Japan Airlines Drops ‘Ladies & Gentlemen’ In Favor Of Gender-Neutral Greetings
Image via KITTIKUN YOKSAP / Shutterstock.com
From 1 October 2020 onwards, Japan Airlines (JAL) will stop using the phrase “ladies and gentlemen” to greet passengers in a bid to become more gender-inclusive.
According to Japanese local website Mainichi, the national flag carrier will begin using gender-neutral expressions such as, “Attention all passengers,” and refer to them with general titles like “everyone.”
However, the new update will only be applied to JAL’s English announcements, as Japanese formal announcements are often verbalized without gender-specific terms in nature.
JAL will join the list of other airlines, including Air Canada and EasyJet, that have already started using genderless greetings.
In a statement released to Reuters, JAL stated that it wants to “create a positive atmosphere and treat everyone… with respect.”
The company’s spokesperson Mark Morimoto also told the news agency that the airline is committed to not discriminate against anyone based on “gender… sexual orientation, gender identity or other personal attributes.”
[via BBC, cover image via KITTIKUN YOKSAP / Shutterstock.com]
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