United, Delta Airlines Criticized For Offering NRA Members Discounts

At a time when major businesses across the United States, such as MetLife, Symantec, Best Western Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham, have chosen to terminate their relationship with the National Rifle Association, following the organization's stance in the aftermath of the Florida school shooting Feb. 14, two of the largest airlines in the country — United and Delta — decided to offer NRA members discounts.

Both United and Delta are providing discounts to NRA members who are flying to the organization’s annual convention, which is to be held in Dallas in May.

NRA’s convention website stated, “NRA has also contracted special flight discounts with United Airlines and Delta Airlines, specifically for members attending the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits. By booking your itinerary with United Airlines or Delta Airlines, you will receive up to 2-10 percent off their online airfares.”

Responding to the news, United Airlines told Think Progress it did not have any special affiliation with the NRA and the arrangement to provide the discounts were part of “its standard meeting agreement process.” Delta Airlines, on the other hand, said the contract with NRA was “routine.”

The NRA has been facing the wrath of many people ever since the Feb. 14 shooting, when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with an AR-15 rifle and opened fire on students and staff, killing 17 people and injuring 14 others.

The news of United and Delta airlines providing discounts for NRA members was not received well by social media users, many of whom have been calling for a boycott against the gun-promoting organization.

However, there still remain a number of organizations that are continuing with their NRA partnerships. Some of these companies include TrueCar, Apricot, Apple, Google, YouTube, Lockton, Allied Van Lines, eHealth, ManageUrID, among others. Reports suggest various individuals have contacted these businesses to get them to stop their partnerships.

Apart from social media users, even Dallas officials are not very happy with the NRA convention being held in their city. Mayor Dwaine Caraway, on Monday, proposed the organization move its convention to another location.

Caraway said, "It is a tough call when you ask the NRA to reconsider coming to Dallas, but it is putting all citizens first, and getting them to come to the table and elected officials to come to the table and to address this madness now. …. At the end of the day, we need to connect the dots. The NRA needs to step up to the plate, and they need to show leadership."

Reacting to Caraway’s comment, NRA representative Andrew Arunlanandam said, "No politician anywhere can tell the NRA not to come to their city. We are already there. Dallas, like every American city and community, is populated by NRA members. Our members work in fire stations and police departments. They save lives in local hospitals and own businesses in communities urban and rural throughout this country."