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‘Men Just Do Stuff Like That’—CEO Sues American Airlines Over In-Flight Harassment Nightmare

Published on: May 14, 2025 at 9:27 AM ET

A CEO’s shocking mid-air ordeal and a flight attendant’s dismissive response.

Divya Verma
Written By Divya Verma
Senior Editor
Mohar Battacharjee
Edited By Mohar Battacharjee
Senior Editor
American airlines case
Man harasses a woman in a flight. He is served Champagne and woman is asked to fly coach. (Image Credit: Suhyeon Choi/Wikimedia Commons; Kaboompics.com/Pexels)

Neel Elsherif has come forward with disturbing allegations against American Airlines. She is the CEO of Nile Hudson and Mela. She was en route to Milan from New York in an American Airlines Transatlantic flight in May 2024.

During this flight, she had a traumatic experience with her male co-passenger. She now alleges that American Airlines staff did not help her at all.

Elsherif alleges that during an 8-hour flight, a male passenger seated next to her began engaging in lewd and inappropriate behavior. More specifically, openly masturbating for nearly an hour.

She tried to alert the on-board crew again and again. Elsherif says that despite her repeated efforts, her concerns were brushed aside. She claims that she was told by a flight attendant that “men just do stuff like that.” This response left her stunned, frightened, and unsupported. The incident has since gone viral and is now the subject of a high-profile lawsuit.

Elsherif has filed a case with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. She claims that not only were her requests for assistance denied, but she was also downgraded to a coach seat. She was punished for being a victim instead of having the male passenger moved or reprimanded.

The airline employees allegedly advised her to leave her premium economy seat. Even though she had paid more than $3,000 for it. The flight attendant was just interested in confronting the accused’s misbehaviour.

Elsherif is of Arab and Middle Eastern heritage. She claims that she was treated differently because of her gender and race. These allegations have further infuriated the public, according to reports, the white male traveller in question continued to receive champagne even after Elsherif objected.

Allegations of discriminatory and dismissive behaviour against women of colour were further fueled by the flight attendant. The flight attendant was also white and allegedly displayed obvious bias. She minimised the seriousness of the incident.

Elsherif has sued American Airlines, alleging discrimination, negligence, and mental suffering. Her legal team claims that the acceptance of harassment and the downplaying of women’s safety concerns are two larger systemic issues in the aviation business. By filing a lawsuit, Elsherif wants to contest not only the airline’s particular handling of her case. However, she also wants to challenge the societal norms that allow such wrongdoing.

The case also highlights how airline employees are not trained properly to handle sexual harassment or assault in the air. It is a vulnerable place for the victim, and they end up feeling alone and powerless. Her lawyers emphasise that no traveller should have to put up with such treatment. This is especially true when the offenders are not held accountable.

American Airlines has admitted that it is aware of the case and is looking into it internally. The airline has not yet apologised to the public. The airline also hasn’t given a thorough explanation of the actions being taken.

The case has already generated a lot of criticism on social media and in the general public conversation. However, no updates have surfaced regarding the status of the judicial processes.

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