Three years United Airlines was sued over how it picked flight attendants to work sports team charter flights. The crewmembers claimed that United only assigns “young, blond crews” to work with sports teams, and that their charter scheduling is racist and based on “sexual allure.”
These flight attendants suffered damages because working the flights gave them access to game tickets, “including playoff and Super Bowl tickets, and “extremely valuable” infield passes.” The case was settled in March 2021.
Now United is facing a similar suit by two flight attendants who got pulled off of Los Angeles Dodgers flying, saying that United is responsive to the team’s desire for “white, young, thin women who are predominately blond and blue-eyed.”
- United added “several white United flight attendants…to the ‘dedicated crew'” in 2022.
- They “did not have to interview for these coveted positions” but were “selected by United’s management … because of how they looked: they are white, young, thin women who are predominately blond and blue-eyed.”
- And the airline explained the decision because “these white flight attendants fit a ‘certain look’ that the Dodgers players liked.”
The flight attendants suing in this case had been on the Dodgers flights despite being older and minorities – indeed they were on these flights even after the prior lawsuit over hiring in 2020. So United wasn’t racist or engaging in age discrimination then, only now I guess? They’re suing because they were removed from working these flights, in their view, “without any justification.”
They don’t appear to have evidence for why they were reassigned. It’s clear United didn’t discriminate against them in their selection for the charters in the first place. However unless United has specific derogatory information in their personnel files, this seems likely to settle her as well
Airlines generally have specially picked cabin crew for public relations and VIP events. There’s nothing unique about that. And the qualifications for those roles are different than for operating a normal flight. Those flight attendants aren’t “primarily there for your safety.” They’re brand ambassadors.
Flight attendants are currently in contract negotiations with United Airlines. It seems that changing the criteria for these flights would be a their union’s collective bargaining rather than for the courts. And if there was actually something inappropriate that would be fodder for AFA-CWA union head Sara Nelson’s twitter feed. The lack of union involvement here speaks volumes.
At the same time, discrimination suits can go against an employer even when there doesn’t seem to be much basis. United lost an age discrimination case where,
- The flight attendants were watching a movie on an iPad while on duty
- One was (illegally) smoking an e-cigarette during a flight
- They both sat on metal galley boxes to watch another movie together, in violation of safety rules
The court found essentially that, sure, those were against the rules but that United must have been motivated by age discrimination to actually fire them since United Airlines flight attendants fail to do their jobs all the time without repercussion.
They represent the company so of course the FAs that best fit the desired model are selected. People act like appearance, ethnicity, etc shouldn’t matter. I agree it is all about competence if you don’t work in a customer facing job but how you look and interact with the public is an important part of the job. Numerous studies have shown taller men are selected for sales positions over shorter candidates and no company wants someone morbidly obese as their representative.
Sorry if people feel we should all live in a color and appearance blind world but that just isn’t reality.
Possibly a case of age discrimination. Most of the athletes are in their 20s with some in their 30s. A cabin crew of the same ages may be the best fit and the least surly.
Selecting crew for charter or special flights where there may be media attention is definitely tricky. And you are right, while there for safety they are also there for the service element more so than on a standard flight and are brand ambassadors, spending more time than anybody else at the airline with a group that controls quite a bit of spend… and has media following their aircraft movements.
At the last airline where I worked, we did some charter flights and a number of honor flights (for Veterans to visit DC for the day, visit the memorials to the wars or campaigns where they served, sometimes meet with Congressional reps from their state, etc., for those who may not be familiar – I know Gary has seen these groups around DC for sure). By union contract, we could not hand pick who worked the flights either on a pilot or flight attendant basis. But clearly there were some people who we did not want on those planes as crew, such as one case where a flight attendant refused to serve the special catered meals to veterans because it said nowhere in his inflight manual explicitly that he had to do so (myself as a manager and actually one of my ramp supervisors rode the return flight and handed out the catering).
But – management who were qualified could replace working crew. Special flight would get put out in open time, then would see who picked them up to work. If persons who were questionable brand ambassadors, they got paid for the trip but stayed home and the base chief pilots, inflight supervisors, or inflight training instructors flew.
So United went public with a policy that they want to hire 50% minorities and women to fill the upcoming pilot slots in the next decade but they can’t assign white women to a charter flight without running afoul somewhere. Ironic how not matter how far companies bend the knee to DEI lunacy, it’s never enough.
We don’t really have enough information to know what’s really going on here. Maybe the FAs who are suing felt entitled to the positions and younger FAs worked harder… although if they think the positions were an opportunity to get super bowl tickets, that’s a pretty strong indicator they were not approaching those flights professionally… the team doesn’t want the FA’s hitting them up for tickets.
Or maybe UA does favor younger crew – although that would be the exact opposite way I’d staff those flights. I’d staff them with experienced crew who do not care at all about football and view the team as just another set of (more important) customers.
@david TWA use to fly the LA Dodgers and many other sports teams. Tony and Don ran the FA charter department. There were people of all ages, color, and race. The FA could request to be put on the charter list and would then bid on the charters and the trips were awarded in seniority order. Many FA’s would leave with the team to the hotel. Any issues at United would be with the airline and not the baseball team.
@david Employment discrimination is for hiring/firing not job assignments.
@david The CBA negotiated by the union are under the Railway Labor Act. Any issues with trip assignments they would have to file a grievance and exhaust all remedies before they can file suit.
Face facts: it’s a bit retrograde but there is virtue in ringing the cash register. Also, unions are a joke. Airlines prove it.
You know, this would never happen at Delta because it’s a premium luxury airline that can charge premium luxury rates. They are just the best airline in the world. I know it’s true because I posted it.
-Timmy
Do they sit in the galley behind the drawn curtain reading Elle Magazine and playing Candy Crush on their phones like every other flight?…..or are they actually expected to provide something resembling service?
When I charter a plane that needs an FA, I request no old and fat and ghetto. For the amount I’m spending I think it’s fair for the amount I’m paying. Most of my flights don’t require FAs though so it rarely comes up.
@david The sports teams want to left alone while traveling unless they engage the flight crew. Their was one nut FA who tried to lay a kiss on a
St. Louis Cardinal ball player. Mark McGuire would always sit at a window seat with another player in the aisle seat so they could not bother him. After his 62nd/70th famous plays, this nut FA took it a little too far with him. He personally called the Charter Dept and had her removed from any Cardinal charter trips.
@chris The food on the charter flights was amazing. The candy bars were super jumbo size. The crews actually worked since they wanted to interact with the players. There was always so much food left over on charter flights the ramp employees were eager to bring the plane into the gate. It was amazing they knew which plane was the charter flight.
Reading further from some other sources, one of the plaintiffs is also miffed that Dodgers players (namely Justin Turner named in the complaint) have previously handed out envelopes of cash as tips to flight attendants on these flights, such as end of season or end of that crew pairing, and they didn’t get them, but players gave young/white flight attendants tips.
@nedskid So, there complaint is they did not put out and get paid for it or they they did not receive an invite?? Sounds like they worked the flight and were not wanted afterwards.
BFOQ !!! That was hammered into me in my Business Law course as part of my MBA. Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications are what allow Hollywood Studios to hire only women who are smoking hot, of whatever skin color or background that they wish. The only part that I don’t get is the part about White and Blond: As all straight guys know, smoking hot women come in all skin colors and backgrounds, just look at the currently leading Actresses and Supermodels to prove it. I’m no legal expert, but it would seem to me that the “White and Blond” part is going to get them into a whole lot more trouble than the “smoking hot” part…
Let’s face the facts- people of color really don’t like white people and honestly get happy when a white person fails. It’s not about equity to them, it’s about venegeance. Anyone in corporate America would tell you that secretly after having a few drinks.
@texastj Baseball players were very superstitious. If they felt the FA contributed to a loss, they did not want them on the charter flights.
‘Coffee, Tea, or Shakedown?”
This is like the Executive Special Men Only flights United operated in the 1950s cuz and 1960s between New York and Chicago. Only the hottest stews were put on those flights.