Traveler claims United flight attendant refused to serve him because he’s gay

A California man claims he was publicly humiliated by an allegedly homophobic United Airlines crewmember who refused him food or drink because he is gay.

In a lawsuit obtained by The Independent, James Snyder says the incident, which occurred aboard a flight from JFK to LAX, was “an experience [he] never expected from United Airlines.”

“The discrimination Plaintiff endured was awful,” Snyder’s complaint contends, saying that when he was first passed over for meal service, then by the beverage cart, he “believed it to be… because of his sexual orientation.”

Snyder, in the complaint, describes himself as “an openly homosexual male.”

United enthusiastically trumpets its corporate LGBTQ initiatives, devoting an entire page of its website to “Flying with pride.” It says United was the first airline to offer nonbinary booking options, the first to offer benefits to same-sex domestic partners, and that it earned a “100 percent rating” on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Each year, United operates a “Pride Flight,” staffed by LGBTQ pilots and cabin crew.

In an answer filed in response to Snyder’s complaint, United said it “generally denies each and every allegation.” It has asked the judge in the case to throw out Snyder’s claims and order him to reimburse the airline for costs incurred, including “reasonable” attorney’s fees.

Richard Lazenby, who is representing the carrier in the Snyder lawsuit, did not respond on Thursday to requests for comment. A United spokesperson said in an email that the airline did not “have anything to share.”

On May 1, 2022, Snyder was heading home to Los Angeles from New York City aboard UA flight 515, according to his complaint, which last week was removed from LA County court and refiled in LA federal. The airline’s Covid-19 protocols had initially held up the boarding process, followed by a two-hour maintenance delay, and Snyder was hungry, the complaint states.

When the flight attendants began serving lunch, Snyder’s complaint says there was an issue with United’s payment app, which is the only way to purchase in-flight meals, snacks, and beverages. Snyder was unable to upload his credit card details, but when the woman sitting next to him had the same problem, the flight attendant told her that the technical glitch was affecting everyone and she would serve her anyway, according to the complaint.

After his seatmate ordered a sandwich, Snyder asked the flight attendant if the app might be down because “the WiFi was too crowded,” drawing a snide reply from her, the complaint goes on. It says Snyder then tried to order food, informing the flight attendant that he wanted a hamburger but that he, too, had tried multiple times to get the app to work and was ultimately stymied, the complaint continues.

“The flight attendant looked directly at [Snyder] and said, ‘I don’t think you tried hard enough,’” then walked away, according to the complaint.

When the flight attendant returned, she served Snyder’s seatmate, and other passengers nearby, but not Snyder, the complaint alleges. It says Snyder “politely asked the flight attendant about his food order,” to which she said that “since he had plenty of time to figure out the app like everyone else, she could not serve him.”

“If there are any leftovers after serving everyone else, I will allow you to eat,” the flight attendant informed Snyder, according to the complaint.

As the beverage cart rolled up, the situation became “even more upsetting,” Snyder’s complaint alleges. The flight attendant took drink orders from everyone in Snyder’s row, but skipped Snyder, according to the complaint. The woman sitting next to Snyder spoke up, asking the flight attendant why she was ignoring Snyder, the complaint says. However, it states, the flight attendant “brushed them off and gestured [to] another flight attendant [to] serve [Snyder], who was feeling hurt and confused.”

Snyder’s seatmate told him, “I don’t think she likes you,” suggesting her “unprofessional” and “rude” behavior resulted from bigotry, according to the complaint. She urged Snyder to say something, but he didn’t want to make a scene, the complaint states. Still, it contends, he felt “discriminated against, embarrassed, disrespected, belittled and denied the same equal treatment as everyone else.”

Later, the flight attendant returned to Snyder’s seat and asked for his phone, according to the complaint. Snyder “reluctantly” complied with the flight attendant’s request, as, the complaint notes, federal law requires, and felt a wave of “shame, stress, and confusion” as she walked away with his device, which he had unlocked for her. When the flight attendant allegedly started scrolling through Snyder’s personal files, his seatmate again spoke up for him, demanding the flight attendant give back Snyder’s phone, the complaint states.

When the flight finally landed in LA, the woman sitting next to Snyder told him to “stand up for himself” and lodge a formal complaint with United, according to the complaint. The two stayed in touch, and when Snyder continued to procrastinate, his seatmate said she had gone ahead and filed a complaint on his behalf. (The status of this complaint is unclear.)

“As a member of the gay community, Plaintiff is familiar with discrimination, [and] this unfortunate behavior had a negative effect on his self-esteem,” the complaint concludes.

Among other things, Snyder is suing for negligence, breach of good faith and fair dealing, and breach of contract — specifically, the agreement between Snyder and United was that the airline “would provide food, beverage and other tasks in flight.”

He is asking for damages in an amount to be determined by a jury, but no less than $100,000.

An initial court date has not yet been set.