Realities of being a flight attendant

Once “handmaidens” in an industry mile-high on glam, the women formerly known as “air-hostesses” have changed their image as well as their job title. And if you thought flight attendants were getting older, you would be right too.
With the job now viewed increasingly as a profession, turnover is not as high as it once was.
The average job tenure of flight attendants is currently more than seven years and rising. But female flight attendants’ fight for rights and legitimacy as serious working women has been a long and tough one.
In fact, it was only in the 90s that attendants saw off discriminatory practices on the subject of weight. (Even today some airlines still restrict the size of their female crew – Air India recently sent some crew on diets.)
But just as the flight attendant evolved from the “air-hostess”, cost-cutting and murderous competition mean the airlines are starting to woo back the “dolly birds”.
According to one industry expert, the airlines are deliberately making the job harder for longer-serving crew in the hope they will quit and make room for fresher, cheaper staff.
“Basically the airlines are trying to get back to the pre-unionised days when women were hired on youth and looks, and inexperience meant wages were low,” says sociologist Drew Whitelegg in a new book.
“Just look at the job profiles of cabin crew for Ryanair and EasyJet – becoming a stewardess is like taking a gap year. ‘Go wild, and travel while you are young for a few months’ is the message.”
Older cabin crew, such as the 85-year-old Iris Peterson who retired from United Airlines last month, will not be happy about the return to old values. But with airline bankruptcies and security uncertainties, the job may lose its hard-earned professional status if some bosses get their way.
The tactic of hiring pretty, easily-fired young things proved popular with the mostly male travellers of the post-war years when male stewards were replaced by “sky girls”, who then made way for the “air-hostess”, who appeared to promise more than service with a smile.
In Asia the “air-hostess” has never really gone away. Singapore Airlines, for one, still emphasises the allure and youth of its female crew. While, in the West, older cabin crew are “high-profile, elder-woman role models” as Whitelegg puts it, in Asia the job is still perceived as glamorous and escapist.
As one of the few half-decent jobs available for educated, middle-class women that doesn’t mean being chained to a desk, the job of air-hostess still has cachet in Japan. So sought-after are these posts that often only the most accomplished graduates – in Japan you need a degree to be a flight attendant – get past the first interview.
Airlines are using all kinds of tactics to encourage older staff to leave, says Whitelegg. “Uniform redesigns emphasise a sexy figure, which many older women don’t feel comfortable in.”
The industry is also stripping away incentives for seniority. “Flying hours have been increased, which can be absolutely knackering as you get older,” adds Whitelegg.
“As flight attendants carry out their new security roles, they are still expected to perform their original duties,” says airline cabin procedures expert and former flight attendant Diana Fairechild.
“Imagine asking marines patrolling enemy territory to simultaneously operate a refreshment stand, being sure to put forth a winning smile. ‘Would you like a pillow? Oh, excuse me, I have to wrestle a knife away from the passenger in 24A’.”
25/07/07 Gulf Weekly, Bahrain