American Airlines CEO: 'Unacceptable' to remove Black men from Phoenix flight

Michael Salerno, Arizona Republic
Updated ·3 min read
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American Airlines CEO Robert Isom told his employees he's troubled by the "unacceptable incident" in which eight Black men were ejected from an American flight from Phoenix to New York.

According to an internal memo obtained by The Arizona Republic, Isom said the airline "fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident" and outlined steps it would take to improve diversity and inclusion.

In May, three of the men sued American Airlines for racial discrimination stemming from the Jan. 5, 2024, incident in which they were removed from the flight after a white male flight attendant complained about a passenger with body odor.

None of the men removed from the plane had been accused by other passengers of having body odor. The three men who filed the lawsuit claimed American's staff discriminated against them because they are Black.

American Airlines has been accused of racial discrimination in the past. The NAACP issued a travel advisory for American Airlines in October 2017 after a series of incidents that included passengers being removed from flights. The advisory was lifted less than a year later.

American Airlines CEO vows change after racial discrimination lawsuit

In the internal memo, Isom told employees, "I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures.

"It contradicts our values, what we stand for, who we are and our purpose of caring for people on life’s journey. We fell short of our commitments and failed our customers in this incident."

He said in the memo that he met with NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson and will take several actions in response to Johnson's concerns about the incident on the Phoenix-New York flight. These steps include:

  • Creating an "oversight and excellence advisory group" focused on "improving the travel experience for Black customers."

  • Strengthening American's oversight and reporting procedures for handling customer concerns about discrimination or bias.

  • Re-evaluating American's policies to improvement on how it handles "situations that may result in the removal of passengers."

  • Introducing new employee training that will focus on how they can "recognize and address bias and discrimination" in real-world situations.

"Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, color, sexual orientation or national origin against any customer or team member is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at American Airlines," Isom said in the letter to employees.

Some American Airlines employees will be 'removed from service'

Isom's letter did not mention whether the employees involved in the Jan. 5 incident would be disciplined, but an American Airlines spokesman told The Republic that the airline is "holding those involved accountable, including removing team members from service."

Airline staff did not say how many employees were or will be removed from service, or if any of the staff members described in the discrimination lawsuit — including the white male flight attendant accused of having the men removed from the flight ― were or will be among those placed on leave.

The lawsuit did not name specific employees; the men alleged the employees they interacted with refused to give their names.

Where the American Airlines racial discrimination lawsuit stands now

The three men who filed the lawsuit − Alvin Jackson, Emmanuel Jean Joseph and Xavier Veal ― described their experience as "humiliating, degrading and deeply traumatizing."

After their removal from the flight, they returned to the gate to rebook and were told there were no other flights that evening. They were eventually allowed back on the plane, but claimed "rude and discriminatory" behavior persisted during the flight.

The lawsuit remains ongoing. Most recently, the men requested a 45-day extension of the airline's deadline to respond to their complaint, and "the parties have agreed to engage in settlement discussions," according to court documents.

The Public Citizen Litigation Group, which is representing the men, did not comment on Isom's letter.

Michael Salerno is an award-winning journalist who’s covered travel and tourism since 2014. His work as The Arizona Republic’s consumer travel reporter aims to help readers navigate the stresses of traveling and get the best value for their money on their vacations. He can be reached at Michael.Salerno@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter: @salerno_phx.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: American Airlines CEO: Removing Black men from plane was unacceptable