There is no doubt that there is a lot of discrimination in the aviation industry and we are constantly seeing stories that clearly reflect that reality. At the same time, there is simply a lot of bad service in the aviation industry and also confusion about airline policies. With that in mind, I’m not exactly sure what to make of this story … Stranded teachers are treated differentlyOver the weekend, all State Teachers of the Year were invited to Space Camp on the grounds of the United States Space & Rocket Center Museum at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. When this camp was over, many of the teachers flew out of Huntsville, Alabama on Monday, July 26, 2021. This is where that story comes in. Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka is the American Samoan Teacher of the Year. She was on “high spirits celebrating the end of Space Camp,” but her feeling quickly changed after her experience with the American Airlines staff at Huntsville Airport. She says the way they treated her left her feeling “panic, disbelief and hurt”. Essentially Suluai-Mahuka and her Asian colleague were treated very differently than their white colleague. She outlines what is happening in a series of tweets, but in summary:
Anthony Coy-Gonzales, the white male colleague they are referring to, confirms this story on his Facebook:
American Airlines made the following statement regarding the incident:
My opinion on this incidentAlthough it doesn’t specify which flights the passengers were booked on, it appears between the lines that they flew to Charlotte on American Airlines:
It’s hard to know what to make of this story. Do I understand why the two Asian teachers felt discriminated against when treated differently from a white man? Naturally! That being said, my bigger question is how the hell did that one teacher get all of this from the Americans ?! American policy is not to offer hotels or anything else in the event of a weather delay, and this was pretty clearly a weather delay. I’ve flown a lot with America in the past decade, and I can’t even count how many overnight delays I’ve had due to the weather over the years. I’ve never received a hotel voucher, nor a taxi or meal voucher. Ever. So one teacher was obviously given preferential treatment, but why did he get something that practically no one else gets? Was American really proactive in offering a hotel, meal voucher, and taxi voucher to a passenger during a weather delay? Suluai-Mahuka describes the rude treatment she received from American Airlines staff and how disinterested they were. Unfortunately, when she is better, this is often taken for granted at the airline. I turned to a gate agent once while I was five hours late in Charlotte on Tuesday and without looking up she said, “If you’re here to ask a question, I have no answers.” Beautiful!Bottom lineAn American Samoa teacher was on a canceled American Airlines flight from Huntsville Monday afternoon. All she was offered was to be rebooked on the next available flight, which is American policy and fair enough. What makes this story unsettling is that one of her co-workers received a hotel, meal, and taxi voucher without asking. As an American customer, I have never received this in the event of a weather delay. I would assume there is some context here, but the other teacher corroborates the story and American’s statement does not deny what happened, so … What do you think of this story? Are you as confused as i am?
Via https://globalconnekt.com/strange-discrimination-story-from-american-airlines/
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