Lufthansa Scraps Phrase “Ladies and Gentlemen”
Vacationer isn’t a 24-hour news service; and, occasionally we forget to mention a few important new items, especially if companies are taking steps to make travel more inclusive. Recently a story resurfaced, after almost a year, that more airlines are adopting gender-neutral language. An example is when Lufthansa Group – including SWISS, Austrian Airlines, and Eurowings – made the decision to replace expressions like “ladies and gentlemen” during onboard announcements in favor of gender-neutral greetings.
In an interview with Business Insider in June 2021, Equal Opportunities Officer Timotheus Piechatzek said ditching an age-old greeting like “ladies and gentlemen” (or “Meine Damen und Herren” in German) would take some getting used to.
“We will gradually implement gender-appropriate language within flight operations, i.e. in the announcements of the cabin, cockpit, and gate – at the moment, many colleagues are in short-time work in these areas, which is an additional challenge, said Piechatzek
In a statement, the airline said that on future flights travelers will be referred to as “guests,” or simply greeted with a cheerful: “Good morning here on board.”
A Lufthansa statement released yesterday states: “Diversity and equality are core values of our company and our corporate culture. From now on, we want to express this attitude in our language as well – and show that diversity is not just a phrase, but a lived reality.”
Apparently, gender-neutral language has been used in the company’s internal communication since the beginning of June 2021, and Lufthansa is also making linguistic changes to contracts and documents going forward.
A spokesperson for SWISS (part of the Lufthansa Group) said language across the airline has been transitioning to gender-neutral terms, including on its website and in internal communications. The process started on June 1, 2021, which is also Pride month.
Air Canada, EasyJet, British Airways, Air New Zealand, and Japanese airline JAL have introduced extra gender options for LGBTQ+ passengers who don’t identify as either male or female. Delta, American, and United have expressed interest in taking similar measures.
