All major U.S. airlines have confirmed that they will offer non-binary booking options for passengers who don’t identify as either male or female but updates to computer reservation systems might not be completed until the end of 2024.
In addition to the traditional gender identifiers of ‘male’ and ‘female’, some airlines have started to include ‘X’ which shows that the passenger is either non-binary, intersex or gender non-conforming. Some airlines also include a fourth ‘U’ gender marker for undisclosed.
Airlines for America, a trade group that represents some of the biggest U.S. airlines including American, Delta and United Airlines says its members have agreed to update their IT systems within the next two years.
In the meantime, the lobby group says its airlines will provide information on their websites on how non-binary passengers can ask for their tickets to be manually altered to show an X gender marker.
Delta Air Lines has been promising to update its reservation system since 2018 to show an X gender marker but the Atlanta-based carrier now believes the change won’t be made until the end of this year at the earliest.
The first U.S. airline to add both an X and U gender identifier to its booking system back in 2019 was United Airlines following approval by the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
American Airlines has also added X and U gender identifiers but Alaska and Hawaiian still only offer Male and Female gender options. Spirit Airlines does not ask passengers to choose a gender but they must choose from traditional gender-based titles – either Mr, Miss, or Mrs.
Americans in 20 States can now obtain driving licenses with an X gender marker after Oregon became the first state to provide the option in 2017. Earlier this year, the U.S. State Department confirmed it had issued its first-ever passport with an X gender marker.
Airlines are understaffed at historic levels with unprecedented numbers of cancelled and delayed flights. They don’t have enough staff to run gates, fly planes or handle bags yet they’re dedicating resources on tasks like this right now. Brilliant!!!
Solving a problem with IT resources. Perfect.
Out of curiosity, out of the millions of people that fly every year, what % of flyers would need this? And what are those flyers doing now without a choice? Not flying or just picking one and moving on.
And on a related note, what’s the purpose needing to “identify” as anything?