No More ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ on Japan Airlines

The global aviation industry was seen as a strict enforcer of traditional gender roles through exacting requirements for female flight attendants. They had to wear makeup, high heels and skirts. In the early years, flight attendants also had weight requirements. Female pilots were rare.

Air travel was considered a glamorous affair in the 1960s, and using “ladies and gentlemen” to address passengers only added to its allure during the so-called golden age of travel.

In recent years, airlines including Virgin Atlantic have heeded calls from flight attendants to relax some of the rules on appearance, adding pants to women’s uniforms.

In the wake of a campaign , which targeted Japanese workplaces that required women to wear high heels, Japan Airlines said in March that it would allow female flight attendants to choose the kind of shoes they wear on flights. Flight attendants would also for the first time be permitted to choose whether to wear pants instead of skirts.

In 2017, the airline also changed its policies so that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees could receive family benefits previously given to heterosexual couples only. All Nippon Airways, a competitor, installed a gender-neutral bathroom at the airline’s Tokyo lounge in 2018. It also began in 2016 to allow passengers to register same-sex partners as family members in mileage programs.

Japan Airlines said it was motivated by listening to its customers, but it is not the first major airline to bin the phrase “ladies and gentlemen.” Air Canada and Easy Jet, among others, already stopped using it in announcements.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/world/asia/japan-airlines-ladies-gentlemen.html