According to a new report from CNN Money, African-Americans are being warned against traveling with American Airlines.
An advisory that came late Tuesday from the NAACP said it has noticed "a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers, specific to American Airlines." They cited multiple examples where black passengers were either forced to give up their seats on a flight they had checked in on or were removed from flights instead. The organization says that these instances "suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias." Any member of the African-American community who is supposed to travel using American Airlines has been asked to use caution.
"Booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them [to] disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions," the advisory added. In response to this news, American Airlines CEO Doug Parker said that the company was "disappointed" to learn of this NAACP warning, as per a memo that was sent to staff. NAACP President Derrick Johnson had previously called for a meeting with the airline'stop dogs, and Parker is moving towards meeting with the group to discuss the matter in detail. "We fly over borders, walls and stereotypes to connect people from different races, religions, nationalities, economic backgrounds and sexual orientations," the memo read, which the company made available to the press. "We do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind."
The incidents described in the advisory are ugly, including one where a black woman booked two first-class tickets for herself and a white companion on board a flight. However, when completing her check-in process at the counter, the black woman was imemdiately moved to coach, while her traveling partner remained in first class. Another example occurred on a flight from D.C. to North Carolina, where a black man was forced to leave his seat after he supposedly "responded to disrespectful and discriminatory comments directed toward him by two unruly white passengers," as per the NAACP.
And in the fourth example, a black woman was removed from a New York-bound flight after she complained that her seat was changed without her consent, the NAACP said.
Johnson stated that the list of incidents continues to grow, with each one involving "behavior that cannot be dismissed as normal or random." Back in August, the NAACP issued a travel advisory for Missouri, stemming from multiple discriminatory incidents in the state. It advised any members of the African-American community to use "extreme caution" while traveling there.