Strong onlookers: What did the first flight attendants look like in history?

1930 may 15, the first stewardess in history was born. Because the cabin was small and narrow at that time, the height of the flight attendants must be below 1.59 meters and the weight should not exceed 50 kilograms.

In today's era when flying is commonplace, it must be incomplete if there is no gentle and beautiful stewardess during the flight. But you may not imagine that in the early 1920s and 1930s, air passenger transport was still in its infancy, and there were no flight attendants on the plane. It was not until 86 years ago that a flight attendant named ellen church started her career on a Boeing airliner.

(1930, ellen church, a 25-year-old registered nurse, greeted the guests at the door of a Boeing 80A cabin).

At that time, it was quite rare for women to fly, let alone work on the plane. Church's success as a stewardess was unprecedented at that time.

(Photo of ellen church and the nurse)

Before that, Church was just an unknown nurse. After accidentally seeing an advertisement for a male flight attendant in Boeing Airlines, she decided to quit her job as a nurse and got to know the manager of Boeing's San Francisco office with her revolutionary ideas.

The manager was immediately attracted by Church's bold idea. He wrote a letter to his boss, suggesting that the female flight attendants should be trained for three months. After many twists and turns, Boeing finally agreed to this training plan. In fact, she was finally hired because of her status as a nurse, because having a nurse on the plane is undoubtedly a sedative for passengers. After being hired, Church helped recruit seven other women. So far, Boeing has the first batch of eight female flight attendants in the world.

(Boeing's first batch of 8 female flight attendants)

In order to highlight their professional image, Boeing customized a uniform dark green uniform for the eight women, with a double-row silver-buckled wool suit on the upper body and a shawl of the same texture on the outside, in order to keep warm in a ventilated cabin. Moreover, the pockets on the shawl should be large enough to hold wrenches and screwdrivers, so as to ensure that the rattan chairs of passengers are fixed on the floor of the cabin.

In addition to ensuring that the seats are fixed on the floor and providing meals, female flight attendants should also shoulder the responsibility of eliminating small flying insects in the cabin, keeping passengers calm and cleaning the toilet. Sometimes after the flight, they even help push the plane into the hangar.

(1934: At Tempel Hauff airport in Berlin, a stewardess of Swissair stood in front of Curtis T-32 commercial flight. This is the first passenger plane in Europe with a stewardess. )

(1935: inside the United Boeing aircraft. This is the first batch of commercial airliners, and the aisle is very narrow, and only a few people can sit. )

Harriet Eaton is one of eight stewardesses. She recalled: "At that time, the toilet on the plane was very simple. When people open the toilet lid, they can see everything! Before long, the chemical toilet appeared. The only disadvantage of this kind of toilet is that when it encounters stormy weather or bumps, it is often seen that the dirty things in the toilet run under the door leading to the engine room, so it is necessary to clean them up quickly. I don't like this. "

You know, flying in those days was not as comfortable as it is today, and it can even be said to be an adventurous choice. At that time, people could not predict the weather as accurately as they do now. Planes often fly by and bad weather comes. Pilots earn extra money by sending airmail. Sometimes there are only 12 to 15 passengers on a plane. And these sweet-looking new flight attendants were also called "angels from heaven" at that time.

(1936: Gordes, a flight attendant from Green, served cocktails to the luxurious guests flying from Croydon to Paris. )

(1937: The stewardess of TWA is going to check the passenger list at the door of the cabin. )

At that time, airlines were very strict with female flight attendants. In order for the plane to hold more airmail letters, the applicant must weigh less than 50kg, be no taller than1.59m, and be under the age of 25-after the training of the first eight female flight attendants, there is another stipulation: the applicant must be single.

In the following years, almost all airlines hired female employees. Ambitious young women from all over the world have also begun to try to hone themselves in flight.

The young stewardess attended the training of TWA, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. )

There, they will receive training in makeup, appearance, language and entertainment as a stepping stone to their flight attendants' careers.

(1947, student of McConnell Flight Attendance School. )