American Airlines Apologizes For Magazine Photo Of Pilots Drinking

(RTTNews) - American Airlines has issued an apology after employees complained about a photo in the March edition of American Way, American Airline's in-flight magazine, that depicted bartenders preparing cocktails while dressed as pilots.

After receiving complaints from the airline's pilots, American Airlines Vice President of Global Communication Ronald Defeo apologized to employees.

"A huge apology to our team and especially our coworkers who are pilots," he wrote. "We know that photo depicting pilots drinking in uniform is not appropriate. It is, in fact, appalling and disrespectful to the aviation profession. Even in jest, if that's what this is, our aviators put safety first and this is never an area where humor works. Full stop."

American Airlines had outsourced the production of the magazine in 2014, however, according to DeFeo, internal checks that should have caught the photos before they were distributed to aircraft.

American Airlines has pulled the issues after becoming aware of the issue. The story has also been removed from the magazine's website and digital edition.