A video recently surfaced of two off-duty American Airlines flight attendants engaged in a “sexy” burlesque dance and skit. The video quickly caused an uproar seeing as how the women, although fully clothed, were dressed in a flight attendant-like costume with the American Airlines signage displayed behind them.
The women are seen dancing around a man pretending to be an airline passenger seated in a premium seat on a plane. The video gives off the idea that sex appeal is used to attract some of the airline’s more prominent passengers.
The controversial video quickly drew the attention of The Association of Professional Flight Attendants, which represents over 26,000 American flight attendants.
“This cannot be happening in today’s environment. We will not tolerate our profession being objectified in a sexist manner,” Lori Bassani, 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.”
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Travel Noire was able to speak with American Airlines directly. According to an internal memo shared with us, the video was not something that was approved by the airline. American had no hand in what was displayed and were very displeased to see the company logo displayed while the dance took place.
What they have learned so far, is that the skit was a part of a customer-organized concert that was held at a private residence. It was in no way an American Airlines event. The video is not an accurate representation of the more than 27,000 professional flight attendants that ensure millions of passengers are cared for on their flights each day.
Luckily, the customer who originally posted the video was cooperative and agreed to take the video down.
American Airlines and the APFA will continue to work together on resolving this matter.
