NAACP warns black passengers against traveling with American Airlines

NEW YORK -- The NAACP is warning African-Americans that if they fly on American Airlines they could be subject to discrimination or even unsafe conditions.

American's CEO said Wednesday that he was disappointed by the announcement and that American wants to discuss the matter with the civil rights group.

The NAACP said that for several months it has watched a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers. Among them were separate cases in which an NAACP official and another civil rights activist were kicked off flights.

The group's president, Derrick Johnson, said the "growing list of incidents suggesting racial bias reflects an unacceptable corporate culture and involves behavior that cannot be dismissed as normal or random."

American Airlines issued a statement saying that it has a diverse group of employees and serves customers of all backgrounds.

In a memo to employees, CEO Doug Parker said American endorses the NAACP's mission statement against racial discrimination.

"We do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind," Parker wrote. "We have reached out to the NAACP and are eager to meet with them to listen to their issues and concerns."

The NAACP highlighted four recent incidents in which African-American passengers said they were treated in a discriminatory way.

One involved the head of the North Carolina NAACP, the Rev. William Barber, who sued American after being removed from a flight last year. Barber said police were called and removed him from the plane after he asked a flight attendant to tell a white passenger behind him to quiet down.

Barber accused the other passenger of making a comment about having a problem with "those people."

An incident last week involved Tamika Mallory, an organizer of the Women's March on Washington in January. Mallory had changed her seat at an airport kiosk, only to be told at the gate that the seat had been assigned to another customer.

Mallory said she was treated disrespectfully by the gate agent - another African-American woman - and was outraged when a white male pilot asked if she could control herself while on the flight.

After being told she was being kicked off the plane, Mallory called the pilot a racist in a profanity-laced exchange. She took a later flight home to New York on American, then held a press conference two days later and threatened to take legal action against the airline.

The NAACP called its warning a travel advisory, a term it used to warn about discrimination in Missouri last month.

The group's latest advisory comes on top of several complaints of discrimination lodged against airlines in recent years, particularly by Muslims, some of whom have said they were booted off flights just because other passengers felt uncomfortable around them.

Last year a college student said he was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight and subjected to additional questioning by security officers after another passenger overheard him speaking in Arabic before takeoff. Last month an art instructor removed from another Southwest flight said she was targeted because she is Muslim; the airline said she had claimed a life-threatening allergy to two dogs that were on the plane.

Airline officials are uncomfortable discussing complaints of bias, even when they believe they are unfounded. American took its time before issuing a cautious, restrained response to the NAACP charge.

Bruce Rubin, a Miami public-relations professional experienced in crisis reaction, praised American's response including the invitation to NAACP leadership to talk. He said it was wiser than being confrontational.

The goal is "to tamp down the story instead of feeding it," Rubin said. "There aren't very many options when the race card gets tossed at you."

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the world's largest airline. The NAACP describes itself as the nation's oldest and largest nonpartisan civil rights organization.