American Airlines expects to be working with the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) on issues related to
diversity and discrimination in the near future.
"If the NAACP wants to talk to us about this and wants
to help us get better in this, we're excited about it," CEO Doug Parker said
during the carrier's third-quarter earnings call Thursday.
His remarks came a day after the NAACP issued a travel
advisory warning African Americans about their safety and well-being aboard
American flights. The NAACP said it issued the advisory after observing a
pattern of disturbing incidents over several months.
In particular, the NAACP highlighted four incidents
involving black passengers, three of whom were removed from flights. In one
incident, the removal came after the passenger responded to discriminatory
behavior from two white passengers, the NAACP said.
Parker said Thursday that the NAACP advisory came as a
disappointment to American, which prides itself on inclusivity. But he allowed
that the airline can do better.
"Discrimination and exclusion and unconscious biases
are enormous problems that no one has conquered and we would never say we have
figured it out," he said.
Parker spoke about the NAACP advisory as American reported
net income in the third quarter of $624 million, down 15.4% year-over-year. The
carrier saw a 2.7% increase in operating revenue to $10.88 million, in line
with analyst expectations. That pick-up was countered by a 5.3% increase in
operating expenses, as salaries and fuel prices went up.
American reported earnings per share of $1.42, beating
expectation by 2 cents.
The earnings call also featured comments from Parker on the
dispute between the U.S. Big Three (Delta, United and American) and Gulf
airlines Emirates, Etihad and Qatar. The Big Three say the Gulf carriers have
an unfair and illegal advantage over them because of the size of state
subsidies that the Gulf carriers receive.
Parker said he is optimistic that the Trump administration
will take action against the Gulf carriers following meetings between the CEOs
of the U.S. Big Three and cabinet secretaries in recent months.
"This is as easy as it gets as far as showing that
American jobs are at stake," Parker said.