American Airlines CEO apologizes for racist ‘body odor’ incident

“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on that flight and the breakdown of our procedures,” CEO Robert Isom said in a Memo.

The head of American Airlines has apologized for a January racial incident aboard one of his company’s planes. In a memo, CEO Robert Isom addressed the “body odor” incident that raised the ire of the NAACP.“It is important we address an unacceptable incident where eight Black passengers were temporarily removed and reboarded on one of our flights,” Isom’s memo reads, according to a copy provided to Quartz.

The passengers in question sued the airline in federal court last month, alleging that they had been told they were being removed from their flight because an airline staff member claimed they smelled bad. But even another member of the airline’s staff told them it was a fig leaf of an excuse.

“Plaintiffs were not told that they personally had body odor, and in fact none of the Plaintiffs had offensive body odor,” the complaint from three of the passengers reads. “When Plaintiffs pointed out that it looked like they had been singled out because they were Black, at least one of the American representatives said, ‘I agree. I agree.’ Plaintiffs were told that they and the other Black male passengers would all have to be rebooked on another flight.” The case is ongoing.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, which just a few years ago issued and then rescinded a travel advisory warning black people not to fly on American Airlines planes, issued a statement earlier this month that said “recent discriminatory actions from company employees prove that there is a dire need for continued accountability and resolution to this clear pattern.”

“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.”

In response, American Airlines said it is instituting a new iteration of a diversity-focused advisory council that it disbanded last year after consulting with the NAACP. The NAACP did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

“We are establishing a new oversight and excellence advisory group with a focus on improving the travel experience for Black customers,” Isom’s memo says. “Building off the achievements of our previous community council, this group will help us maintain standards, define processes and escalation procedures, measure our actions and improve feedback loops to ensure that we fulfill our commitments to Black travelers.”