American Airlines Flight Attendants Demand Investigation into ‘sexist’ Musical Skit
The union that represents American Airlines
Customer Service Phone Number has demanded an investigation into a skit
that surfaced over the weekend depicting cabin crew singing “Big Spender” to a
man portraying a high-paying customer.
The video of the skit, which was performed on a small stage
that featured American Airlines’ name and logo on a screen, was posted to
Twitter by Jamie Larounis, who writes the Forward Cabin travel blog.
Larounis, who has since removed the video, tweeted that the
“the people in the skit were on the payroll of AA” and that they have a group
called Salute, which performs at shows.
In the video, four women presented as flight attendants sing
the song from “Sweet Charity,” a musical about a dance-hall hostess, to a
seated man, changing some words to include “Executive Platinum,” the top
frequent flyer status for American’s frequent flyers.
American Airlines said the skit was performed at a
“customer-organized” concert in a private residence. The airline said it did
not control the content or preview the agenda.
“What was portrayed in the skit was not sanctioned by the
airline and is not representative of the 27,000 professional flight attendants
who take great care of millions of customers each year,” American said in a
statement to its employees. “We spoke to the customer who posted the original
video and shared our concerns that the actions depicted in the skit he
witnessed are demeaning to our professional flight attendants and crew members
throughout the industry. We are thankful that he listened to our concerns and
that he agreed to remove the video.”
The event was for a group of friends who frequently fly American Airlines Phone
Number and aimed to raise money through a silent auction for the
Airpower Foundation, an organization that supports members of the military, said
Larounis, who attended the event.
American’s flight
attendants’ union said they want to be included in an independent investigation
about the incident.
”This cannot be happening in today’s environment. We will
not tolerate our profession being objectified in a sexist manner, ” Lori Bassano,
president of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants said in a
statement. “We want the facts about the company’s involvement and we want
answers.”
Flight attendants have for decades fought against sexism and
sexual harassment they have experienced on the job. A survey last year by the
Association of Flight Attendants, which represents about 50,000 flight
attendants at United, Hawaiian, Alaska and Spirit airlines, among others, found
that 68 percent of flight attendants have been sexually harassed at some point
in their careers.
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