Major Airline Will No Longer Address Passengers as “Ladies and Gentlemen”
Oct 15, 2019
For years and years, the majority of airline companies have addressed their passengers as “ladies and gentlemen”. However, as time has gone on and the world has become more progressive, we’ve come to realize that there are more than just two genders out there. Because of this, Air Canada has decided to stop referring to passengers as “ladies and gentlemen” and start referring to them as “everyone” so that all genders, not just males and females, can feel included.
Air Canada. Air Canada is an airline company, the largest one of Canada actually. It has been around since 1937, but despite it being from the 30s, this airline has recently proved to be very progressive.
Gender. Like most airlines, Air Canada had been referring to its passengers as “ladies and gentlemen” for as long they’ve been around. However, in order to “remove specific references to gender”, they have decided to stop using this vocabulary when addressing their passengers.
Everyone. Instead of saying “ladies and gentlemen”, they will now say “everyone” so that any and all genders feel included. This means they’ll use phrases like “hello, everyone” and “good morning, everyone”.
Memo. This new change was sent out in a memo to all staff members of the airline. The memo read: “We want to ensure an inclusive space for everyone, including those who identify with gender X.”
Transmission. The memo goes on to say that, “The change will be reflected in the transmission of the Onboard Announcement Manual as part of our commitment to respect gender identity, diversity and inclusion. We will tell you when this transmission will be available and when to implement this change.”
CTV News. A spokesman shared this update with CTV News, saying that, “We will be amending our onboard announcements to modernize them and remove specific references to gender. We work hard to make sure all employees feel like valued members of the Air Canada family, while ensuring our customers are comfortable and respected when they choose to travel with us.”
Staff. This new rhetoric will be adopted by all Air Canada staff members. This includes flight attendants, pilots, and gate agents.
2019. One of their flight attendants offered up a comment on this new change. They said, “We are in 2019. Everyone has the right to feel good about themselves and not want to be called sir or madam.”
United Airlines. Earlier this year in April, United Airlines became the first U.S. airline company to allow its passengers to identify as a gender outside of just male and female. Passengers of this airline are now able to book their flights using either “Mr.”, “Ms.”, or “Mx” which means unspecified.
Non-binary. United Airlines announced this progressive change in a tweet. The tweet read: “Fly how you identify. Our new non-binary gender options are now available.” Chief Customer Officer of United Airlines, Toby Enqvist, also shared that “United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity.”
Welcoming. Enqvist went on to say that, “We are so proud to be the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options for our customers. United is excited to share with our customers, whether they identify along the binary of male or female or not, that we are taking the steps to exhibit our care for them while also providing additional employee training to make us even more welcoming for all customers and employees.”
Airlines. Throughout the year of 2019, several airlines have confirmed that they are also in the works of bringing in more gender options than just male and female. So far, American Airlines, Delta, British Airways, and Air New Zealand have all confirmed this.
American Airlines. In fact, as of June 1st of this year, American Airlines has already taken some steps to be more gender inclusive. They now give their passengers the option to pick “unspecified” and “undisclosed” in addition to “male” and “female”.
Inclusion. A spokesman of this U.S. airline spoke out about these changes as well. He said, “U.S. airlines value a culture of diversity and inclusion, both in the workplace and for our passengers, and we work hard each day to accommodate the needs of all travelers while delivering a safe, secure and enjoyable flight experience.”
Progressive. Making these changes, which may seem minor to some people who identify as male or female, are huge to others who do not. This is a great sign of progressive thinking and inclusion happening in the world. Hopefully, this trend will continue with all airlines.
