A gay couple was forced to sit separately on an Alaskan Airlines flight to make room for a straight couple.

Legendary nightclub owner David Cooley said he and his partner were flying from New York JFK to LAX when a flight attendant asked his companion to move seats. 

'After my travelling companion and I had been seated in our assigned seats for a while, we were approached by the flight attendant and my companion was asked to move from his premium seat to coach, so a couple could sit together.

'I explained that we were a couple and wanted to sit together,' he wrote in a Facebook post on Sunday.

David Cooley said he and his partner were flying from New York JFK to LAX when a flight attendant asked his companion to move seats

Cooley owns gay LA nightclub The Abbey, where he was pictured with Diana Ross in January

'He was given a choice to either give up the premium seat and move to coach or get off the plane.'

Mr Cooley, who runs two gay nightclubs in Hollywood including The Abbey, said he had never before been so discriminated against while traveling. 

'We could not bear the feeling of humiliation for an entire cross-country flight and left the plane,' he said, adding that they got a Delta flight instead.

'I cannot believe that an airline in this day and age would give a straight couple preferential treatment over a gay couple and go so far as to ask us to leave. 

'We will never be flying Alaska Airlines or their recently-purchased Virgin Airlines ever again.'

Alaskan Airlines said it mistakenly booked two people in the same seat and denied it discriminated against the pair

Cooley went viral with his story after sharing this post on Facebook

Alaskan confirmed the incident happened and apologized to Mr Cooley and his partner, but denied they were discriminated against.

'We are truly sorry this event occurred. We mistakenly booked two people in one seat,' the airline told Mr Cooley via Twitter.

'I can assure you we are an inclusive airline and hold a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination of any kind in our workplace.'

Alaskan said it was investigating the issue and speaking to all involved to resolve the situation.