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When I was a kid on the 80’s and 90’s flight attendants where all attractive. Perfect powder fresh face. Hair perfect. Couldn’t be over weight. In recent years I’ve noticed no makeup. Hair disheveled. Some overweight. Why the change? I’ve flown United recently. Domestic flight.
Airlines realized that there are many things more important the being perfectly coiffed? It's possible to be a great flight attendant without a sleek chignon.
When I was a kid on the 80’s and 90’s flight attendants where all attractive. Perfect powder fresh face. Hair perfect. Couldn’t be over weight. In recent years I’ve noticed no makeup. Hair disheveled. Some overweight. Why the change? I’ve flown United recently. Domestic flight.
Unions, lower pay and poorer working conditions, lower class of passengers and fuller planes, rise of budget airlines, changing social norms (political correctness, "me too" movement, gradual transition to casual dress in the working world, etc). These all contribute.
What they forget is appearance standards don't always apply to age, sex, weight, physical features, etc. It's about professionalism. You can still be overweight and maintain appearance standards. But disheveled to me says unprofessional - if a flight attendant can't take the time to shave (for men), press your close, wash and comb your hair I would doubt a flight attendant will take the time to follow safety regulations.
When I was a kid on the 80’s and 90’s flight attendants where all attractive. Perfect powder fresh face. Hair perfect. Couldn’t be over weight. In recent years I’ve noticed no makeup. Hair disheveled. Some overweight. Why the change? I’ve flown United recently. Domestic flight.
I tried for years to be a flight attendant from age 18-25. I am now/ was then 5' 5" and a size 4. I have been an athlete and taught fitness classes my entire life. To give you perspective Jennifer Anniston is also 5'5" and a size 4. However, I continued to get turned down because I could not meet the weight requirement.
At that time weight was 100 pounds at 5 feet, then 5 pounds for every inch. At 5' 5", I "should have been" 125 pounds. I watched girls who had much larger measurements than I did and wore size 6 or 8 get accepted, but I could not because I could never get below 130 pounds. I used to fast and take diet pills so I could get hired, and to no avail.
In the mid 90's the weight requirement was lifted, but I had completed college and started my career by then. Now that I am ready to retire from that career and my kids are grown, I am going to try the FA thing again in the next 2 years.
I am still a size 4 incidentally, and at 50 years old, am told I look 35. Fingers crossed!
PS- yes, at interviews you are expected to wear a dark suit, close toes appropriate shoes, have neat nails, hair and appropriate make up. If, after they are on the job they start to slip a little, I don't know what happens.
Airlines adapt to changing conditions. I think the really iconic period for the industry was in the 60’s. The Pan Am flight attendants. All female, impeccably attired and beauty pageant material. Guess I’m being sexist. First class service. All aboard the Boeing 707. Flew several legs of the old round the world service back in the day on that aircraft.
When I was a kid on the 80’s and 90’s flight attendants where all attractive. Perfect powder fresh face. Hair perfect. Couldn’t be over weight. In recent years I’ve noticed no makeup. Hair disheveled. Some overweight. Why the change? I’ve flown United recently. Domestic flight.
Part of this may be due to an aging workforce. Flight attendants were a younger demographic in the 80’s & 90’s and are now 15+ years older on average. Most of us just don’t look as good as we used to and have gained a few pounds.
The younger and prettier are working on international flights - First and Business Class. They also speak foreign languages.
The most desirable trips/routes are based on seniority.
However, most non-American airlines, place importance on the appearance of (mostly female) flight attendants. Many have rules governing their lives and makeup routine.
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