Air Canada won't greet passengers as 'ladies and gentlemen' anymore — a move that steers clear of 'specific references to gender'

Air Canada flight attendants will end the longtime practice of greeting passengers as "ladies and gentlemen" or "mesdames et messieurs," CTV News Montreal reported.

Why?

The airline will be replacing those greetings with gender-neutral words and phrases such as "everybody" or "tout le monde," the station said.

"We will be amending our onboard announcements to modernize them and remove specific references to gender," an Air Canada spokesperson told CTV News. "We work hard to make sure all employees feel like valued members of the Air Canada family, while ensuring our customers are comfortable and respected when they choose to travel with us."

Air Canada's response also noted it was named one of Canada's Best Diversity Employers for 2019, the station said.

We've seen this before

Indeed, we've been traveling in this direction for quite some time:

• In July 2017, the famed London Underground train (or "tube") said it would cease using the time-honored "ladies and gentlemen" greeting after months of pressure from LBGTQ groups.
• Four months after that, New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said it no longer would use "ladies and gentlemen" greetings on subways.
• Oh, and remember last month when a left-wing talking head explained in a video why saying the word "guys" is "lazy," "inconsiderate," and "reinforces the gender hierarchy"?