Gentlemen and ladies, this is Captain Talking. You’re no longer ladies and gentlemen.
British Airways cleans up the mess caused by sexy salutations.
You may have looked at other passengers before and judged them to be men or women.
It must’ve been the altitude: They were gender neutral, in fact — or they will be, on all future flights.
The disinformation of dichotomy is no longer valid.
As relayed by The Telegraph, the airline “has advised pilots and cabin crew not to refer to passengers as ‘ladies and gentlemen’ in onboard announcements as the carrier celebrates the ‘diversity and inclusion’ of its customers.”
The company doesn’t make clear how 86’ing syllables constitutes “celebration,” but perhaps the term has evolved.
Personally, I’d prefer the kind of festive fun where I fly free.
Regardless, the new nothing-about-your-nethers form of travel isn’t limited to the formerly male-and-female-friendly skies.
British Airways follows the lead of other intelligent airports, and they have also prohibited the mention of girls or boys.
Other air carriers have also adopted the same sexless model:
German rival Lufthansa switched to gender-neutral [greeting]This was earlier in the year. Similar changes were made by Air Canada and EasyJet in 2019.
Moreover, the change is “believed to have been partly driven by a change in BA customers.”
What could that look like?
Since COVID restrictions were lifted, a greater number of families have begun to travel. Business travel has taken longer to recover. The airline is understood to have been keen to make children feel included in announcements as well as respect new social norms.
Makes sense — I recall being on an airplane at eight, wondering why I wasn’t mentioned amid pre-flight information.
Whatever their true motivation, BA and the other customer-conscious carriers are joining a growing chorus of people who oppose the idea that men and women exist.
As I reported in July, Walt Disney World lopped “ladies and gentlemen” and bounced “boys and girls” from the introduction of its end-of-the-night spectacular:
Disney removes ”Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls” from Happily Ever After pre show announcement.
Forever, ladies and gentlemen! pic.twitter.com/joWLcYBgMf
— Showcase of Wishes (@ShowcaseWishes) June 30, 2021
This was five months ago in the UK.
British Train Company Apologizes to Nonbinary Passenger for Employee Greeting ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’https://t.co/HjXEhnlcue
— Alex Parker (@alexparker1984) May 18, 2021
It’s an increasingly complex world.
The once lighthearted film line is now a powerful predicament.
[Language Warning]
Who should be called if they are not men and women?
Perhaps a third option is sufficient?
I suspect we’ll soon find out.
In the meantime, all are welcome aboard British Airways — even those returning from a surgical San Francisco jaunt:
Doctors that ‘Nonbinary Genital Affirm’ offer sexual ‘Nullification Surgery
https://t.co/lTNxG1zudN— RedState (@RedState) May 28, 2021
Now that the airline’s fixed its offense to post-operative persons, perhaps they’ll next rename any planes that simply transport post:
It’s up!
-ALEX
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