Anne Hood served as a flight attendant for TWA, which operated from 1930 until its acquisition by American Airlines in 2001, from the late 70s to the mid-80s. Today she is a writer who writes stories of various genres and lengths, with her latest book, Fly Girl, reflecting on her glory days as a flight attendant in the golden age of air travel – just as she transitioned from service to the rich to one that a very large part of the population can afford. We used ChatGPT to get a summary of its conclusions.
In retrospect, it's not easy to guess what her salient conclusion from her career as a flight attendant is: she says sexism was an integral part of the experience. The English term for flight attendant had just begun to change from words deliberately designed to associate with prostitutes to more modern and "cleaner" terms. However, flight attendants were still often seen as "beautiful and sexy decorations."
In the early years, strict demands stood in the way of women in the industry. The most surprising was the requirement to maintain weight – women were required to maintain their weight as measured when they were hired. Exceeding these limits—up or down—can result in dismissal, a practice that lasted until the 90s.
Beyond sexism, flight attendants in that era were forced to work in the cigarette smoke of smoking passengers, since smoking was still permitted inside the plane. Even the scenario dubbed "Mile High Club" — passengers having sex on an airplane, whether on the seat or in the bathroom — was not uncommon, she said. And in the midst of all this, they were expected to take full responsibility for the satisfaction and safety of all passengers.
Hood estimates that 80% of the time was fun, full of excitement and adventure, and the remaining 20% was more 'boring' – especially on less crowded flights. She also enjoyed being able to constantly discover new and unfamiliar places – though she admits it's not for everyone. Today, with tighter seat compression to carry as many people as possible at once, and busy flight schedules, flight attendants are even harder to do.
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us