A United Airlines pilot committed sexual harassment by referring to his flight attendant colleagues as “pretty young ladies,” former NBC producer Betsy Fischer Martin (who is married to New York Times political reporter Jonathan Martin) complained on Twitter.
Really? @united pilot just directed passengers on PA to pay attention "to the pretty young ladies in the aisle" for safety instructions.
— Betsy Fischer Martin (@BFischerMartin) July 10, 2016
Fischer Martin went on to suggest that United should train its pilots “to act like it’s 2016 not 1965.”
@FridaGhitis Great question – when is @united going to at least train pilots to act like it's 2016 not 1965.
— Betsy Fischer Martin (@BFischerMartin) July 10, 2016
The tweets elicited some critical reaction from users who thought calling a flight attendant “pretty” was a simple compliment, rather than an example of how “sexual harassment is alive and well in the workplace.”
Retweeting a sample of many tweets showing why #sexualharassment is alive and well in the workplace. https://t.co/ZbJA0a7XNu
— Betsy Fischer Martin (@BFischerMartin) July 11, 2016
@BFischerMartin @united I just showed this to my flight attendant on @AmericanAir and she said you're "a menace" (Betsy, not United)
— David Martosko (@dmartosko) July 11, 2016
@BFischerMartin @united I’m so angry I can barely speak.
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) July 11, 2016
I wonder how many other people on that flight were offended by this. I bet it's near 0 (including the attendants). https://t.co/2WPHlBi2ga
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) July 11, 2016
WOW. This man is not fit to fly a plane. Can you get him sacked? Ask @united if they have any feminist pilots. @BFischerMartin
— Godfrey Elfwick (@GodfreyElfwick) July 11, 2016
The official United Airlines account responded to Fischer Martin and asked for more details about the alleged “offense.” Users were not happy about the thought of a pilot potentially being punished as a result.
@united @BFischerMartin This is absurd. If you punish your crew for complimenting flight attendants, I will NEVER fly United again.
— Sarah Salviander (@sarahsalviander) July 11, 2016
No word yet on whether this monster will face any consequences for his actions.
Meanwhile, journalists continue to document the many ways in which air travel has become plagued by misogyny.
Misogynist souvenir now on sale at the airport. Seriously, BWI? pic.twitter.com/k56K2TJuva
— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) July 11, 2016
