British Airways moves to gender neutral announcements onboard Blog
BA to switch to gender-neutral plane greetings.
British Airways has reportedly decided to drop gender-related terms from onboard announcements starting this month.
Announcements will no longer reference “ladies & gentlemen,” but instead have a more gender-neutral feel, although the exact greeting that will be used remains to be seen.
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The news comes as airlines around the world are making changes to ensure that all employees and customers feel comfortable and respected.
In July, Lufthansa said travellers will be referred to as “guests,” or simply greeted with a cheerful: “Good morning here on board.”
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“Diversity and equality are core values for our company and our corporate culture. From now on, we want to express this attitude in our language as well — and show that diversity is not just a phrase, but a lived reality,” the Lufthansa statement said.
Japanese airline JAL did the same in 2020, as well as European budget carrier easyJet and Canadian flagship airline Air Canada back in 2019.
Whether British Airways’ change will be adopted across languages and regions remains to be seen.
As with other airlines who have taken a similar stance, the issue of gender-neutral language varies from country to country.
In June, a Federal Aviation Administration committee report on the drone industry recommended that terminology such as “airman” and “unmanned” should be changed to a more gender-neutral alternative, such as “aviator” and “uncrewed.”
