Let me preface this post by saying there is absolutely no intention to offend any current FA working in the US on my part.

Well, here it goes. A lot of Star flyers have offered countless praises of how eye-pleasing the famous "SQ girls" are, and I believe SQ themselves are very proud of them as well. I know Singapore and US have different labor laws, so no US airlines can compete with SQ on this part of the equation (I am not suggesting that the appearance of FAs has a big influence on passenger purchase decisions, though). However, my question is how do casinos in the US get away with hiring fairly eye-pleasing cocktail waitresses only and not run into problems with "discrimination" regulations? I can be wrong, but in my own personal experiences, I have never seen any cocktail waitresses that are overweight and/or fairly old (again, not that I have a problem with these two characteristics, but I just wonder how casinos have been able to get around this).

LAX

That's a good one LAX ^

I would think that cocktail waitresses who lack mass-market appeal probably won't get very many tips, so will self-select out of the profession.

Eastbay cordially invites you to visit some of downtown Reno's finest casinos for an alternative perspective on your comment. Tempting as it may be to invite myself to this event, I'll pass.

So you're saying you'd prefer to see only eye-pleasing (and presumably female) cabin crew?

I can't blame you, really. I mean, I'd prefer my passengers to be limited to hot, young studs with a thing for chicks in blue polyester. It has yet to happen, but one of these days we'll figure out how to get around those pesky discrimination laws and keep the ugly and old ones out.



Humans come in many shapes and sizes, and ability and personality are independant of that. Fortunately our airlines have grown up enough to realize this. Unlike cocktail waitresses, your FA's are not there for your entertainment.

Ohhh, if you get the hot single guys, can I claim the older business men/women, single females and couples? Hate those guys so seem to think I am there purely for their entertainment. Don't they know I'm there purely to get them drinks?

It has nothing to do with looks or size, US FA's lack their attitude towards customer service and no action can be taken because of the unions. SQ girls on other hand can be fired. Not that all SQ girls excel in service but on an industry standard they rate very high. It is all about managing your product.

Look at our business class products on UA, AA when will they learn. I am sure they read newspaper and some of them must have travelled by SQ or Virgin as an example?

I'm a big fan of the SQ cabin crew and although I would prefer to be on a plane with all female FAs I would choose an all male SQ flight over any AA flight I have EVER been on.

I find the transatlantic ones with AA are the worst. I am scared to even speak to the FAs on these. I limited my communications to answering the question with a "please" and subsequent "thank you's". Despite this I was shouted at once because the FA could not understand my (Scottish) accent. Sorry for not being from the mid west!

I would never dream of so much as asking if I could keep the whole can.

Only part of it is SQ's hiring practices - the bulk of it IMHO is that they still view their customers as passengers and not troublesome pieces of air freight.

SQ is doing their hiring in Singapore! That's the part of the world where the good looking girls are REALLY FRIGGIN HOT! and even the ugly girls are pretty damn hot too!

You just don't get that when you are, say, NWA and doing your hiring in Minneapolis.

Some FA's certainly do. Most, at least where I work, do not.

I'm sorry to hear you've had bad FA experiences in the US - but please don't lump us all together. Those of us that do actually give a damn are not encouraged to continue doing so when we're all painted that way.

To answer the OPs question, I recall this being in the news recently and something like the fact that cocktail waitresses at the large casinos are more akin to acting or entertainment jobs that can be "cast" like a show, rather than filled based on equal qualifications.

I'll look for some links and add 'em if I can find 'em.

Found this from the Bergen Record (New Jersey) 3/8/05

And for the record (mine, not the Bergen one ) while it's always nice to look at something pleasing to the eye, as long as the FA is professional, polite and keeps me hydrated, I'm very happy to have her (or him) on board, no matter her age or appearance.

I think that in the vast majority of US states, discrimination is legal as long as it's not sex, age, religion or national origin. You can discrimination based on looks, weight, having a beard (man or woman or both), etc.

If you are suing a small business, you can be a bully and win because the US civil justice system is warped. If you are suing a large company, some of them can hide behind the company and let someone else (the company) pay the legal costs. If the large company is on a tight budget, they will probably cave in. If you are suing a state related agency, such as a university, they will probably claim immunity of some sort.

I used to work for an employer that hired based on appearance. They made a mistake and hired me probably because the light was dim and they couldn't see my true appearance.

I know in Japan being an FA is a prestigous job, it attracts really sharp and good looking ladies. A good number of them meet well-heeled road warriors when they're working F and get married and do the Japanese custom and quit their jobs to raise the family and manage the household.

I can't comment on other Asian countries but for the Japanese airlines, it explains why most of them are young and cute.

Here, a lot is based on senority and women have a more prominent role in the workforce than in most Asian countries, so many of them tend to make a full career as a FA as opposed to doing it temporarly. When layoffs come like after 9/11, the first ones to get cut are the younger ones who have less experience.

When i am on a plane all i need is a smile good service and peace of mind.
I never look for beauty in FA i look for polite friendly smile and understanding.
Then if i need to look at beautiful half dressed girld (or undressed) i will travel to Las Vegas

It's not illegal in the US to hire only attactive people. It's illegal to discrimate on the basis of age, sex, race, national origin, disability, creed or religion. US airlines used to do the same thing as SQ - hire only good looking women, and fire them as they became less attractive. What put a stop to this? Unions and age discrimination laws.