Europe’s largest airline group Lufthansa said on Tuesday it was retiring “ladies and gentlemen” as the onboard greeting in favour of gender-neutral alternatives. The move is intended to make all passengers feel welcome, including those who do not identify as male or female.
“Crews are being instructed to choose a greeting that includes all passengers,” a spokesman for Lufthansa said to AFP, confirming a piece of information published by German magazine Bild. He added that “dear guests” or a simple “good morning/good evening” would be used instead.
The new policy applies to Lufthansa as well as to all the other Group’s airlines (Swiss, Austrian, Brussels and Eurowings).
In Belgium, Brussels Airlines spokeswoman, sorry, spokesperson Maaike Andries told The Brussels Times: “This is a strong statement, and Brussels Airlines, too, wants to evolve towards as much inclusiveness as possible”.
The airline already started using gender-neutral language in its internal communication a while ago, but will now also start implementing the change towards passengers.
