Dammit, Roger, Get Those Lady Fliers!

By Alicia Dorr in Miscellaneous on Apr 16, 2007 6:00PM

We often fall back on really out-of-date stereotypes, like that the majority of all journalists are men, or that Tom Cruise is a good actor. One of them — that, unless it's spring break, airline passengers are primarily businessmen — is being directly challenged by American Airlines.

By "directly challenged" we mean that the airline would not have launched a website targeting women if they weren't crucial passengers. And they are. The website is a resource to keep all travelers who are women "connected," i.e. providing targeted information about flights, rewards, destinations, etc. It is included in a broader initiative to improve customer service, which also means for women that the airline is looking into lower storage bins and adding children's playrooms to airport lounges. And hopefully travel information to other customers so they know not to go near said lounges.

There are a few things about the website that seem a bit odd, though, like sections on "Girlfriend Getaways" and the list of books under "Book Recommendations." Not that these things are bad, but it does start to feel a little 13-year-old slumber party now and then, especially considering the fact that there aren't any airline websites targeting men. But, hey, who are we to argue? If women travelers demand to know what charities the airline donates to before they fly, so be it.

Incidentally, we don't believe any of the stereotypes we listed in the first paragraph. Especially the one about Tom Cruise.

Image via nationalmuseum.af.mil.