call
Commercial airlines have been striving to ensuring greater inclusiveness to their customers and employees in recent years; and adding gender choices is not the only action on which they have embarked. For example, an announcement from Alaska Airlines pledged that the airline will hire more black female pilots by the year 2025.
Whenever I write an article here at The Gate and I do not definitively know the gender of the person about whom I am writing or to whom I am referring, I keep the article as gender-neutral as possible to respect the identity of the person.
I also believe in respecting the identity of any person regardless of gender, race, religion, age, size, nationality, or political persuasion — even to the point of ensuring that I spell or pronounce the name of the person properly — and not wanting to personally alienate anyone…
…but I have to ask: is this issue really so important that it must be addressed now rather than ensuring that the operations of the airlines themselves return to reliability instead of delaying or stranding passengers, as has been occurring in recent months? Are there not other more pressing issues which the airlines should give priority in addressing first?
Other articles at The Gate which deal with the topic of gender neutrality include:
- Sex and the Airline: Gender Neutrality
- Airlines to Offer More Gender Choices
- You Can Now Change Your Gender On Your Passport — And You Will Be Able to Select From a Third Gender
- First United States Passport Issued With an X Gender Marker
- Do You Speak Germxn? Do We Really Need Gender Neutral Names of Languages?
- Lufthansa Group Latest Airline Company to Favor Gender Neutral Terms
- Are You Avoiding Travel to North Carolina Because of the “Bathroom” Law?
Graphic assembled by Brian Cohen.
