American Airlines leads US in passenger racial complaints

Bloomberg

American Airlines passengers have filed 29 complaints of racial discrimination in the last 20 months, the most of any airline flying in the US, according to data compiled by the US Department of Transportation.
While air travellers are often unhappy, American’s treatment of African-American passengers has recently come under particular scrutiny. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People issued a “travel advisory” for the airline, citing four incidents that, it says, “suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias.”
On a quarterly conference call with investors, American Chief
Executive Officer Doug Parker addressed the NAACP’s announcement and reiterated the company’s commitment to diversity. “Discrimination, exclusion and unconscious biases are enormous problems that no one has mastered, and we would never suggest that we have it all figured out either,” Parker said. “We want to keep learning and we want to be even better.”
Some Twitter users described not being let onto purchased flights by gate agents and being punched in the chest by a flight attendant. “These are very rare events when they happen,” Parker said. “Sometimes we do have issues with our customers. We take responsibility for that. There is no major trend going on in that regard.”
American Airlines spokeswoman Shannon Gilson said that Mallory had been invited to meet with members of the executive team at the company’s headquarters.
Among American’s largest rivals, United Continental Holdings Inc. had the next-highest number of complaints at 17. There were 9 complaints each at Delta Air Lines Inc., the second-largest airline, and Southwest Airlines Co., which flies the largest number of domestic passengers, according to the data.
One of the oldest civil rights organisations in the US, the NAACP called for a meeting with the airline to discuss its concerns, and Parker said he welcomes the opportunity to work with the NAACP. “Indeed, we are excited about it and enthusiastic to sit down and listen and learn together,” he said.
American Airlines Group Inc. said it has invited representatives of the organisation to company headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas and expects to begin working together soon. Parker is also one of hundreds of CEOs who have signed a pledge agreeing to encourage business to do more to support diversity.
The NAACP cautioned African-American travellers that “booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them to
disrespectful, discriminatory or
unsafe conditions.”