Stewardess!

Stewardesss, formerly called sky girls, air hostesses, stewardesses and stewards are airline staff employed as attendants primarily for the safety of the passengers. Their secondary function is the care and comfort of the passengers. They are members of the flight crew.

The role is based on similar positions on passenger ships or passenger trains, but has more direct involvement because of the confined quarters and often shorter travel times on aircraft. Stewardesss on board during a flight collectively form a "cabin crew," while pilots (in the cockpit) and technicians see to the technical aspects of the flight.

The primary responsibility of a flight attendant is the safety of the passengers, and emergency preparedness. This is followed by the routine tasks of customer service, serving meals and drinks and accommodating the individual needs of passengers. These roles sometimes conflict, as when flight attendants must cut off alcoholic drinks for a passenger who has had too much, or to ask passengers to fasten seat belts, sit down, or otherwise follow safety procedures.

Stewardess Requirements

Stewardess Training

Stewardess training is usually done in a hub city of the airline and lasts about six weeks, covering both safety and comfort. One flight attendant is required for every 50 passenger seats onboard, however many airlines have chosen to increase that number. One of the most elaborate training facilities was Breech Academy which TWA opened in 1969 in Overland Park, Kansas. Other airlines were to also send their attendants to the school. However, during the fare wars the school's viability declined and it closed around 1990. Safety training includes, but is not limited to: emergency passenger evacuation management, use of evacuation slides/life rafts, in-flight fire fighting, first aid, CPR, defibrillation, ditching/emergency landing procedures, decompression emergencies, crew resource management and security.

Stewardess Language

Multilingual flight attendants are often in demand to accommodate international travelers. The most common languages are Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, French, German, Spanish, Italian and of course English.

Height Some airlines, such as EVA Air, have height requirements for aesthetic purposes. Horizon Air and other regional carriers have height restrictions because their aircraft have low ceilings.

Stewardesss are also subject to weight requirements as well. If height and weight are not proportionate, you may not be hired for health reasons, etc.

Stewardess Beginnings

The first flight attendant, a steward, was reportedly a man on the German Zeppelin "LZ10 Schwaben" in 1911. Imperial Airways of the United Kingdom had 'cabin boys' or 'stewards' in the 1920s, and first female flight attendant was a 25 year old registered nurse named Ellen Church. Hired by United Airlines in 1930, she also first envisioned nurses on aircraft.

Other airlines followed suit, hiring nurses to serve as stewardesses on most of their flights. The requirement to be a registered nurse was relaxed at the start of World War II, as so many nurses enlisted into the armed forces.

Stewardess In advertising

In the 1960s and 1970s, many airlines began advertising the attractiveness and friendliness of their stewardesses. National Airlines began a "Fly Me" campaign using attractive stewardesses with taglines such as "I'm Lorraine. Fly me to Orlando." Braniff Airways, presented a campaign known as the "Air Strip", with similarly attractive young stewardesses changing uniforms midflight. A policy of at least one airline required that only unmarried women could be flight attendants.

Stewardess Unions

Flight Attendant unions formed to challenge what they perceive as 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 over 50,000 flight attendants at 22 airlines within the United States.

In the United Kingdom, Cabin Crew can be represented by either Cabin Crew '89, or the much larger and more powerful Transport and General Workers Union.

Stewardess Perceived Discrimination

Some Airlines have been accused of firing female flight attendants if they were deemed too old or unattractive. A decision by the United States National Labor Relations Board attempted to end such practices and recognize the professionalism of the job. By the end of the 1970s, the term stewardess was generally replaced by the gender neutral alternative, "flight attendant."

Stewardess September 11 2001

The role of flight attendants received heightened prominence after the September 11, 2001 attacks when flight attendants (such as Sandra W. Bradshaw, Betty Ong and Madeline Amy Sweeney) actively attempted to protect passengers from assault and also provided vital information to air traffic controllers on the hijackings. In the aftermath of the attacks, flight attendants were given heightened responsibilities for the security of their planes.

In the wake of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, many flight attendants at major airlines were laid off on account of decreased passenger loads.