If youโre looking for the most LGBTQ friendly airlines in 2025, look no further! This post ranks airlines that are LGBTQ friendly all year round. Whether itโs having pronoun badges for crew members, creating innovative Pride campaigns, or having nonbinary-inclusive third gender booking options, these airlines go above and beyond to make the LGBT community feel welcome on every flight.
As a gender nonconforming queer person, I know how stressful flying can be. Iโve been misgendered and hassled in airports โ including ones in major US cities that have sizable queer populations!
For me, flying with an airline that cares about the LGBT community is one small way to reduce the stress of travel.
If youโre looking for the most LGBT friendly airline in the US, itโs American Airlines. For international travel, Scandinavian Airlines and KLM are popular with gay and lesbian travelers.
To learn why these airlines get my vote of confidence as an LGBT travel blogger, and discover other airlines that are LGBT-inclusive, keep reading!
The Most LGBTQ Friendly Airlines in the US
Major US airlines tend to be very LGBT friendly. They have inclusive laws and policies for LGBTQ employees, and they all help LGBTQ travelers feel welcome.
American airlines lag behind their European counterparts on nonbinary inclusion, because the US rolled out third gender passports later than other countries.
American carriers on this list (and some others) promised to update their technology to allow passengers to choose a gender neutral option like X instead of or M, and it looks like that option has finally rolled out.
The next time you book a flight with these US carriers below, you should be able to choose a gender expansive option!
American Airlines
American Airlines has been among the top scoring companies on HRCโs “Best Places to Work” index for the last 20 years. The airline has multiple policies that support LGBTQ employees, from trans-inclusive healthcare benefits, to fully inclusive nondiscrimination policies, to regular DEI training for employees. They regularly look for ways to partner with LGBTQ-owned businesses and diversify their supply chain.
AA fliers can choose their preferred honorific from a gender expansive list when booking flights. And now, they can choose a gender marker that fits their identity, too!
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines actively partners with LGBTQ-owned businesses and other underrepresented enterprises to diversify their supply chain.
They routinely sponsor Pride parades, including the famous Amsterdam Pride with partner airline KLM โ whose own inclusion efforts are detailed below.
Newsweek ranked Delta Air Lines among “Americaโs Greatest Workplaces for LGBTQ+” โ and the positive sentiment is backed by approval from employee surveys that favorably rate the air carrier on their diversity and inclusion policies.
Jet Blue
JetBlue donates to The Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative (SIGBI), which supports LGBTQ communities across the US. The airline is an official partner to the Safe Spaces certification program, which identifies brands that support LGBTQ people year round and provide meaningful inclusivity training to employees.
JetPride, an affinity group for LGBTQ employees, advocate for LGBTQ inclusion.
Jet Blue offers gender-inclusive hair, makeup, and uniform policies. During Pride month, their entertainment options include LGBTQ-themed TV shows and movies.
I’ll be honest, JetBlue is my favorite domestic airline. I love how generous they are with snacks, how large their main cabin seats are, and how many airports near me they serve. I’ve flown JetBlue to many US destinations and on almost every Caribbean winter vacation I’ve taken.
United Airlines
United was the first US carrier to adopt the Mx honorific which lets gender nonconforming passengers avoid gendered labels that may not fit them.
The airline supports trans employees and passengers with customer service, support, and inclusivity training.
Alaska Air
Alaska Air supports LGBTQIA employees with an LGBTQ+ business group.
The airline has sponsored Pride parades in Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Anchorage, and Honolulu.
Alaska Air accepts third gender booking options, uses gender-neutral greetings on flights, and offers queer and trans-inclusive entertainment during Pride month.
You don’t have to take my word for it. You can read what Alaska Air LGBTQIA employees have to say about the airline in their own words!
At a time when brands like Starbucks and Target are pulling back from standing with the LGBTQIA community, it’s great to see Alaska Air continue to center inclusivity of the queer community and other marginalized groups!
Alaska Air recently bought Hawaiian Airlines, and they own Horizon Air. So you can fly these carriers too, feeling safe and respected in your identity.
The Most LGBTQ Friendly International Airlines
The international carriers that are the most committed to LGBT inclusion tend to be European, reflecting the progressive attitudes many European countries have on LGBT rights.
Browse my favorite European countries for digital nomads and the best European cities for queer women, then plan your next trip with one of these Pride allied airlines.
Virgin Atlantic
In 2022, Virgin Atlantic changed their policies to allow all flight attendees to wear a uniform that best represents them, choosing from red or burgundy pants or skirt suits.
Passengers can use gender neutral markers and honorifics like Mx when booking tickets. Plus, they receive complimentary pronoun badges for use during flight.
Virgin Atlantic provides trans employees with time off for transition-related medical treatments. They make sure that staff and travel partners receive inclusivity training.
As an ally, Virgin raises awareness about LGBTQ travel issues. Their Open for Business initiative raises awareness of LGBTQ discrimination in the Caribbean and advocates for LGBTQ inclusive Caribbean travel.
Most recently, they announce a new LGBT vacation planning service to help gay travelers explore the world with confidence and pride.
Air Canada
Since 2019, Air Canada has offered a gender neutral option when booking flights.
The airline also switched from a “ladies and gentleman” greeting onboard flights to a gender-neutral “everyone.”
British Airways
Like Air Canada, British Airways use the gender neutral greeting “everyone” instead of “ladies and gentlemen” on flights.
In 2023, BA unveiled new uniform options. Now flight attendants can choose a pants suit, skirt suit, or jumpsuit, intended as a non-binary inclusive uniform option.
As of this writing, British Airways does not yet offer a third gender option when booking flights, but is looking into it.
Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
Scandinavian Airlines has been a proud ally of gay travelers since 2010, when their hosted the first same-sex in-air weddings for their “Love is in the Air” PR campaign.
SAS is the national carrier for three Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Norway and Denmark. These countries were also among the earliest to legalize same-sex marriage, so the gay friendly marketing campaign aligned perfectly with their progressive values.
The PR campaign paid off, and SAS has been a favorite of LGBTQ travelers ever since!
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines stepped up to show support for the LGBTQ back in 1998 when they sponsored the Amsterdam Gay Games.
KML employees have founded affinity groups, including an “Over the Rainbow” group for LGBTQIA airline employees.
In 2021, KLM executives signed a Workplace Pride Declaration, officially committing to make the airline an inclusive workplace for LGBTQ people.
Like many companies, KLM puts out a rainbow logo during Pride month.
However, they go out of the way to demonstrate their allyship with the LGBTQ community year round, by releasing public statements and social media posts throughout Pride month, for Pride Amsterdam, and for International Day Against Homo-, Bi-, Transphobia and Intersexism, or IDAHOBIT.
Air France
While Air France does not yet allow third gender bookings, they do have many LGBTQ-friendly policies for their employees. There’s still room for improvement, but in my opinion, their progressive workplace policies have earned them a spot on this list!
Air France provides employees who are in same-sex relationships the same parental and childcare leave policies as employees in opposite-sex relationships.
The French airline signed onto an LGBT commitment charter from lโAutre Cercle, which protests discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, in 2019.
According to a 2020 survey, 90 percent of Air France employees were satisfied with the airlines’ anti-discrimination policies.
Inspired to plan a French getaway? Grab my South of France road trip itinerary, plan a dreamy queer French Riviera trip, or get to know Marseille โ a place that captured my heart when I visited last summer!
While I’m in the air, whether it’s for five hours or fifteen, I want to be as comfortable as I can.
Making sure I’m flying with an LGBTQ friendly airline is one simple step I can do to take the stress out of travel.
These airlines fly all over the world, which means you can book your next vacation without feeling self-conscious or anxious about microaggressions, like being misgendered or asked to change seats so a cis, het couple can sit together because the flight attendant assumed you and your partner were friends.
Want more trip planning advice? Check out the travel planning section to find resources to help you plan LGBTQ inclusive vacations! And if you don’t see what you want, ask me โ I love writing readers back, and if enough people ask the same question, I’ll do a future post on it!
