In October last year, the social justice advocacy organization NAACP issued a travel advisory warning African American travelers against booking flights on American Airlines. The travel advisory was issued after a series of incidents where African American flyers were asked to move out of their first-class seats and into coach, or asked to leave a flight to make way for a white traveler. The NAACP said the incidents suggested, “a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias on the part of American Airlines.”
Since then, the airline has implemented a diversity and inclusion gap analysis and a new discrimination complaint resolution process for both team members and customers.
Yesterday, while announcing that the travel advisory was lifted, Derrick Johnson, NAACP president and CEO, said that American Airlines had taken substantive action to address bias within the company. He said, “They have embraced the situation and we are encouraged by their commitment to improve upon internal processes and increase inclusion across the airline.”
