American Airlines CEO promises action after black men removed from Phoenix flight

PHOENIX (AZFamily) – American Airlines’ chief executive is pledging to restore trust and do more to combat racial discrimination after three black men sued the airline, claiming they were barred from a flight to Phoenix because of the color of their skin.

According to CBS News, CEO Robert Isom said in a letter to airline employees that the incident was “unacceptable.”

“I am incredibly disappointed by what happened on this flight and the failure of our procedures,” Isom wrote. “We failed in our obligations and failed our customers in this incident.”

After discussions with civil rights groups, he also outlined a plan to combat discrimination.

The employees involved in the removal of the black men have reportedly been placed on leave.

Back in January, eight black men were reportedly asked to leave the plane waiting in Phoenix to depart for New York.

The men said airline employees told them they were fired because of a complaint about body odor, which they said was false.

Three of the men filed racial discrimination lawsuits in federal court in New York last month.

The lawsuit states that the eight men were the only black people on board the flight.

In addition, the group was not traveling together and did not know each other.

The complaint said flight attendants failed to mention an unpleasant odor on an earlier flight involving the three plaintiffs from Los Angeles to Phoenix.

American offered them a rebooking, but when it became clear after about an hour that there were no other flights to New York that evening, they were allowed to board again, the lawsuit says.

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