United Airlines becomes first US airline to add non-binary gender booking options
United Airlines on Friday announced that it would become the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options for customers booking flights.
The company said in a statement that customers will now be able to select the title “Mx.”when booking flights or signing up to become a MileagePlus member. Customers can identity as male (m), female (f), undisclosed (u) or unspecified (x).
The airline said the decision was an attempt to “lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity.” The move comes after the industry trade group Airlines for America (A4A) announced new gender options in February.
Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Southwest and United Airlines are members of A4A.
A4A said the implementation of the new gender options is up to each individual airline, but it will be the industry standard as of June 1. The Transportation and Security Administration (TSA) requires passengers to disclose their gender identity before each flight. The federal agency, however, will accept any gender identity as long as it matches the flyer’s governmentissued ID, according to National Center for Transgender Equality.
Several states, including Colorado, California, Oregon, Minnesota, Maine and Washington, D.C., already offer the X gender option for driver’s licenses.