Destinations knownJapan Airlines ditches ‘ladies and gentlemen’ greeting – is it woke or purely tokenistic?

L­adies and gentlemen, would agree that it’s time to say goodbye to such an old-fashioned – and hetero­normative – greeting? Japan Airlines, apparently, the carrier having ditched “expressions based on [two types of sex]” in favour of “gender-friendly expressions” on board its flights from October 1.

According to news wire Agence France-Presse, announcements made in Japanese were already gender-neutral, “but the decision applies to other languages used by the airline”. “Attention all passengers” and “good morning everyone” will be among the new phrases adopted, The Japan Times reported.

“We aspire to be a company where we can create a positive atmosphere and treat everyone, including our customers, with respect,” Japan Airlines spokesman Mark Morimoto wrote in an email to the English-language newspaper. “We have committed to not discriminate based on gender, age, nationality, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or other personal attitudes.”

The news follows a similar move by European low-cost carrier easyJet, which apparently “guided” its crews against using gender binary expressions in December after being called out on Twitter. Air Canada also announced that it would be removing “specific references to gender” last October, although no time frame was given for when to expect “tout le monde” in place of “mesdames et messieurs”.

Naturally, netizens have been outraged by these extreme acts of inclusivity. “Now that you’ve identified the issue, what do you suggest?” demanded one Twitter user. “Hello”, “Konichiwa, bitches” and “Listen up, f***ers!” were offered up as alternatives.