![Austrian Airlines flight attendant and passenger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Austrian_Airlines_flight_attendant_and_passenger.jpg)
A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the
aircrew
Aircrew, also called flight crew, are personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of a flight's crew depends on the type of aircraft, plus the flight's duration and purpose.
Commercial aviation
Flight deck positions ...
aboard
commercial flights
Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation.
Definition
Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...
, many
business jet
A business jet, private jet, or bizjet is a jet aircraft designed for transporting small groups of people. Business jets may be adapted for other roles, such as the evacuation of casualties or express parcel deliveries, and some are used by pub ...
s and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are primarily responsible for passenger safety and comfort.
History
The role of a flight attendant derives from that of similar positions on passenger ships or
passenger train
A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...
s, but it has more direct involvement with passengers because of the confined quarters on
aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
. Additionally, the job of a flight attendant revolves around safety to a much greater extent than those of similar staff on other forms of transportation. Flight attendants on board a flight collectively form a ''cabin crew'', as distinguished from
pilots
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
and
engineers
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...
in the
cockpit
A cockpit or flight deck is the area, usually near the front of an aircraft or spacecraft, from which a Pilot in command, pilot controls the aircraft.
The cockpit of an aircraft contains flight instruments on an instrument panel, and the ...
.
The German
Heinrich Kubis
Heinrich Kubis (16 June 1888 – 1979) was a German professional waiter known for serving as the world's first flight attendant and for surviving the Hindenburg disaster.
Career
Kubis trained as a waiter and worked in several luxury hotels in E ...
was the world's first flight attendant, in 1912. Kubis first attended the passengers on board the DELAG Zeppelin
LZ 10 ''Schwaben''. He also attended to the famous
LZ 129 ''Hindenburg'' and was on board when it burst into flames. He survived by jumping out a window when it neared the ground.
Origins of the word "steward" in transportation are reflected in the term "
chief steward" as used in
maritime transport
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...
terminology. The term
purser
A purser is the person on a ship principally responsible for the handling of money on board. On modern merchant ships, the purser is the officer responsible for all administration (including the ship's cargo and passenger manifests) and supply. ...
and chief steward are often used interchangeably describing personnel with similar duties among seafaring occupations. This lingual derivation results from the international
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
maritime tradition (i.e.
chief mate
A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...
) dating back to the 14th century and the civilian
United States Merchant Marine
United States Merchant Marines are United States civilian mariners and U.S. civilian and federally owned merchant vessels. Both the civilian mariners and the merchant vessels are managed by a combination of the government and private sectors, an ...
on which US aviation is somewhat modelled. Due to
international conventions and agreements, in which all ships' personnel who sail internationally are similarly
documented by their respective countries, the U.S. Merchant Marine assigns such duties to the chief steward in the overall
rank
Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as:
Level or position in a hierarchical organization
* Academic rank
* Diplomatic rank
* Hierarchy
* H ...
and
command structure of which pursers are not positionally represented or rostered.
Imperial Airways
Imperial Airways was the early British commercial long-range airline, operating from 1924 to 1939 and principally serving the British Empire routes to South Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, including Malaya and Hong Kong. Passenger ...
of the United Kingdom had "cabin boys" or "stewards"; in the 1920s. In the US, Stout Airways was the first to employ stewards in 1926, working on
Ford Trimotor
The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...
planes between
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
and
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
.
Western Airlines
Western Airlines was a major airline based in California, operating in the Western United States including Alaska and Hawaii, and western Canada, as well as to New York City, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Miami and to Mexico City, London and N ...
(1928) and
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United States ...
(Pan Am) (1929) were the first US carriers to employ stewards to serve food. Ten-passenger
Fokker
Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...
aircraft used in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
had stewards in the era of gambling trips to
Havana, Cuba
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. from
Key West, Florida
Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...
. Lead flight attendants would in many instances also perform the role of purser, steward, or chief steward in modern aviation terminology.
The first female flight attendant was a 25-year-old
registered nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...
named
Ellen Church
Ellen Church (September 22, 1904 – August 22, 1965) was the first female flight attendant. A trained nurse and pilot, Church wanted to pilot commercial aircraft, but those jobs were not open to women. Still wanting to fly, Church successf ...
. Hired by
United Airlines
United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. in 1930,
she also first envisioned
nurse
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
s on aircraft. Other airlines followed suit, hiring nurses to serve as flight attendants, then called "stewardesses" or "air hostesses", on most of their flights. In the United States, the job was one of only a few in the 1930s to permit women, which, coupled with the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, led to large numbers of applicants for the few positions available. Two thousand women applied for just 43 positions offered by
Transcontinental and Western Airlines in December 1935.
["The air hostess carries on", ''The New York Times''. 19 April 1936. Page XX12.]
![1949](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/1949.01._Washing_up_on_Catalina_%28Suva-Sydney%29_copy.jpg)
Female flight attendants rapidly replaced male ones, and by 1936, they had all but taken over the role.
They were selected not only for their knowledge but also for their physical characteristics. A 1936 ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article described the requirements:
The girls who qualify for hostesses must be petite; weight 100 to 118 pounds; height 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches; age 20 to 26 years. Add to that the rigid physical examination each must undergo four times every year, and you are assured of the bloom that goes with perfect health.
Three decades later, a 1966 ''New York Times''
classified ad
Classified may refer to:
General
*Classified information, material that a government body deems to be sensitive
*Classified advertising or "classifieds"
Music
*Classified (rapper) (born 1977), Canadian rapper
*The Classified, a 1980s American roc ...
for stewardesses at Eastern Airlines listed these requirements:
A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 may apply for future consideration). 5'2" but no more than 5'9", weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height and have at least 20/40 vision without glasses.
Appearance was considered one of the most important factors to become a stewardess. At that time, airlines believed that the exploitation of female sexuality would increase their profits; thus the uniforms of female flight attendants were often formfitting, complete with white gloves and high heels.
In the United States, they were required to be unmarried and were fired if they decided to wed.
The requirement to be a
registered nurse
A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...
on an American airline was relaxed as more women were hired,
and disappeared almost entirely during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
as many nurses joined
military nurse
Most professional militaries employ specialised military nurses. They are often organised as a distinct nursing corps. Florence Nightingale formed the first nucleus of a recognised Nursing Service for the British Army during the Crimean War in 1854 ...
corps.
Ruth Carol Taylor
Ruth Carol Taylor (born December 27, 1931) is the first African-American flight attendant in the United States. Her first flight was aboard a Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to New York City.
Early life
Born in Boston, Massachusetts, into a ...
was the
first African-American
African-Americans are an ethnic group in the United States. The first achievements by African-Americans in diverse fields have historically marked footholds, often leading to more widespread cultural change. The shorthand phrase for this is "bre ...
flight attendant in the United States. Hired in December 1957,
on 11 February 1958, Taylor was the flight attendant on a
Mohawk Airlines flight from
Ithaca
Ithaca most commonly refers to:
*Homer's Ithaca, an island featured in Homer's ''Odyssey''
*Ithaca (island), an island in Greece, possibly Homer's Ithaca
*Ithaca, New York, a city, and home of Cornell University and Ithaca College
Ithaca, Ithaka ...
to New York, the first time such a position had been held by an African American. She was let go within six months as a result of Mohawk's then-common marriage ban.
The U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...
's first complainants were female flight attendants complaining of age discrimination, weight requirements, and bans on marriage.
(Originally female flight attendants were fired if they reached age 32 or 35 depending on the airline, were fired if they exceeded weight regulations, and were required to be single upon hiring and fired if they got married.
) In 1968, the EEOC declared age restrictions on flight attendants' employment to be illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Also in 1968, the EEOC ruled that sex was not a bona fide occupational requirement to be a flight attendant.
The restriction of hiring only women was lifted at all airlines in 1971 due to the decisive court case of ''Diaz vs. Pan Am''.
The
Airline Deregulation Act
The Airline Deregulation Act is a 1978 United States federal law that deregulated the airline industry in the United States, removing federal control over such areas as fares, routes, and market entry of new airlines. The Civil Aeronautics Boa ...
was passed in 1978, and the no-marriage rule was eliminated throughout the US airline industry by the 1980s.
The last such broad categorical discrimination, the weight restrictions,
were relaxed in the 1990s through litigation and negotiations.
Airlines still often have vision and height requirements and may require flight attendants to pass a medical evaluation.
Overview
The role of a flight attendant is to "provide routine services and respond to emergencies to ensure the safety and comfort of airline passengers".
Typically flight attendants require holding a high school diploma or equivalent, and in the United States, the median annual wage for flight attendants was $50,500 in May 2017, higher than the median for all workers of $37,690.
The number of flight attendants required on flights is mandated by each country's regulations. In the US, for light planes with 19 or fewer seats, or, if weighing more than 7,500 pounds, 9 or fewer seats, no flight attendant is needed; on larger aircraft, one flight attendant per 50 passenger seats is required.
The majority of flight attendants for most airlines are female, though a substantial number of males have entered the industry since 1980.
[Saenz, Rogelio and Evans, Louwanda (June 2009)]
The Changing Demography of U.S. Flight Attendants
. Population Reference Bureau. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
Responsibilities
![Egypt air Flyght attendant during flight](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Egypt_air_Flyght_attendant_during_flight.jpg)
Prior to each flight, flight attendants and pilots go over safety and emergency checklists, the locations of emergency equipment and other features specific to that aircraft type. Boarding particulars are verified, such as special needs passengers, small children travelling alone, or VIPs. Weather conditions are discussed including anticipated
turbulence
In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...
. A safety check is conducted to ensure equipment such as
life-vests,
torch
A torch is a stick with combustible material at one end, which is ignited and used as a light source. Torches have been used throughout history, and are still used in processions, symbolic and religious events, and in juggling entertainment. In ...
es (flash lights) and firefighting equipment are on board and in proper condition. They monitor the
cabin for any unusual smells or situations. They assist with the loading of
carry-on baggage
Baggage or luggage consists of bags, cases, and containers which hold a traveler's personal articles while the traveler is in transit. A modern traveler can be expected to have packages containing clothing, toiletries, small possessions, trip ...
, checking for weight, size and
dangerous goods
Dangerous goods, abbreviated DG, are substances that when transported are a risk to health, safety, property or the environment. Certain dangerous goods that pose risks even when not being transported are known as hazardous materials ( syllabi ...
. They make sure those sitting in
emergency exit rows are willing and able to assist in an evacuation. They then give a
safety demonstration or monitor passengers as they watch a safety video. They then must "secure the cabin" ensuring tray tables are stowed,
seats
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair, a chair equ ...
are in their upright positions, armrests down and carry-ons stowed correctly and seat belts are fastened prior to take-off.
![Aeroflot flight attendant (hostess)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Aeroflot_flight_attendant_%28hostess%29.jpg)
Once up in the air, flight attendants will usually serve drinks and/or food to passengers using an
airline service trolley
An airline service trolley, also known as an airline catering trolley, airline meal trolley, or trolley cart, is a small serving cart supplied by an air carrier for use by flight attendants inside the aircraft for transport of beverages, airline ...
. When not performing customer service duties, flight attendants must periodically conduct cabin checks and listen for any unusual noises or situations. Checks must also be done on the lavatory to ensure the
smoke detector
A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detecte ...
hasn't been disabled or destroyed and to restock supplies as needed. Regular cockpit checks must be done to ensure the health and safety of the pilot(s). They must also respond to call lights dealing with special requests. During turbulence, flight attendants must ensure the cabin is secure. Prior to landing, all loose items, trays and rubbish must be collected and secured along with service and
galley
A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...
equipment. All hot liquids must be disposed of. A final cabin check must then be completed prior to
landing
Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or ...
. It is vital that flight attendants remain aware as the majority of emergencies occur during take-off and landing. Upon landing, flight attendants must remain stationed at exits and monitor the airplane and cabin as passengers disembark the plane. They also assist any special needs passengers and small children off the airplane and escort children, while following the proper paperwork and ID process to escort them to the designated person picking them up.
![Germanwings - Service](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Germanwings_-_Service.jpg)
Flight attendants are trained to deal with a wide variety of emergencies, and are trained in
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
. More frequent situations may include a bleeding nose, illness, small injuries, intoxicated passengers, aggressive and anxiety stricken passengers. Emergency training includes
rejected take-offs,
emergency landing
An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...
s, cardiac and in-flight medical situations, smoke in the cabin, fires,
depressurization, on-board births and deaths, dangerous goods and spills in the cabin,
emergency evacuation
Emergency evacuation is the urgent immediate egress or escape of people away from an area that contains an imminent threat, an ongoing threat or a hazard to lives or property.
Examples range from the small-scale evacuation of a building due t ...
s,
hijacking
Hijacking may refer to:
Common usage
Computing and technology
* Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth
* Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand
* Browser hijacking
* Clickjacking (including ''like ...
s, and
water landing
In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water ...
s.
Cabin chimes and overhead panel lights
On most commercial airliners, flight attendants receive various forms of notification on board the aircraft in the form of
audible chimes and coloured lights above their stations. While the colours and chimes are not universal and may vary between airlines and aircraft types, these colours and chimes are generally the most commonly used:
* (
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
) or (
Airbus
Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...
): interphone calls from the cockpit to a flight attendant and/or interphone calls between two flight attendants, the latter case if a green light isn't present or being used for the same purpose (steady with high-low chime), or all services emergency call (flashing with repeated high-low chime). On some airlines Airbus' aircraft (such as
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...
), this light is accompanied by a high-medium-low chime to indicate a call to all flight attendant stations. The
Boeing 787
The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is an American wide-body jet airliner developed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After dropping its unconventional Sonic Cruiser project, Boeing announced the conventional 7E7 on January 29, 2003, ...
uses a separate red light to indicate a
sterile flight deck while using pink for interphone calls from the cockpit.
* : call from passenger in seat (steady with single high chime).
* : call from passenger in lavatory (steady with single high chime), or lavatory smoke detector set off (flashing with repeated high chime).
* : on some aircraft (some airlines Airbus aircraft, and the Boeing 787), this colour is used to indicate interphone calls between two flight attendants, distinguishing them from the pink or red light used for interphone calls made from the flight deck to a flight attendant, and is also accompanied with a high-low chime like the pink or red light. On the Boeing 787, a flashing green light with a repeated high-low chime is used to indicate a call to all flight attendant stations.
Chief purser
The chief purser (CP), also titled as in-flight service manager (ISM), flight service manager (FSM), customer service manager (CSM) or cabin service director (CSD) is the senior flight attendant in the chain of command of flight attendants. While not necessarily the most-senior crew members on a flight (in years of service to their respective carrier), chief pursers can have varying levels of "in-flight" or "on board" bidding seniority or tenure in relation to their flying partners. To reach this position, a crew member requires some minimum years of service as flight attendant. Further training is mandatory, and chief pursers typically earn a higher salary than flight attendants because of the added responsibility and managerial role.
Purser
The purser is in charge of the cabin crew, in a specific section of a larger aircraft, or the whole aircraft itself (if the purser is the highest ranking). On board a larger aircraft, pursers assist the chief purser in managing the cabin. Pursers are flight attendants or a related job, typically with an airline for several years prior to application for, and further training to become a purser, and normally earn a higher salary than flight attendants because of the added responsibility and supervisory role.
Qualifications
Training
Flight attendants are normally trained in the
hub or headquarters city of an airline over a period that may run from four weeks to six months, depending on the country and airline. The main focus of training is safety, and attendants are evaluated for each type of aircraft in which they work. One of the most elaborate training facilities was
Breech Academy, which
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...
(TWA) opened in 1969 in
Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park ( ) is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas. Located in Johnson County, Kansas, it is one of four principal cities in the Kansas City metropolitan area and the most populous suburb of Kansas City, Missouri. As o ...
. Other airlines also sent their attendants to the school. However, during the fare wars, the school's viability declined and it closed around 1988.
Safety training includes, but is not limited to: emergency passenger evacuation management, use of evacuation slides/life rafts, in-flight
firefighting
Firefighting is the act of extinguishing or preventing the spread of unwanted fires from threatening human lives and destroying property and the environment. A person who engages in firefighting is known as a firefighter.
Firefighters typically ...
,
first aid
First aid is the first and immediate assistance given to any person with either a minor or serious illness or injury, with care provided to preserve life, prevent the condition from worsening, or to promote recovery. It includes initial in ...
,
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
,
defibrillation
Defibrillation is a treatment for life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias, specifically ventricular fibrillation (V-Fib) and non-perfusing ventricular tachycardia (V-Tach). A defibrillator delivers a dose of electric current (often called a ''cou ...
, ditching/emergency landing procedures,
decompression emergencies,
crew resource management
Crew resource management or cockpit resource management (CRM)Diehl, Alan (2013) "Air Safety Investigators: Using Science to Save Lives-One Crash at a Time." Xlibris Corporation. . http://www.prweb.com/releases/DrAlanDiehl/AirSafetyInvestigators/ ...
, and security.
In the United States, the
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
requires flight attendants on aircraft with 20 or more seats and used by an air carrier for transportation to hold a ''Certificate of Demonstrated Proficiency''. This is not considered to be the equivalent of an
airman certificate
Pilot licensing or certification refers to permits for operating aircraft. Flight crew licences are regulated by ICAO Annex 1 and issued by the civil aviation authority of each country. CAA’s have to establish that the holder has met a speci ...
(license), although it is issued on the same card stock. It shows that a level of required training has been met. It is not limited to the air carrier at which the attendant is employed (although some initial documents showed the airlines where the holders were working), and is the attendant's personal property. It does have two ratings, Group 1 and Group 2 (listed on the certificate as "Group I" and "Group II"). Either or both of these may be earned depending upon the general type of aircraft, (
propeller
A propeller (colloquially often called a screw if on a ship or an airscrew if on an aircraft) is a device with a rotating hub and radiating blades that are set at a pitch to form a helical spiral which, when rotated, exerts linear thrust upon ...
or
turbojet
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and ...
), on which the holder has trained.
There are also training schools, not affiliated with any particular airline, where students generally not only undergo generic, though otherwise practically identical, training to flight attendants employed by an airline, but also take curriculum modules to help them gain employment. These schools often use actual airline equipment for their lessons, though some are equipped with full simulator cabins capable of replicating a number of emergency situations. In some countries, such as France, a
degree
Degree may refer to:
As a unit of measurement
* Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement
** Degree of geographical latitude
** Degree of geographical longitude
* Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics
...
is required, together with the ''
Certificat de formation à la sécurité
The Certificat de formation à la sécurité (CFS) (in English Safety training certificate) is the French national degree required to be a flight attendant in France. It replaces the ''Certificat de Sécurité Sauvetage'' (CSS) since the 16th of ...
'' (Safety training certificate).
Language
Multilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
flight attendants are often in demand to accommodate international travellers. The languages most in demand, other than English, are French, Russian,
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
, Spanish,
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
,
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
,
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, Japanese, Arabic, German, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish In the United States, airlines with international routes pay an additional stipend for language skills on top of flight pay, and some airlines hire specifically for certain languages when launching international destinations.
Height
Most airlines have height requirements for safety reasons, making sure that all flight attendants can reach overhead safety equipment. Typically, the acceptable height for this is tall.
Some airlines, such as
EVA Air
EVA Airways Corporation (pronounced as three letters: ; ) (), of which "EVA" stands for Evergreen Airways, is a Taiwanese international airline based at Taoyuan International Airport near Taipei, Taiwan, operating passenger and dedicated carg ...
, have height requirements for purely
aesthetic
Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed th ...
purposes. Regional carriers using small aircraft with low ceilings can have height restrictions.
Uniforms and presentation
![Garuda Indonesia Flight Attendants in Kebaya](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Garuda_Indonesia_Flight_Attendants_in_Kebaya.jpg)
The first flight attendant
uniform
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, se ...
s were designed to be durable, practical, and inspire confidence in passengers. In the 1930s, the first female flight attendants dressed in uniforms resembling
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
' outfits. The first female flight attendants for United Airlines wore green berets, green capes and nurse's shoes. Other airlines, such as
Eastern Air Lines
Eastern Air Lines, also colloquially known as Eastern, was a major United States airline from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.
Ea ...
, actually dressed female flight attendants in
nurses' uniforms. Both male and female flight attendants for
Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...
wear
aloha shirts
The aloha shirt (), also referred to as a Hawaiian shirt, is a style of dress shirt originating in Hawaii. They are collared and buttoned dress shirts, usually short-sleeved and made from printed fabric. They are traditionally worn untucked, but ...
as their uniform.
![Pacific Southwest Airlines female flight attendants](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Pacific_Southwest_Airlines_female_flight_attendants.jpg)
Many early uniforms had a strongly military appearance; hats,
jacket
A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves, and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and less insulating than a coat, which ...
s, and
skirt
A skirt is the lower part of a dress or a separate outer garment that covers a person from the waist downwards.
At its simplest, a skirt can be a draped garment made out of a single piece of fabric (such as pareos). However, most skirts are fi ...
s showed simple straight lines and military details like
epaulette
Epaulette (; also spelled epaulet) is a type of ornamental shoulder piece or decoration used as insignia of military rank, rank by armed forces and other organizations. Flexible metal epaulettes (usually made from brass) are referred to as ''sh ...
s and brass buttons. Many uniforms had a summer and winter version, differentiated by
colours
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
and
fabrics
Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
appropriate to the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
:
navy blue
Navy blue is a very dark shade of the color blue.
Navy blue got its name from the dark blue (contrasted with naval white) worn by officers in the Royal Navy since 1748 and subsequently adopted by other navies around the world. When this color n ...
for winter, for example,
khaki
The color khaki (, ) is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge.
Khaki has been used by many armies around the world for uniforms and equipment, particularly in arid or desert regions, where it provides camouflage relative to sandy ...
for summer. But as the role of women in the air grew, and airline companies began to realise the
publicity
In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization (company, charity, etc.). It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often (but not always) ...
value of their female flight attendants, more feminine lines and colours began to appear in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Some airlines began to commission designs from high-end
department store
A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...
s and still others called in noted
designer
A designer is a person who plans the form or structure of something before it is made, by preparing drawings or plans.
In practice, anyone who creates tangible or intangible objects, products, processes, laws, games, graphics, services, or exp ...
s or even
milliners
Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter.
Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...
to create distinctive and attractive apparel.
During the 1960s,
Pacific Southwest Airlines
Pacific Southwest Airlines (PSA) was a regional U.S. airline headquartered in San Diego, California, that operated from 1949 to 1998. It was the first large discount airline in the United States. PSA called itself "The World's Friendliest Airl ...
(PSA) was known for brightly coloured female flight attendant uniforms that included short
miniskirt
A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...
s. In the early 1970s, the uniform changed to
hotpants
Hotpants or hot pants are extremely short shorts. The term was first used by ''Women's Wear Daily'' in 1970 to describe shorts made in luxury fabrics such as velvet and satin for fashionable wear, rather than their more practical equivalents th ...
.
[
Since the 1980s to present, Asian airlines, especially national flag carrier ones, usually feature the ]traditional dress
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
and fabrics of their respective country in their female flight attendants' uniform. It was meant as a marketing strategy to showcase their national culture as well as to convey welcoming warmth and hospitality. For example, Thai Airways
Thai Airways International Public Company Limited, trading as THAI (, th, บริษัท การบินไทย จำกัด (มหาชน)) is the flag carrier airline of Thailand. Formed in 1961, the airline has its corporate h ...
flight attendants are required to change from their corporate purple suits into traditional Thai costume prior to passengers boarding. While the uniform of Garuda Indonesia
Garuda Indonesia is the flag carrier of Indonesia, headquartered at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport. A successor of KLM Interinsulair Bedrijf, it is a member of SkyTeam and the second-largest airline of Indonesia after Lion Air, operat ...
female flight attendants is a modified kebaya
A kebaya is an upper garment traditionally worn by women in Southeast Asia, notably in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. Outside of Southeast Asia, it is worn by Javanese, Malays and Portuguese Eurasians in Australi ...
, inspired by the traditional batik
Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
motif of ''Parang Gondosuli'', the motif is called ''Lereng Garuda Indonesia''. Malaysian
Malaysian may refer to:
* Something from or related to Malaysia, a country in Southeast Asia
* Malaysian Malay, a dialect of Malay language spoken mainly in Malaysia
* Malaysian people, people who are identified with the country of Malaysia regard ...
and Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
flight attendants wear batik
Batik is an Indonesian technique of wax-resist dyeing applied to the whole cloth. This technique originated from the island of Java, Indonesia. Batik is made either by drawing dots and lines of the resist with a spouted tool called a ''ca ...
prints in their uniform. Vietnam Airlines
Vietnam Airlines ( vi, Hãng Hàng không Quốc gia Việt Nam, lit=Vietnam National Airlines) is the flag carrier of Vietnam. The airline was founded in 1956 and later established as a Government-owned corporation, state-owned enterprise i ...
flight attendants wear red áo dài
The (English pronunciation: ; (''North''), (''South'')) is a Vietnamese national garment worn by both sexes but most commonly by women. Besides suits and dresses nowadays, men and women can also wear áo dài on formal occasions. It is a ...
and Air India
Air India is the flag carrier airline of India, headquartered at New Delhi. It is owned by Talace Private Limited, a Special-Purpose Vehicle (SPV) of Tata Sons, after Air India Limited's former owner, the Government of India, completed the sa ...
flight attendants wear a sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std= ...
on all passenger flights.
During the mid-1990s, several US-based airlines required female flight attendants to wear shoes with heels. Minimum heel heights ranged from one-half inch to the two inches mandated by USAir
US Airways (formerly USAir) was a major United States airline that operated from 1937 until its merger with American Airlines in 2015. It was originally founded in Pittsburgh as a mail delivery airline called All American Aviation, which soon b ...
. Flight attendants at times avoided censure by changing into more comfortable shoes during flights, since their supervisors were less likely to be present there.
In 2015, the Israeli airline El Al
El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (, he, אל על נתיבי אויר לישראל בע״מ), trading as El Al (Hebrew: , "Upwards", "To the Skies" or "Skywards", stylized as ELAL; ar, إل-عال), is the flag carrier of Israel. Since its inaugural ...
introduced a requirement that female flight attendants wear high heels until passengers had been seated. The airline's workers' union stated that the requirement would endanger the health and safety of the flight attendants and instructed its members to ignore the rule. Later that year the requirement was removed.
Until 2016, some female crew members on British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
were required to wear British Airways' standard "ambassador" uniform, which has not traditionally included trousers.
In 2019, Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic, a trading name of Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited and Virgin Atlantic International Limited, is a British airline with its head office in Crawley, England. The airline was established in 1984 as British Atlantic Airways, and w ...
began to allow its female flight attendants to wear trousers and not wear makeup.
Health conditions
A 2018 study found higher instances of breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
, melanoma
Melanoma, also redundantly known as malignant melanoma, is a type of skin cancer that develops from the pigment-producing cells known as melanocytes. Melanomas typically occur in the skin, but may rarely occur in the mouth, intestines, or eye ( ...
, uterine
The uterus (from Latin ''uterus'', plural ''uteri'') or womb () is the hollow organ, organ in the female reproductive system, reproductive system of most female mammals, including humans that accommodates the embryonic development, embryonic an ...
, gastrointestinal
The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...
, cervical
In anatomy, cervical is an adjective that has two meanings:
# of or pertaining to any neck.
# of or pertaining to the female cervix: i.e., the ''neck'' of the uterus.
*Commonly used medical phrases involving the neck are
**cervical collar
**cerv ...
, and thyroid
The thyroid, or thyroid gland, is an endocrine gland in vertebrates. In humans it is in the neck and consists of two connected lobes. The lower two thirds of the lobes are connected by a thin band of tissue called the thyroid isthmus. The thy ...
cancers reported in flight attendants in contrast to the general population. Specifically, the increased cancer cases reported were seen in breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
(3.4% of flight crew compared to 2.3% in the general population - a 50% increase), cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is a cancer arising from the cervix. It is due to the abnormal growth of cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Early on, typically no symptoms are seen. Later symptoms may include abnormal ...
(1.0% compared to 0.70%), gastrointestinal cancer (0.47% compared to 0.27% – a 74% increase), thyroid cancer
Thyroid cancer is cancer that develops from the tissues of the thyroid gland. It is a disease in which cells grow abnormally and have the potential to spread to other parts of the body. Symptoms can include swelling or a lump in the neck. C ...
(0.67% compared to 0.56%) and higher rates of both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
s with reports of the latter increasing with every five years spent in the job. The study did not look into what causes this increase, but the authors said increased exposure to ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
from time spent in the thinner upper atmosphere Upper atmosphere is a collective term that refers to various layers of the atmosphere of the Earth above the troposphere and corresponding regions of the atmospheres of other planets, and includes:
* The mesosphere, which on Earth lies between the ...
, poor cabin air quality as well as disrupted sleep and meal cycles could be factors.
Other studies have found increased rates of breast
The breast is one of two prominences located on the upper ventral region of a primate's torso. Both females and males develop breasts from the same embryological tissues.
In females, it serves as the mammary gland, which produces and secret ...
and skin cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
, reduced respiratory health, adverse reproductive and perinatal outcomes, musculoskeletal injuries
Musculoskeletal injury refers to damage of muscular or skeletal systems, which is usually due to a strenuous activity and includes damage to skeletal muscles, bones, tendons, joints, ligaments, and other affected soft tissues. In one study, rough ...
, and higher rates of mental health conditions in flight attendants.
Radiation
Flight attendants and crew members are known to be exposed to cosmic ionizing radiation which is a form of radiation that comes from space and intensifies as altitude above sea level increases. The International Agency for Research on Cancer
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC; french: Centre International de Recherche sur le Cancer, CIRC) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organization of the United Nations.
Its role is to conduct and ...
of the World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...
lists ionizing radiation as a known human carcinogen. Passengers are also exposed to this type of cosmic radiation, but they spend a considerably less amount of time on the average in the air than crew members. An online travel agency report found, in particular, that travelling adults in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
spend on average 306 hours on flights to holiday destinations during their lifetime. In contrast, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...
, a flight attendant can spend up to 30 hours of flight time in seven consecutive days and in some cases more. The effect of cosmic radiation on air crew members is a subject of a growing body of research.
Cabin crew members are also regularly exposed to more UV radiation
Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation i ...
than the general population, which can make these workers more vulnerable to skin cancer
Skin cancers are cancers that arise from the skin. They are due to the development of abnormal cells that have the ability to invade or spread to other parts of the body. There are three main types of skin cancers: basal-cell skin cancer (BCC) ...
s.
The U.S. National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) reports that aircrew have the largest average annual effective dose of all U.S. radiation workers.
Cabin air quality
Poor cabin air quality is a subject of ongoing study in relation to symptoms such as headache
Headache is the symptom of pain in the face, head, or neck. It can occur as a migraine, tension-type headache, or cluster headache. There is an increased risk of depression in those with severe headaches.
Headaches can occur as a result ...
, fatigue
Fatigue describes a state of tiredness that does not resolve with rest or sleep. In general usage, fatigue is synonymous with extreme tiredness or exhaustion that normally follows prolonged physical or mental activity. When it does not resolve ...
, fever
Fever, also referred to as pyrexia, is defined as having a body temperature, temperature above the human body temperature, normal range due to an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, set point. There is not a single ...
, and respiratory
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...
difficulties among many others that have been reported by flight attendants, particularly on long-haul routes. There is also much concern regarding the transmission of contagious diseases, particularly tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. An open question remains whether these complaints are due to poor cabin air quality or to other factors inherent in flights, such as lowered barometric pressure
Atmospheric pressure, also known as barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , which is equivalent to 1013.25 millibars, 7 ...
, hypoxia, low humidity
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present.
Humidity depe ...
, etc. Other chemical contaminants found in the cabin may include engine leakages, pesticide
Pesticides are substances that are meant to control pests. This includes herbicide, insecticide, nematicide, molluscicide, piscicide, avicide, rodenticide, bactericide, insect repellent, animal repellent, microbicide, fungicide, and lampri ...
s and flame retardant
The term flame retardants subsumes a diverse group of chemicals that are added to manufactured materials, such as plastics and textiles, and surface finishes and coatings. Flame retardants are activated by the presence of an ignition source a ...
s, which contain compounds that may act as Endocrine disruptor, hormone disruptors and increase the risk of some cancers.
Sleep disruption
Flight attendants often have Circadian rhythm sleep disorder, disrupted sleep cycles. They are more likely to have disruptions in their sleep patterns because they may work at night, cross time zones, and have irregular schedules. There is some evidence linking sleep disruptions to increased cancer risk. Flight attendants may also have different lifestyle behaviours related to diet, physical activity, and health care than the general population which could affect overall health and cancer risk.
Secondhand tobacco smoke
Many of the flight attendants working today were exposed to second-hand Inflight smoking, in-flight smoke until 1998 with partial smoking bans enacted in 1988. The long-term effects of this historical Passive smoking, secondhand smoke exposure have not been well characterized.
Sexual harassment
Flight attendants are exposed to verbal and sexual harassment. Studies in the United States and Australia have found that the vast majority (two-thirds) of flight attendants experience sexual harassment in the course of their careers, including sexual assault, inappropriate touching and sexual comments both by colleagues and passengers. Flight attendants describe the verbal sexual harassment as comments that are "nasty, unwanted, lewd, crude, inappropriate, uncomfortable, sexual, suggestive, and dirty". They also report being subjected to passengers' explicit sexual fantasies, propositions, request for sexual "favours" and pornographic videos and pictures.
The studies also found that 70% of flight attendants who experience sexual harassment on the job "chose not to report the incident because they did not think it would be dealt with appropriately or they were concerned reporting it would make the situation worse" and "their airline was not doing enough to put a stop to harassment", and that "they have not noticed any employer efforts over the past year to address sexual harassment at work."
Emotional labour
The concept of emotional labor, emotional labour as the process of managing feelings and expressions to fulfil the emotional requirements of a job through a publicly visible facial and bodily display within the workplace (as opposed to the concept of emotion work, i.e. the management of one's feelings in private life) was first established and linked to the profession of flight attendants by Professor Emirita of Sociology Arlie Russell Hochschild, Arlie Hochschild, in her book, ''The Managed Heart''. According to Hochschild, flight attendants do emotional labour to enhance the status of the customer and entice further sales by their friendliness, and support this effort by evoking feelings that make the "nice" display seem natural. With regard to how flight attendants are supposed to use their smile in the job, the author writes:[I]n the flight attendant's work, smiling is separated from its usual function, which is to express a personal feeling, and attached to another one—expressing a company feeling. The company exhorts them to smile more, and "more sincerely," at an increasing number of passengers. The workers respond to the speed-up with a slowdown: they smile less broadly, with a quick release and no sparkle in the eyes, thus dimming the company's message to the people. It is a war of smiles.
Hochschild notes that corporate logic in the airline industry generates a series of links between competition, market expansion, advertising, heightened passenger expectations about rights to display, and company demands for acting; and when conditions allow this logic to work, private use of emotional exchange gives way to corporate use of emotional exchange.
Hochschild also writes of how flight attendants are trained to control passengers' feelings during times of turbulence and dangerous situations while suppressing their own fear or anxiety.
The emotional labor, emotional labour performed by flight attendants and cross-cultural aspects of it have since been actively studied and are a topic of ongoing research.
In advertising
In the 1960s and 1970s, many airlines began advertising the attractiveness and friendliness of their stewardesses. National Airlines (NA), National Airlines began a "Fly Me"; campaign using attractive female flight attendants with taglines such as "I'm Lorraine. Fly me to Orlando, Florida, Orlando." (A low budget 1973 film about three flight attendants, ''Fly Me'', starring Lenore Kasdorf, was based on the ad campaign.) Braniff International Airways presented a campaign known as the "Air Strip" with similarly attractive young female flight attendant changing uniforms mid-flight. In the United States, many airlines had a policy such that only unmarried women could be flight attendants, as well as a mandatory retirement age of 32 for stewardesses because of the belief women would be less appealing and attractive after this age. Many of the women were recruited as seniors in college and in beauty pageants. In 1968, the EEOC declared age restrictions on flight attendants' employment to be illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Flight attendant Roz Hanby became a minor celebrity when she became the face of British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...
in their "Fly the Flag" advertising campaign over a seven-year period in the 1980s. Singapore Airlines
Singapore Airlines (abbreviation: SIA) is the flag carrier airline of the Republic of Singapore with its Airline hub, hub located at Singapore Changi Airport. The airline is notable for highlighting the Singapore Girl as its central figure in ...
is currently one of the few airlines still choosing to use the image of their female flight attendants, known as Singapore Girls, in their advertising material. However, this is starting to be phased out, in favour of advertising which emphasises the modernity of their fleet.
Unions
Flight attendant Trade union, unions were formed, beginning at United Airlines in the 1940s, to negotiate improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions. Those unions would later challenge what they perceived as Sexism, sexist stereotypes and unfair work practices such as age limits, size limits, limitations on marriage, and prohibition of pregnancy. Many of these limitations have been lifted by judicial mandates. The largest flight attendants' union is the Association of Flight Attendants, representing nearly 60,000 flight attendants at 19 airlines within the US.
The Association of Professional Flight Attendants represents the flight attendants of American Airlines, the world's largest carrier. APFA is the largest independent flight attendant union in the world.
In the UK, cabin crew can be represented by either Cabin Crew '89, or the much larger and more powerful Transport and General Workers' Union.
In Australia, flight attendants are represented by the Flight Attendants' Association of Australia (FAAA). There are two divisions: one for international crews (flight length, long-haul) and one for domestic crews (short-haul).
In New Zealand, flight attendants can be represented by either the Flight Attendants and Related Services Association (FARSA) or by the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU).
In Canada, flight attendants are represented by either the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) or by the Canadian Flight Attendants Union (CFAU).
Discrimination
Originally female flight attendants were required to be single upon hiring, and were fired if they got married, exceeded weight regulations, or reached age 32 or 35 depending on the airline. In the 1970s, the group Stewardesses for Women's Rights protested sexist advertising and company discrimination, and brought many cases to court. In 1964, United States President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act into law which prohibited sex discrimination and led to the creation of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is a federal agency that was established via the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to administer and enforce civil rights laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination ...
in 1968. The EEOC ruled that sex was not a bona fide occupational requirement to be a flight attendant. For stewardesses, this meant that they had an official governing body to report offences to and allowed them to successfully challenge age ceiling and marriage bans in relation to their effectiveness as employees.
In 1968, the EEOC declared age restrictions on flight attendants' employment to be illegal sex discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The restriction of hiring only women was lifted at all airlines in 1971 due to the decisive court case of ''Diaz vs. Pan Am''. The no-marriage rule was eliminated throughout the US airline industry by the 1980s. The last such broad categorical discrimination, the weight restrictions, were relaxed in the 1990s through litigation and negotiations. By the end of the 1970s, the term ''stewardess'' had generally been replaced by the Gender neutrality in English, gender-neutral alternative ''flight attendant''. Also, during the 1980s and 1990s, more males were allowed to apply as flight attendants, helping to create more usage of this term. More recently the term ''cabin crew'' or ''cabin staff'' has begun to replace 'flight attendants' in some parts of the world, because of the term's recognition of their role as members of the crew.
Roles in emergencies
Actions of flight attendants in emergencies have long been credited in saving lives; in the United States, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and other aviation authorities view flight attendants as essential for safety, and are thus usually required on Part 121 aircraft operations. Studies, some done in light of British Airtours Flight 28M, have concluded that assertive cabin crew are essential for the rapid evacuation of aeroplanes. Notable examples of cabin crew actions include:
11 September 2001
The role of flight attendants received heightened prominence after the September 11 attacks when flight attendants (such as Sandra W. Bradshaw and CeeCee Lyles of United Airlines Flight 93; Robert Fangman of United Airlines Flight 175; Renee May of American Airlines Flight 77; and Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney of American Airlines Flight 11) actively attempted to protect passengers from assault, and also provided vital information to air traffic controllers on the aircraft hijacking, hijackings, as did many passengers.
In the wake of these attacks, many flight attendants at major airlines were laid off because of decreased passenger loads.
Other emergencies
* In April 1936, flight attendant Nellie Granger aided survivors after the crash of TWA Flight 1, then walked through a snowstorm to find help, before returning to the crash scene.
* Senior Purser Neerja Bhanot saved the lives of passengers and crew when Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked. She was killed while protecting children from the terrorists. After her death she received the Special Courage Award from the United States Department of Justice and India's highest civilian honour for bravery, the Ashoka Chakra (military decoration), Ashoka Chakra.
* Naila Nazir (flight attendant), Naila Nazir, Pakistani flight attendant (employee of Pakistan International Airlines) who received 1985's Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) Heroism Award for her brave handling of tense and dangerous situation during the 13 days of the Flight PK-326 hijacking ordeal.
* British Airtours Flight 28M, the two forward flight attendants, Arthur Bradbury and Joanna Toff, repeatedly crawled into the smoke filled and burning cabin to drag a number of passengers to safety, and were subsequently awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal. The two rear flight attendants, Sharon Ford and Jacqui Ubanski, who opened the rear doors but were overwhelmed by fire and smoke were awarded the same medal posthumously.
* Scandinavian Airlines Flight 751, when cabin crew recognised an emergency landing was imminent and commanded the passengers to "bend down ... hold your knees" to adopt the brace position.
* Atlantic Southeast Airlines Flight 529, whose sole flight attendant, Robin Fech, provided emergency briefings, brace and evacuation commands to the passengers when the Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia aircraft sustained serious damage to one of its engines and crash landed. The NTSB accident report commended "the exemplary manner in which the flight attendant briefed the passengers and handled the emergency".
* BOAC Flight 712, where a flight attendant, Barbara Jane Harrison, died saving passengers from an on-board fire and was posthumously awarded the George Cross.
* British Airways Flight 5390, in which a flight attendant was able to prevent a pilot from being lost through a cockpit window that had failed.
* Southern Airways Flight 242, on which the cabin crew provided safety briefings to their passengers, and on their own initiative, warned passengers of the impending crash by commanding passengers to adopt the brace position. At least one flight attendant is known to have assisted in rescuing trapped passengers.
* Air Florida Flight 90, in which Kelly Duncan, the lone surviving flight attendant, passed the only life vest she could find to a passenger. She is recognised in the NTSB report for this "unselfish act".
* TWA flight attendant Uli Derickson who protected passengers during the TWA Flight 847 hijacking by assisting with negotiation efforts.
* TWA Flight 843, when a TWA Lockheed L-1011 aircraft crashed after an aborted takeoff in 1992. The aircraft was destroyed by fire. Nine flight attendants, along with five off-duty flight attendants, evacuated all 292 persons on board without loss of life. The NTSB in their after accident report noted, "The performance of the flight attendants during the emergency was exceptional and probably contributed to the success of the emergency evacuation."
* On British Airways Flight 2069, cabin crew stopped the plane from being crashed by a Mental disorder, mentally ill passenger.
* Crew on 2001 shoe bomb plot, American Airlines Flight 63 prevented shoe bomber Richard Reid (shoe bomber), Richard Colvin Reid from blowing up the plane.
* Flight attendants on Qantas Flight 1737 prevented their plane from being hijacked by a passenger with mental health issues. Two of them were taken to hospital with stab wounds.
* Aloha Airlines Flight 243 suffered a decompression which tore an section of fuselage away from the plane. The only fatality was flight attendant C.B. Lansing who was blown out of the airplane. Flight attendant Michelle Honda was thrown violently to the floor during the decompression but, despite her injuries, crawled up and down the aisle reassuring passengers.
* Flight Attendants on Air Canada Flight 797 (Sergio Benetti, Judi Davidson, Laura Kayama) used procedures which were not specifically taught in training such as moving passengers to the front of the aircraft to move them away from the fire and smoke, and passing out towels for passengers to cover their nose and mouths with while the cabin was filling with smoke. Chief Flight Attendant Sergio Benetti was the first to open the front door of the aircraft, and escaped out that way, leaving all passengers and other crew behind.
* USAir flight attendant Richard DeMary helped to evacuate surviving passengers and another crew member from the burning wreckage of USAir Flight 1016, which crashed during a go-around in adverse weather conditions after a failed landing attempt at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
* Flight Attendants on US Airways Flight 1549 successfully evacuated all passengers from the aircraft within 90 seconds despite the fact that the rear was rapidly filling with water.
* Nine cabin crew members aboard Air France Flight 358 successfully evacuated the aircraft within 90 seconds after the A340-300 overran a runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport. The NTSB stated that the actions of the cabin crew contributed to the 100% survival rate.
* The flight attendants of Philippine Airlines Flight 434 kept the passengers calm after a bomb exploded during the flight from Cebu to Tokyo. Though one passenger was killed during the explosion, they took care of the injured passengers.
Some exceptions include Air Canada Flight 797, where the investigative board found that the flight attendant in charge's "misleading" reports about the fire "influenced the captain's decision to delay the initiation of a descent" and that such "delay increased the time for the fire to propagate and the time that passengers were exposed to the toxic environment before the airplane could be evacuated." The accident killed 23 passengers; none of the flight attendants sustained any injuries. Chief Flight Attendant Sergio Benetti was the first to open the front door of the aircraft, and escaped out that way, leaving all passengers and other crew behind.
Gallery
File:Female flight attendant of Air Dolomiti.jpg, Air Dolomiti flight attendant
File:SAS DC-9, interior of cabin.jpg, Scandinavian Airlines flight attendants in the 1960s
File:SANDRA FORCE1.png, Southwest Airlines flight attendant
File:Hostess der Swissair 1953.jpg, Swissair flight attendant, 1953
File:A Wizz Air Airbus A320 típusú repülőgépének fedélzete légiutas-kísérővel.JPG, Wizz Air flight attendant
File:Emirates flight attendant in the Airbus A380 bar.jpg, Emirates flight attendant in the Airbus A380, A380 bar for Emirates (airline), Emirates
See also
* Flight attendants in popular culture
References
Further reading
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External links
{{Authority control
Flight attendants,
Personal care and service occupations
Occupations in aviation