What was the old name for flight attendants?

Reflecting the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, the term “stewardess” evolved into the gender-neutral “flight attendant.” Conservative uniform styles reappeared due to new laws that prohibited discrimination in hiring based on age, appearance, and gender.



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Reflecting the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, the term “stewardess” evolved into the gender-neutral “flight attendant.” Conservative uniform styles reappeared due to new laws that prohibited discrimination in hiring based on age, appearance, and gender.

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Reflecting the social changes of the 1960s and 1970s, the term “stewardess” evolved into the gender-neutral “flight attendant.” Conservative uniform styles reappeared due to new laws that prohibited discrimination in hiring based on age, appearance, and gender.

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By the end of the 1970s, the term stewardess had generally been replaced by the gender-neutral alternative flight attendant.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.

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This sexist notion was not true, of course, and later in the 1960's and 1970's the aviation industry pushed to remove the gender bias of the job. They changed the name to “flight attendant” to refer to both male and female cabin crews. They also made the qualifications more specific when it comes to customer relations.

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You might have heard the term stewardess, a female flight attendant, but the name has trickled out of use in favor of the gender-neutral flight attendant. A steward is the male version of that.

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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.

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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.

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In 1968, federal courts struck down the rules forbidding marriage and age requirements, and the momentum continued into the 1970s. Under pressure, rules against flight attendants being pregnant were withdrawn by most airlines.

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Stewardess, however, is an outdated term that has been replaced by flight attendant on all airlines. Whether fairly or unfairly, stewardesses became associated with the negative impression of being little more than models in the sky.

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Furthermore, since it is generally considered pretty rude to address a person by their occupation—many servers in restaurants, for example, hate being called “waiter” or “waitress”—I would advise addressing a flight attendant with “sir” or “ma'am” if you need to use an address at all.

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It is typical for some of us to wonder if we are already too old to apply for a flight attendant job. Based on US strict discrimination and labor laws, there is no maximum age to become a flight attendant. In general, it's worth noting that the retirement age there is around 65 years old.

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It's a physical job, but not all flight attendants must be slim and trim. You do, however, have to fit into the flight attendant jumpseat. Flight attendants have no set weight requirements, as body types can vary even if two people are the same height and weight.

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She explains that the airlines consider their flight attendants and cabin crew as a PR 'product', which they polish to make sure people think that their airline is good. “Some airlines have grooming/image 'checkers' at the airport,” Ms Brown explains.

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The 'flight duty period' is from the report time to when the aircraft engines shut down. This must not exceed 13 hours plus one hour (discretion). The 'rest period' must be continuous and undisrupted pre- and post-flight.

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(a) No person may operate an airplane unless at least the following number of flight attendants are on board the airplane: (1) For airplanes having more than 19 but less than 51 passengers on board, one flight attendant. (2) For airplanes having more than 50 but less than 101 passengers on board, two flight attendants.

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What does the flight attendant say before take off? We ask that you please fasten your seatbelts at this time and secure all baggage underneath your seat or in the overhead compartments. We also ask that your seats and table trays are in the upright position for take-off.

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