DC Clothesline "Stacey Butler reports for CBS2 Los Angeles that Mary Campos — an Orange County mom, a million-mile flier, and a senior consultant in the oil and gas industry — said United Airlines discriminated against her by changing her pre-assigned seat because two Muslim men refused to sit next to a female.
"On September 26, 2016, just before Campos got on her pre-booked flight to Houston, a gate agent handed her a new boarding pass, saying, “This is your new seat.”
"Campos said, “Excuse me?”.
The agent said, “I don’t know how to tell you this. The two gentlemen seated next to you have cultural beliefs that prevent them from sitting next to, or talking to or communicating with females.”
"Campos was shocked. She told CBS LA: “I thought I lived in a culture [America] where women were equal to men. We can’t discriminate against half the population for a belief from another nation.”
"Campos was told the two men in long orange shirts were Pakistani “monks” and that the female UA flight crew were not allowed to serve the men.
"Campos said she had no choice but to take her new seat assignment. Then she wrote a letter to the CEO of United Airlines, which said, in part:
“ 'What if I were handicapped, or transgender? What if your entire crew were female? Any belief that prevents individuals from interacting with females should not travel on commercial aircraft.”
"She got a reply that said United would look into it, but she didn’t hear from them again.
"CBS2 made inquiries and received this communication from UA spokesman Jonathan Guerin:
“ 'We regret that Ms. Campos was unhappy with the handling of the seat assignments on her flight. United holds its employees to the highest standards of professionalism and has zero tolerance for discrimination.' ” . . .