India's air crews asked to 'battle the bulge'
Tuesday, 12 June 2007
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As every air traveler has been heard countless times, the stewards on board the flight are primarily there for everyone’s safety. And what flyer would dare risk breaching political correctness to admit they like their in-flight crew to look attractive?
In India it seems there are no such qualms. As the country's new battalion of domestic airlines add increasing number of international routes, the uniforms of the flight crew - particularly, it has to be said, those of the women staff - have been getting a make-over.
"Air-hostesses should be pretty with even more prettier outfits," an anonymous official with Kingfisher Airlines bluntly told the country's Financial Express newspaper.
To such ends, carriers such as Kingfisher, which aims to fly to international destinations next year, and Jet Airways which already has regular direct flights to London, New York and elsewhere, are spending considerable sums of money upgrading the uniforms of their crew with a more stylish look.
Mumbai-based Jet even went as far as to hire Italian designer Robert Capucci to redesign their staff uniforms. He said: "The uniform of Jet's cabin crew has a distinctive international look capturing the spirit of Corporate India. The newly-designed attire will take to runways at airports around the world."
But there is a much more pernicious side to the makeover - not to mention the environmental impact - as India's burgeoning airline industry looks to expand. Just last week a group of 11 stewardesses with Indian Airlines lost a year-long legal struggle for compensation after a judge ruled the state-controlled national carrier had not broken the law when it had told the women they had to lose weight or else lose their jobs.
"If the air hostesses are asked to battle their bulge ..it is not understood how it is in any way unfair, unreasonable and insulting," wrote the judge, Rekha Sharma. "If by perseverance the snails could reach the ark, why can't these worthy ladies stand on and turn the scale?" The women had complained that Indian Airlines was deliberately seeking to replace older, heavier women with younger, slimmer stewardesses.
"They think the planes have become catwalks and we've all got to be models," said one of the women, Sheela Joshi. "How does your weight affect your efficiency as a crew member?" The dispute began last year when Indian Airlines laid off 140 staff without pay, claiming that they were overweight. Like many airlines, the carrier insists in its workers' employment contracts that crew can be fired if their weight exceeds certain, fixed levels.
