An American Airlines customer is demanding more be done after he says a passenger threatened him and used anti-gay slurs against him.
The passenger, Steve, who asked NBC 5 not to identify his last name, says while boarding a flight on Sept. 9 from San Francisco to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the passenger next to him threatened to cause physical harm and used an anti-gay slur after Steve put up his headphones.
"He didn't like the way that I did that apparently. He gave me a dirty look and he said, 'I'm going to take care of when we get to the airport.' I said, 'What do you mean by that?' He said, 'You'll find out,'" said Steve.
"He gets on his cell phone and he starts calling somebody and he says, 'There's this queer guy next to me and he has an attitude and I'm going take care of him,'" said Steve.
Steve said he alerted a flight attendant and explained what had happened, which prompted the flight attendant to call for a supervisor to investigate.
Both Steve and the other man were escorted to the jet bridge and individually interviewed about the exchange.
Steve said when they returned onto the plane, the other man was moved to a different seat, but still in the same row.
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"I didn't feel American took this seriously at all. I contacted them afterwards and they said that they had done everything correctly," said Steve. "I think they should have taken him off the flight."
An American Airlines spokesperson said no crew member witnessed the exchange and it would not have been appropriate to pull the man off the flight. An AA spokesperson also said the man claimed Steve had made racial comments as well, which is a claim Steve denies.
Aviation attorney Kent Krause said Steve did the right thing in contacting a flight attendant immediately after the incident, however, if a passenger ever feels he or she isn't safe on board, he or she can ask crew members to call law enforcement.
Passengers also have the right to refuse getting on a flight if she or he feels their safety is in danger, and in most cases, airlines will reimburse or re-book the passenger.
American Airlines tells NBC 5 they accommodate any request for law enforcement and/or refusal to fly if a passenger feels threatened.
"I probably would have called the police, but I didn't feel that was my place to do when the airlines are supposed to be handling this," said Steve.
A letter sent from American Airlines Customer Relations to Steve reads, in part:
"Our employees strive to provide all of our customers with a safe and pleasant flying experience, and we try to ensure you are not subjected to uncomfortable situations by other passengers. However, as in any public gathering, there may be occasions when a conflict arises between people or when one individual's actions bother another. Since our crew members may not be witness to all the actions or comments of a particular passenger, there may be a limit to what they can do to detect or improve behavior that is perceived as inappropriate. In the face of any serious disturbance, our crews are trained to diffuse potentially volatile situations so as to ensure the safety and well-being of all our customers and crew members.
A copy of your letter was shared with the appropriate Manager in our Flight Services Department, and the matter was discussed independently with the two crew members who interacted with you that day. They both reported that they became involved in the matter after-the-fact, that they did not witness or hear any discriminatory behavior or comments on the part of the other passenger. As a supervisor was brought in, it was reported that the matter was discussed between interested parties on the jetbridge, and a short time later all re-boarded flight 2207 and departed for Dallas/Fort Worth. Our crew indicated that they were able to remove the other passenger to another seat so as to put some distance between both parties, however, because the flight was full, the only other available seat was across the aisle on row 8. Our crew members were emphatic that they did not observe any discriminatory behavior on the part of the other passenger, and they indicated that all parties seemed to be satisfied with the jetbridge discussion, having re-boarded the flight, returned to their seats, and had no other issues for the duration of the flight.
As you may know, we at American Airlines are very proud of our relationship with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Because of our fair-minded policies, we have earned the highest possible score of 100% on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index for nine years in a row - the only airline to do so. We are pleased that most of our LGBT customers agreed with this score, by voting American Airlines "Best Airline" in OutTraveler magazine's Reader's Choice Awards. We were also inducted into the OutTraveler Hall of Fame in 2008.
American Airlines has been a strong supporter of the LGBT community within our own workforce as well. We were the first major airline to implement same-sex domestic partner benefits in 2000 and to include gender identity in our employment protections in 2001. We were also the first major airline to endorse the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in 2008. Further, our LGBT Employee Resource Group (the first of its kind within the airline industry) works with management to ensure that principles of fairness, acceptance and diversity are represented in our company's policies and programs."
