Interesting encyclopedia of flight attendants

Interesting encyclopedia of flight attendants

The first stewardess in the world was a man, and only men took it in 18.

The role of flight attendants (flight attendants for short) comes from similar positions on passenger ships or trains, but due to the limited space on the plane, the interaction between flight attendants and passengers is more direct. In addition, flight attendants pay more attention to safety than similar workers on other means of transportation. The flight attendants on the plane form a crew together, which is different from pilots and air mechanics.

19 12 years, Heinrich Kubis (male) became the first flight attendant in the world.

The word "flight attendant" in air transportation comes from the word "chief flight attendant" in shipping terminology. The terms "flight attendant" and "flight attendant" are often used interchangeably to describe people who have similar responsibilities in the navigation profession.

This language comes from the international British sailing tradition (that is, the first mate) and American merchant ships in the14th century, and American airlines imitated the latter to some extent. According to international conventions and agreements, all crew members of international navigation ships have similar documents in their respective countries. The U.S. Merchant Marine assigned these responsibilities to the chief steward at the highest level and command structure, and the chief steward had no job representation or roster at that level and command structure.

1920, British imperial airlines began to equip cabin attendants or flight attendants. In the United States, 1926 Stout Airways was the first company to hire flight attendants to work on a Ford three-engine plane between Detroit and grand rapids, Michigan.

Western Airlines (1928) and Pan Am World Airlines (1929) were the first American airlines to employ flight attendants to provide meals. During the gambling trip from key west, Florida to Havana, Cuba, the 10 Fokker aircraft used in the Caribbean was also equipped with flight attendants.

18 years later, there was a female passenger.

The first flight attendant is ellen church, a 25-year-old nurse. She is employed by 1930 United Airlines. Other airlines have followed suit, hiring nurses as flight attendants, and then being called "stewardesses" or "stewardesses" on most flights.

In the United States, this was one of the few jobs that women were allowed to do in the 1930s. Coupled with the Great Depression, a large number of job seekers appeared in a few positions. 1935 12000 women competed for 43 positions offered by intercontinental airlines and western airlines.

Female flight attendants quickly replaced male flight attendants, and by 1936, they almost completely replaced male flight attendants.

An article by The New York Times in 1936 describes the requirements for recruiting these girls:

Girls who meet the requirements of miss etiquette must be petite; Weight 100 to 1 18 lbs; 5 feet high (to 5 feet 4 inches (about162 cm); ); 20 to 26 years old. Coupled with strict physical examination four times a year, it is certain that healthy flowers will bloom.

Thirty years later, in 1966, The New York Times published a classified advertisement for flight attendants of Eastern Airlines, which listed the following requirements:

Graduated from high school; Single (considering childless widows and divorcees); 20 years old (19 and a half girls can apply for future consideration); He is 5 feet 2 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, and the ratio of weight to height is 105 to 135. He has at least 20/40 vision without glasses.

Appearance is considered to be one of the most important factors in becoming a flight attendant. At that time, airlines thought that reusing female flight attendants would increase profits. To this end, the uniforms of female flight attendants are often close-fitting, wearing white gloves and high heels.

"Flight attendants must be unmarried, female and slim."

In the United States, flight attendants must be unmarried, and if they decide to get married, they will face dismissal. At first, the recruitment standard must be registered nurses. Later, this standard was gradually relaxed, and then more and more women joined the job. By World War II, this standard was almost completely abandoned because many nurses joined the army.

1957 65438+In February, Ruth Carol Taylor became the first African-American flight attendant in the United States. From 1958 and February 1 1, Taylor took office on Mohawk Airlines flight from Ithaca to new york. Unfortunately, she was fired within six months because marriage was generally forbidden by Mohawk people at that time.

The first complainants of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission were also female flight attendants, complaining about age discrimination, weight requirement and marriage ban. (Dismissal involves many discriminatory provisions: dismissal at the age of 32 or 35; If you are overweight, you will be fired; If you get married, you will also be fired. )

In 1968, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission declared a series of discrimination against flight attendants, such as age limit and employment gender, illegal.

Also in 1968, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled that gender is not a professional requirement for flight attendants. In this regard, all airlines have lifted restrictions on hiring only women.

But in fact, it was not until the 1980s that the American aviation industry finally abolished the "no marriage" rule.

Finally, these classification discrimination about weight was also relaxed through litigation and negotiation in the 1990s.

But so far, airlines still have requirements for eyesight and height, and flight attendants still need to attend and pass the physical examination.

New demand for flight attendants

Boeing predicts that by 2036, there will be 465,438+0,030 new passenger planes, and from 2065,438+07, there will be 839,000 new cabin attendants: 298,000 in Asia-Pacific region (37%) and 654,380+0,690 in North America (265,438)

Flight attendants should pay more attention to health.

A study on 20 18 found that the incidence of breast cancer, melanoma, uterine cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, cervical cancer and thyroid cancer in flight attendants was high.