Well… saying “we’re” issuing travel advisories isn’t exactly fair. It’s the NAACP. And CNN points us to a recent advisory they released telling black travelers to be cautious about flying with American Airlines because of possible discriminatory or unsafe conditions. That’s a fairly serious charge to be making so I assume they’ve got something to back it up.

As it turns out, at least one complaint lodged against the airline by an African-American passenger was done anonymously, but surely there must be more if they’re detecting a pattern. Shouldn’t there?

The NAACP is warning African-American travelers to be careful when they fly with American Airlines.

In an advisory late Tuesday, the organization said it has noticed “a pattern of disturbing incidents reported by African-American passengers, specific to American Airlines.”

It said the incidents “suggest a corporate culture of racial insensitivity and possible racial bias” and advised travelers to exercise caution.

“Booking and boarding flights on American Airlines could subject them [to] disrespectful, discriminatory or unsafe conditions,” the advisory said.

For their part, American Airlines was quick to respond, saying they disagreed entirely and were “disappointed” in the NAACP for issuing the advisory. (Time)

American Airlines’ CEO said Wednesday that he was “eager to meet” with the NAACP, a day after the civil rights group issued an advisory warning black travelers that flying with the airline could be “unsafe.”

“We were disappointed to learn of a travel advisory issued by the NAACP regarding American Airlines,” said American Airlines CEO Doug Parker in a memo to employees.

Parker continued: “The mission statement of the NAACP states that it ‘seeks to remove all barriers of racial discrimination.’ That’s a mission that the people of American Airlines endorse and facilitate every day – we do not and will not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We have reached out to the NAACP and are eager to meet with them to listen to their issues and concerns.”

I could issue any number of specific advisories for black travelers flying on American Airlines. But they’d be the same advisories I’d issue for white travelers, Asians or Hispanics. And it would likely apply to most of the other airline carriers as well. You’ll probably have a terrible seat on an overpacked plane. You may get bumped off your flight for no apparent reason. The service will be horrible and you’ll be uncomfortable for the entire trip. (None of these apply if you can afford to fly first class, by the way, no matter what color your skin is.)

To be fair, there might be grounds for some specific warnings to Asian passengers on United, but since they haven’t broken anyone’s jaw and dragged their bleeding carcas off of a plane in a few months that problem may have been cleared up.

All snark about horrible airline service aside, I’d be interested to hear more specifics about complaints that American has received in terms of discriminatory service to customers. I’d have thought that they couldn’t possibly afford to risk it after even one complaint, but you never know. I’ll keep an open mind on this one, but I think we’ll need to see at least a decent hint of a pattern of abuse before calling it.

Exit question: Should the NAACP be in the business of issuing travel advisories to black travelers? You may be surprised to hear me say it, but absolutely. We still haven’t wiped out discrimination entirely in this country and there will always be a few bad apples. If they find a case which is documentable they should absolutely let people know.

The original article was corrected to indicate that the passenger who was beaten up was flying on United, not Delta.