Travel News - The Declining Hotness of Flight Attendants

Article at The Atlantic quoting a blog:

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/10/the-declining-hotness-of-flight-attendants/246610/

Discuss...:)

IB teh L.

Also not a DL topic.

Moving thread to FT Newsstand, as this is not DL-specific. Feel free to discuss there.
Obscure2k
Delta Moderator

Several of the Asian flag carriers do not suffer from this syndrome. In my personal experience, Singapore, Thai, and Korean Air amongst others, still have similar standards to what Pan Am was doing in the '60s. No U.S. carrier could get away with the sort of discrimination necessary to keep up these appearances nowadays.

Remember the days when you could fly the stewardesses on National to Miami?

I'm sure many people would like a certain level of pulchritude to be required for flight attendants.... (not gender specific, why should women and the gay community miss out?:D)

And I would support that... just as long as the same test was applied to those people - to determine whether they were attractive enough "to fly"...;)

One way Thai Airways makes sure it has young flight attendants is that it offers them only 5 year, non-renewable contracts, sometimes renewed for another 5 years. It is also considered a prestige position and pays much more than jobs many new university graduates get. Most new grads earn around 10-15000 baht a month whereas flight attendants earn more than 40000 baht a month.

I would rather have an older "less hot" hostess (or steward if you swing that way) who is competent, polite and most importantly enjoys there job (essential in a service industry...

Unfortunately, here in the US, it seems to be that the more senior (with exceptions, of course!) staff become jaded to the point it eclipses their experience... I don't want to discriminate, just point out a correlation: The younger staff in the US seem to give a better service, perhaps because they feel less job secure?

I just wish we could get away from the culture of "primarily here for your safety" and instead focus on service, with the ability to provide safety.

Most flight attendants I've met certainly provide excellent service. :)

How do places like Hooters get away with hiring hot women only as servers? You never see chubbies in tight shorts?

One way Thai Airways makes sure it has young flight attendants is that it offers them only 5 year, non-renewable contracts, sometimes renewed for another 5 years. It is also considered a prestige position and pays much more than jobs many new university graduates get. Most new grads earn around 10-15000 baht a month whereas flight attendants earn more than 40000 baht a month.

This doesn't make sense to me. Paying people MORE is not a recipe towards getting younger people, in fact it would help convince people to never leave. If you have a position available, and you want to make that position only attractive to the young, then you do everything possible to make that job unattractive to those that are older:

- you make sure the position has no set routine (so that you cannot make any kinds of plans with a spouse or family)
- you make the travel requirements very high (so that having a family is darn near impossible)
- you make the pay very low (so that you cannot have raise a family on that salary)
- you make sure the salary has very low yearly increases (so there is no benefit to staying around for many years, no "golden handcuffs")

None of these things are discriminatory and in fact are used in the consulting arena all the time. What ends up happening is that the only people that apply are those that are young, and have no life outside of work. Once they get older and want more form life, they will leave that profession.

The airlines have somehow taken a job that was never intended to financially support someone for life, and turned it into a position that someone might want to stay in for decades.

Paying people MORE is not a recipe towards getting younger people

It is if the higher pay attracts more young candidates, and you then pick the best.

in fact it would help convince people to never leave

The 5 year non-renewable contracts ensure that they do leave, whether they like it or not.

How do places like Hooters get away with hiring hot women only as servers? You never see chubbies in tight shorts?

I'm guessing they make the vast majority of their money on tips. At a place like Hooters, do the math. They would probably make more at the local diner with different clientele and expectations.

Can I just add that the same applies for male cabin crew. My personal highlight on a recent flight was Walther, aged about 50, with a beer belly that hardly fit into the aisle. He was very service orientated though and told me he was still going through his training....

Mora - Can I ask if Walthers beer belly has put you off using that particular carrier again especially in light of the fact that you stated that he was very service orientated?

How do places like Hooters get away with hiring hot women only as servers? You never see chubbies in tight shorts?I believe that Hooters (and casinos, for that matter) have established a certain "look" as a bona fide occupational qualification for the job - they're not servers so much as "entertainers." No such slant has been established in the courts for flight attendants.

I just wish we could get away from the culture of "primarily here for your safety" and instead focus on service, with the ability to provide safety.

Most flight attendants I've met certainly provide excellent service. :)

And, I wish we could get away from the culture that views this job/career with such judgement and criticism. For almost two decades, the internet has been filled with these remarks: they're fat, they're old, they're UNeducated, they're rude, they're surly, they're wait-staff, they're this, they're that. Seriously, how many articles have been regurgitated with this sentiment over the years????
How flight attendants are viewed can also be blamed on the airline managements in this industry. They were the ones who placed "stewardesses" in HOT pants, tight outfits and go-go boots. Commercials touted the "hotness". As they gained their rights through the years, they also wanted to educate the flying public on their most valued training experience. IE. fighting fires, evacuating an aircraft, using an AED, performing CPR, delivering a baby, etc...etc. And bother way, I've chatted with F/A's who have done all of those emergency situations. Announcements started in the skies many years ago, for example, at Eastern Airlines, they would announce their Flight Attendants as the most important safety feature onboard. Hence, the primarily here for your safety was born to get away from the sexist attitudes of the 70's. It's sad that the attitude still exists. Someone just mentioned a beer belly. GUESS WHAT? We all "AGE". Better yet, before the flying public gets so judgemental as usual, one should LOOK IN THE MIRROR at themselves.
Service in this country is minimal, you the flying public helped shape that decision in this industry. Yep, hotness is gone, along with the meal trays.

And, I wish we could get away from the culture that views this job/career with such judgement and criticism. For almost two decades, the internet has been filled with these remarks: they're fat, they're old, they're UNeducated, they're rude, they're surly, they're wait-staff, they're this, they're that. Seriously, how many articles have been regurgitated with this sentiment over the years????
How flight attendants are viewed can also be blamed on the airline managements in this industry. They were the ones who placed "stewardesses" in HOT pants, tight outfits and go-go boots. Commercials touted the "hotness". As they gained their rights through the years, they also wanted to educate the flying public on their most valued training experience. IE. fighting fires, evacuating an aircraft, using an AED, performing CPR, delivering a baby, etc...etc. And bother way, I've chatted with F/A's who have done all of those emergency situations. Announcements started in the skies many years ago, for example, at Eastern Airlines, they would announce their Flight Attendants as the most important safety feature onboard. Hence, the primarily here for your safety was born to get away from the sexist attitudes of the 70's. It's sad that the attitude still exists. Someone just mentioned a beer belly. GUESS WHAT? We all "AGE". Better yet, before the flying public gets so judgemental as usual, one should LOOK IN THE MIRROR at themselves.
Service in this country is minimal, you the flying public helped shape that decision in this industry. Yep, hotness is gone, along with the meal trays.

You didn't read me complaining about hot-or-not.

All I'm interested is a good flight with good service. Most of the time I get that and am happy. What I'm not interested in are announcements and "focus" on safety at the expense of service.

Mora - Can I ask if Walthers beer belly has put you off using that particular carrier again especially in light of the fact that you stated that he was very service orientated?

No it hasn't - but I was in Row A, window seat. He really did have problems manouvering through the aisle and I heard people behind me complain about that. I had no problems with him whatsoever and I prefer a not-hot, service orientated air host/hostess to a hot none service orientated one.

And this is new news?

How do places like Hooters get away with hiring hot women only as servers? You never see chubbies in tight shorts?

and you have never been to the ELP Hooters !! They have bigger muffin tops than boobs :td::td:

I heard that the ONLY reason this Hooters stays open is due to it sales numbers which are the BEST in the region due to the HUGE number of army guys that are eat here.

You didn't read me complaining about hot-or-not.

.

My response wasnt a REBUTTAL, simply an explanation to your comment.

Peace.

I'm sure many people would like a certain level of pulchritude to be required for flight attendants.... (not gender specific, why should women and the gay community miss out?:D)

And I would support that... just as long as the same test was applied to those people - to determine whether they were attractive enough "to fly"...;)

Be careful what you wish for. This guy, Gaëtan Dugas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ga%C3%ABtan_Dugas), was an AC flight attendant who likely did more to spread the AIDS virus than any other person on the planet. A huge percentage of the initial cases were traced ultimately to him.

Be careful what you wish for. This guy, Gaëtan Dugas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ga%C3%ABtan_Dugas), was an AC flight attendant who likely did more to spread the AIDS virus than any other person on the planet. A huge percentage of the initial cases were traced ultimately to him.I'll thank you to stop lying. From the very article you link to:

However, a number of authorities have since voiced reservations about the implications of the CDC Patient Zero study, and characterisations of Dugas as being responsible for bringing HIV to such places as Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the patient zero study, the average length of time between sexual contact and the onset of symptoms was 10.5 months[2] At the time of the study it was not known that the average length of time between initial infection and AIDS is ten years. While Shilts's book does not make such an allegation, the rumour that Dugas was the principal disseminator of the virus became widespread. In 1988, Andrew R. Moss published an opposing view in the New York Review of Books.[6]

A more recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on November 1, 2007 dismisses the Patient Zero hypothesis and claims that AIDS transited from Africa to Haiti in 1966 and from Haiti to the United States in 1969.[7]

Several of the Asian flag carriers do not suffer from this syndrome. In my personal experience, Singapore, Thai, and Korean Air amongst others

Declining hotness? Have you seen 21 year old Margot Robbie? She flies for Pan Am in 1963. Oh. Wait. That is an ABC TV series. Still she is a major hottie (as they still call them in the series) “stewardess”. :p

As for the Asian FAs. Totally different from the US. On my first TPAC on Thai about 10 years ago I was astonished. After a long flight of great service, the FAs changed into a traditional dress for landing. More correctly, they must have been melted and poured into the dress. Zero percent body fat ladies in dresses so tight I wondered how they could breathe. :eek:

However this does have its good and bad side. The Asian FAs know they are there for service and looks first, safety second. About eight years ago I flew the morning” commuter hop” from SIN to KUL on MH. A business man special on a packed 777. The flight was shorter than it took to load the plane. The flight altitude is about 10,000 feet, literally from one traffic pattern to the next.

Some pax were violating safety rules but the FAs standing right there were not calling them. In Asia a young female working for the airline DOES NOT give orders to an older male who can afford to fly on their airline. Culture issues. The FA's "stay in their place." :td:

However in an under one hour flight, the MH FAs managed to get the juice/coffee carts down the entire aisle with time to spare and serve everyone WITHOUT hurrying, and making the service look effortless. ^^^ Pure service made easy. DL CRJ FA’s do NOT have that ability, in my experience. :rolleyes:

However the “FA Parade of Beauties side by side” through the airport as shown on the Pan Am TV series did happen in the old days. In the late 1970’s I saw a full crew of BWIA (British West Indian Airways, the national airline of Trinidad and Tobago) strutting through MIA. Stunning is not the right word. These girls were clones. Identical. Every one 5 ft 10 inches tall and 115 pounds. Flawless chocolate complexions. These FAs could have walked right onto a NY fashion model catwalk. Every one of them. I remember asking myself “How can Trinidad, with under a million citizens, find ONE girl this stunning let along five for one flight crew let alone enough to populate the BWIA?" But they did. :D

Don't fret, we still have quite a few hotties;)

Certainly I don't feel sex appeal should be part of the appearance factor. However, as a 30+ year employee of United, I'm appalled at FA's that I see in today's airports. (I'm not just honing in on UA flight attendants but many airline flight crews that pass through each day)....Some observations....

1. Unkempt appearance - uniforms alittle too unpressed and wrinkled.
2. Loose fitting - shirttails and blouses - Should be noticeably tucked in.
3. A decent dress shoe would be nice -- not clunky orthopedic looking
shoes - Can't women just wear a black low heel (i.e., one inch) or
alittle higher if they wish.
4. Decent hairstyles (conservative)....I see one FA who wears a tight bun
literally shaped like an icecream cone smack dab on top of her head.
Men with dreadlocks, yes, dreadlocks extending shoulder length and longer.
I'm not being racist, but the length bothers me as it's just too much hair
flying around in people's faces.
5. Tailor your clothes to appropriate weight and height. A "chunky" FA with
stretched, tight-fitting skirts, dresses, slacks, etc. looks terrible. Update
size-wise your uniform if the previous one no longer fits.

Is all of this so hard to manage on the part of a written code or superviser discussion or admonition ? It's embarrassing when coworkers just look like they don't care. By the way, this goes for ground staff as well including the ramp - look like you care instead of slobs looking like an unmade bed.

Some observations....

1. Unkempt appearance - uniforms alittle too unpressed and wrinkled.
2. Loose fitting - shirttails and blouses - Should be noticeably tucked in.
3. A decent dress shoe would be nice -- not clunky orthopedic looking
shoes - Can't women just wear a black low heel (i.e., one inch) or
alittle higher if they wish.
4. Decent hairstyles (conservative)....I see one FA who wears a tight bun
literally shaped like an icecream cone smack dab on top of her head.
Men with dreadlocks, yes, dreadlocks extending shoulder length and longer.
I'm not being racist, but the length bothers me as it's just too much hair
flying around in people's faces.
5. Tailor your clothes to appropriate weight and height. A "chunky" FA with
stretched, tight-fitting skirts, dresses, slacks, etc. looks terrible. Update
size-wise your uniform if the previous one no longer fits.
.

Hear....Hear. I've seen CROC's used as inflight "service" shoes. And, in fact, I was shocked to see someone in LAX waiting for the hotel van in.......get this......flip flops. OMG. Some crews are beginning to look like passengers. Most definitely, uniform standards have taken a dive, unfortunately. I think with the HUGE PAY CUTS, many crews feel they simply cant afford to dryclean anymore. Hence, the wash machine and if your lucky, an iron.

I'll thank you to stop lying. From the very article you link to:

Thank you for posting this. I was about to respond with the same info.

What saddens me is how value decisions are based on looks rather than an individual's ability to do the job for which he or she is hired. This attitude is not limited to FA's and is a societal issue. I only want a responsible FA, who does the job professionally and with courtesy. The only physical characteristic that should matter is if the person can safely handle the job in an emergency.

i rate the ones that do their job as pretty cool.....at my age, the grannies can look hot!

Most of the FA's on LAN Airlines are still very hot.

I'm sure many people would like a certain level of pulchritude to be required for flight attendants.... (not gender specific, why should women and the gay community miss out?:D)

And I would support that... just as long as the same test was applied to those people - to determine whether they were attractive enough "to fly"...;)

I would absolutely pay extra for that flight. I still run 5Ks on the weekend, and I like to smile. Two qualities that are sorely lacking from today's FAs. I would absolutely pay extra for an airline who only kept FAs with those 2 qualities.

I believe that Hooters (and casinos, for that matter) have established a certain "look" as a bona fide occupational qualification for the job - they're not servers so much as "entertainers." No such slant has been established in the courts for flight attendants.

Yup, having big bozongas is literally a material part of your job at Hooters/

Well, at the airport lounge in Qingdao, I was shooed out to make space for a bunch of businessmen :mad: . The girls obviously were looking for husbands and I noticed that skirts started to get hiked up and an extra button was unbuttoned. And then there was that perfume :td:

So by "hotness" do you mean just looks or whether they try to flirt with you?