Flying is becoming even friendlier as United will offer non-binary booking options when booking, the company announced in a press release. Non-binary passengers can now select Title Mx. According to the press release, you can choose from M (male), F (female), U (undisclosed) or X (unspecified) to correspond with what is on your passport or ID card. United officials said in a press release that they are determined to "lead the industry in LGBT inclusion."
"We are extremely proud to be the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options to our customers," United Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist said in a press release. "United Airlines We are pleased to share with our customers that whether they identify as male or female, we are taking steps to show we care for them, while also providing additional staff training to make us more welcoming to all customers and employees."
United partnered with LGBTQ advocacy groups the Human Rights Campaign and The Trevor Project to develop a training program to teach employees how to use correct pronouns, gender norms and LGBTQ issues in the workplace, according to a news release ability. The airline said the training is an important step in making United an inclusive space for both employees and passengers.
“We believe that acknowledging the gender with which they identify is part of respecting everyone,” Beck Bailey, acting director of the Human Rights Campaign’s workplace equality program, said in a press release. “By providing non-binary gender options for ticketing and in user profiles United Airlines is taking an important step towards non-binary inclusion by offering the gender-inclusive honorific 'Mx'."
As early as February 2019, several major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue Airways, announced that they would make their ticketing systems Becoming gender neutral, but United is the first to do so. make it happen. Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines and Southwest Airlines also plan to offer gender-neutral booking options, but USA Today reports that the timeline for this change is unclear at this time.
NBC News said the changes will allow airlines to comply with new standards recently approved by the U.S. and international trade organizations, which will allow passengers to use identification documents with non-binary gender identifiers starting June 1, 2019. Passengers' information must match that on the identification documents they use. According to NBC News, airlines updating their reservation systems means they are ensuring that passengers' information matches all travel materials.
But it's not just about making sure people's ID matches their boarding pass. Using people's correct pronouns is not only the right thing to do, but it helps transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people have better mental health outcomes. A 2018 study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health found that using the chosen name of a transgender or gender non-conforming person was associated with lower rates of depression and suicide. A 2016 study published in the journal Pediatrics found that transgender children whose gender identity was supported also had lower rates of depression.
"The Trevor Project is grateful to United Airlines for supporting our life-saving work on behalf of LGBTQ youth," Amit Paley, CEO and executive director of The Trevor Project, said in a press release. Book a flight Adding more inclusive gender options to your options might not seem like a big deal, but for some, it could literally save lives.
