The NAACP is warning African-Americans that if they fly on American Airlines they could be subject to discrimination or even unsafe conditions.
American's CEO said Wednesday that he was disappointed by the announcement and that American wants to discuss the matter with the civil rights group.
The NAACP said that for several months it has watched a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers. Among them were separate cases in which an NAACP official and another civil rights activist were kicked off flights.
The NAACP said that and other recent incidents involving African-Americans "suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias on the part of American Airlines."
American Airlines issued a statement saying that it has a diverse group of employees and serves customers of all backgrounds.
In a memo to employees, CEO Doug Parker said American endorses the NAACP's mission statement against racial discrimination.
An activist who helped organize the Womens March on Washington has accused an American Airlines pilot of racial discrimination in kicking her off a flight.
In a series of tweets and a Facebook Live post, Tamika Mallory said that a pilot had her removed from a Sunday flight from Miami to New York after she had a dispute with another airline employee over her seat assignment.
Only reason this pilot got involved was to assert his white male power over who he thought was just some uppity black girl, Mallory tweeted.
American said it apologized for mishandling Mallorys attempt to move from a middle seat to an aisle seat, but it denied the heart of her accusation.
The American team does not tolerate discrimination of any kind, said spokesman Ross Feinstein. This was about de-escalating a situation onboard the aircraft.
The crew decided that the best thing to do was rebook Mallory on the next flight to New Yorks LaGuardia Airport, and Mallory took that flight home, Feinstein said.
Mallory said that she used an airport kiosk to upgrade her seat, but when she tried to board the plane, an employee tore up her boarding pass and gave her another with her original middle seat. American said there was an error in the seating process, because the seat that Mallory requested was not available.
The gate agent was unable to explain the error, and Mallory accused the agent, a black woman, of failing to treat her with respect.
again, do you scout the net looking for race-oriented news or do you get them in some sort of alt-right bulletin?
Last time you deflected saying you lived around the corner from where the 'horrifying acid attack' in your fake news story (it was a drinking beverage lol) happened. Do you live by the American Airlines or NAACP headquarters now? LOL