United Airlines has marked Pride Month by releasing an eye-catching image of one of its aircraft moving through a vibrant rainbow caused by two water tankers on the ground.
"This Pride Month, United is celebrating our year-round mission of advocating and supporting our LGBTQ+ employees and customers by spotlighting organisations that share our commitment for uplifting the LGBTQ+ community," said Suzi Cabo, the airline's managing director of community engagement.
United was the first US airline to fully recognise domestic partnerships in 1999 and the first to offer non-binary gender options throughout all its booking channels. It was also the first public company to be inducted into Pride Live's Stonewall Ambassador programme in recognition of its commitment to LGBTQ+ equality in 2019.
This year the airline has issued United-branded Pride merchandise including a special edition enamel pin, with proceeds from sales donated to charities in California which support the community.
While the pin itself is available for US$7, shipping to New Zealand is almost US$90 at the time of publishing.
Most Pride events in New Zealand and Australia take place in February and March, while June and July are popular months for Pride in the Northern Hemisphere due to it being their summer season.
