A union that represents American Airlines flight attendants is demanding that the carrier investigate a video of a skit that it said demeans women.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said the skit, which was posted Saturday night on Twitter, included women dressed as flight attendants singing "Big Spender" to a man who was portraying an Executive Platinum customer.
Set to the beat of a striptease number, the song from the musical Sweet Charity includes suggestive lyrics.
The union asked Doug Parker, chief executive of the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline, to look into the video, which promotes "sex appeal as an attraction to AA's most prominent and lucrative passengers."
Forbes reported that the women in the skit are Dallas-based flight attendants.
The union said the skit was part of a fundraising event, and in a message to American staff members Sunday evening, the airline said the video was filmed at a "customer-organized concert held at a private residence."
"What was portrayed in the skit was not sanctioned by the airline and is not representative of the 27,000 professional flight attendants who take great care of millions of customers each year," American Airlines spokesman Ross Feinstein said in a written statement.
Jamie Larounis, who writes about airline loyalty programs for his blog the Forward Cabin, said he filmed the video at a residence in the "Greater Dallas" area Saturday evening, then tweeted it.
Larounis said several acts performed and dinner was served during the event, which required attendees to purchase tickets. He said he had no part in organizing the event.
