Originally Posted by kale73

As pointed out above, the term "purser" has long been used in marine transport.

And I find myself sitting here trying to figure out why a passenger would even care what the lead flight attendant's "title" is. As long as the nuts are warm, the drinks cold, and the pre-flight safety briefing is at least mildly entertaining, the lead flight attendant can call him or herself the Grand High Poobah for all I care.