Generally the airline industry has been pretty supportive of the LGBT community, and they’ve largely been ahead of the curve compared to other companies. Of course that’s not the case everywhere in the world.
Air Transat has done something that I don’t think any other airline has done before. Air Transat has painted an Airbus A330 in “Pride” colors. As they explain:
As part of International Pride Month, Air Transat and its employees celebrate diversity, recognize the importance of inclusion and strongly believe that everyone should be accepted for who they are. We are therefore proud to present to you our nod to this meaningful month.
How cool is that tail?!
As part of International Pride Month, Air Transat and its employees celebrate diversity, recognize the importance of inclusion and strongly believe that everyone should be accepted for who they are. We are therefore proud to present to you our nod to this meaningful month. pic.twitter.com/AGGGwqNDUs
— Air Transat (@airtransat) June 3, 2019
Air Transat is only sharing a picture of the tail, as I believe that’s the only part of the plane that has been repainted. Or at least that’s my belief based on the timeline.
The plane in question seems to have the registration code C-GPTS. That’s because that registration corresponds to the tail number 103, which is what is shown in the picture.
It’s also pretty impressive how quickly Air Transat repainted this plane. The plane flew from Rome to Montreal on Sunday, and within about 24 hours Air Transat shared the picture of the new tail.
As far as I know this is the most significant way we’ve seen an airline paint a plane in “Pride” colors, though it’s not the only bold effort airlines have taken in that regard.
For example, now defunct WOW Air had given one of their A330s the registration code TF-GAY, which was pretty cool.
Meanwhile this summer Virgin Atlantic will celebrate NYC Pride with a special flight from London to Newark, which will feature an all LGBT crew, and will include entertainment like an on-board DJ, drag queen bingo, a Judy Garland singalong, and inter-seat speed dating.
Intent is fine,but as a gay guy who lost his hubby to hate some may be surprised I see no need to do this. It results in accusations of special treatment, though my life has been very opposite. Also targeted at work, stalked etc,but this just makes people think opposite. I am open and yes I get it young gay people need to see themselves in ways automatically done elsewhere, but this is not the answer.
@Shawn I'm pro-Trump and gay. Sorry that ruins your narrative......
@Theo The post was about how gay-positive a Canadian airline is. How exactly do we cleanse the comments of gay-related content?
@Peter my gay Saudi boyfriend looked at me with withering pity, after I made a similar comment once, then he said "DenB®, Grindr works perfectly well in Jeddah" and then he didn't say with words, but with his eyes "you ignorant moron". LOL
Funny, you're right, TRansat did a busy business on Hajj charters...
@Theo The post was about how gay-positive a Canadian airline is. How exactly do we cleanse the comments of gay-related content?
@Peter my gay Saudi boyfriend looked at me with withering pity, after I made a similar comment once, then he said "DenB®, Grindr works perfectly well in Jeddah" and then he didn't say with words, but with his eyes "you ignorant moron". LOL
Funny, you're right, TRansat did a busy business on Hajj charters years back, I wonder if they still do it.
Will this livery fly YUL-JED, and if so, will it be welcome in the Hajj terminal?
Oh my God this comment section just got real nasty. Will you all call down and leave. Some of us just like planes. And if you're not here for travel, points, planes, and hotels.
Then why are you here?
Don't stir up sh*t in the comments section of a travel blog.
Just don't.
@Juan M
I knew that the outrage brigade would have to resort to confusion: they have a few anti-trans talking points wrt the Trump administration but no anti-gay ones.
Here's a nice list of all the great pro-gay, trans, and general LGBT-friendly things Trump and the Trump administration have accomplished:
https://transequality.org/the-discrimination-administration
Obama's record pales in comparison, and Obama and his administration should hang their heads in shame.
@Marlon - As has been said, Trump is the first president in history having been for gay marriage prior to coming into office. It's pretty much a fact that he's the most pro-gay president in history. Now you can go along and combust.
@grrizzly its most likely people confusing anti-gay policies as anti-transgender ones, like military service for them. And reminder: being gay =/= being a transgender person.
Great!
Why not also a special plane for First Nations (Canadian version of American Indian)? Also Afro-Canadians. Also Chinese-Canadians.
Consider editing the article where it reads "LGBT" in the first sentence. In Canada, they use either LGBTQ or LGBTQ2S.
Hope Air Canada keeps this plane the way it is.
@Marlon
Obama spent 4 years of his presidency telling everyone that he was against same-sex marriage. Trump never had a problem with same-sex marriage as president. The presidents before Obama were obviously even worse. Can you give an example of a single anti-gay initiative proposed by the Trump administration? I cannot recall any. But you claim it's the "slew" -- must be easy for you.
Other than hosting the gay Irish prime minister and...
@Marlon
Obama spent 4 years of his presidency telling everyone that he was against same-sex marriage. Trump never had a problem with same-sex marriage as president. The presidents before Obama were obviously even worse. Can you give an example of a single anti-gay initiative proposed by the Trump administration? I cannot recall any. But you claim it's the "slew" -- must be easy for you.
Other than hosting the gay Irish prime minister and his husband, I cannot think of anything gay-related that Mike Pence did as Vice President.
"Trump is the most pro-gay President in the U.S. history. You’re a bit of a bigot."
How does anyone write that sh*t without combusting? ... Have you seen the slew of anti-gay initiatives his administration has vomited out lately? ... And hello, Mike Pence?!?
Will Brunei shoot it down, aka death penalty?
@Shawn
Trump is the most pro-gay President in the U.S. history. You're a bit of a bigot.
On one side the author of any blog has full right to write about anything he wants in his blog.
But on another side, this aviation-related blog has become the most gay-related blog in aviation recently. Will there be even more?
Of course it will..
Fair enough Shawn, cause everyone has a right to be what they want and think what they want, and not get bullied, judged or stereotyped and be accepted and supported by the society for who they are. Also, to not experience hate speech - cause that's violence and should be forbidden.
Therefore, to stand for all those great things and fight against evil, let's generalize and stereotype all the trump supporters(who prob don't give...
Fair enough Shawn, cause everyone has a right to be what they want and think what they want, and not get bullied, judged or stereotyped and be accepted and supported by the society for who they are. Also, to not experience hate speech - cause that's violence and should be forbidden.
Therefore, to stand for all those great things and fight against evil, let's generalize and stereotype all the trump supporters(who prob don't give one dump about who you are and what you want cause they have their own business to take care of) as anti-gay and bully them on the plane. Sounds like logic and justice to me.
qantas too
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=2ahUKEwiJxO3L_8_iAhWOTRUIHWflDeEQFjAAegQIARAB&url=https%3A%2F%2Faustralianaviation.com.au%2F2017%2F02%2Fqantas-shows-support-for-sydney-mardi-gras%2F&usg=AOvVaw0fQjXOnBG4Bo9ib6EdeMqE
Shawn: Why? What would that accomplish?
@Tony its TF-GAY although I kind of wonder what happened to that plane (unrelated to it being pride month)
remind us when are you done with kowtow-ing to QATAR - the most anti-gay of nation and its national carrier, and to apologize to your community for betraying them for clicks on your website
Thanks for your profound word of wisdom, Tony.
Qantas did indeed have an A332 where the roo was flying a pride flag (it was upside down because the red in the tail clashed with the red in the flag). It was affectionately known as #rainbowroo. This was also after qantas had a float in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras called #gay380. A number of flights with drag queens do happen too.
Happy pride everyone.
I would love to be on that pride flight. All Trump supporters that unbeknownst to them booked the flight (the horror) should be placed in the middle seats.
Qantas used to have a pride themed A330.
I'm not surprised to see Transat at the leading edge of this trend, Montreal is an extremely socially progressive city that is about LGBTQ friendly as it gets in North America.
Gay
Saw a Qantas plane with rainbow flag on tail and the QANTAS lettering in full rainbow colours, 2 years ago in HKG.
Canadian airlines compete for prominence at Toronto Pride. Big participation in the street and in the parade. Even Mcdonalds was at Toronto Pride 3 years ago, with a trailer in the street (yes, in the official festival space) with uniformed Mcdonalds staff mingling in th street giving away coffee and McCafe baked goods....
Saw a Qantas plane with rainbow flag on tail and the QANTAS lettering in full rainbow colours, 2 years ago in HKG.
Canadian airlines compete for prominence at Toronto Pride. Big participation in the street and in the parade. Even Mcdonalds was at Toronto Pride 3 years ago, with a trailer in the street (yes, in the official festival space) with uniformed Mcdonalds staff mingling in th street giving away coffee and McCafe baked goods. One of the young staff wore a hijab. Proud to be Canadian that day.