Airline’s New Gay Flight Is A Deathtrap Waiting To Happen

Once upon a time, airlines were staffed by pleasant women known as “stewardesses.” Now, at least in Canada, they’re staffed by aging gay (and gay adjacent) men. 

Air Canada published a promotional video showing off their “first all-2SLGBTQIA+ flight” on X. The brand has also updated their profile picture on X, overlaying a version of the rainbow flag on their maple leaf logo. One wonders how the brown and black stripes (allusions to ethnic groups) wound up lumped into a flag which seems to have more to do with genitals. 

“We are doing the first ever – now let me get that one straight, because a few letters have been added to this one – 2SLGBTQIA+ flight ever in Canada,” one of the crew members in the video says. The acronym stands for “Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual.” Plus, “plus,” just to cover all their bases. 

Our first all-2SLGBTQIA+ flight was a heartfelt celebration reflecting our unwavering commitment to inclusivity and equality, in the air and on the ground. pic.twitter.com/OZ2Ic8ob5K

— Air Canada (@AirCanada) June 2, 2025

What exactly does the first ever alphabet flight entail? Drag queen story hour at 30,000 feet? Lesbian themed pretzels? According to the video, the flight featured “our very first all 2SLGBTQIA+ crew,” which one man describes (in Canadian French) as a “watershed moment in Canadian history.”

A crew member tells passengers the airline hopes “to celebrate not just our community, but our freedom to be who we are both at work and in society.” This is a bizarre and unreasonable demand, but not an unusual one. Sexually-confused Starbucks workers were outraged by the recent imposition of a dress code, which they claimed “restricts the gender expression of queer and trans workers.” Why are these employees so obsessed with the public knowing who they’d like to boink? (RELATED: SANDOVAL: Starbucks Workers Upset They Can’t Look Like Actual Goblins Anymore)

He (I assume) continues: “Valuing people equally both in the air and on the ground, and celebrating our identities, no matter what they are, with customers and our employees is important to us. Shantay, you all stay.” The final quip is a reference to RuPaul’s Drag Race, a reality competition show where middle-aged men put on clownish makeup and prance around in dresses. 

Consider the marketing meeting which must have preceded this fiasco. 

“Great pitch. Really colorful. Just one question: what does this have to do with air travel?”

“…Air travel?”

In light of the many deadly air disasters in recent months, it’s good to see companies buckling down and focusing on the important stuff. My only concern is this: which of the two spirits is flying the plane?

Follow Natalie Sandoval on X: @NatalieIrene03