A Brief History of Flight Attendants

Flight attendants or cabin crews (also known as stewards/stewardesses, air hosts/hostesses, cabin attendants) are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights, on select business jet aircraft, and on some military aircraft. The role of flight attendants is actually similar to that of similar positions on passenger ships or passenger trains, but it has more direct involvement with passengers due to the confined space on aircraft.

The first flight attendant in Germany and also in the world was Heinrich Kubis in 1912. The picture below shows him standing in the dining room of  LZ-127 Graf Zeppelin.

Eighteen years later, United airlines hired the first female flight attendant, Ellen Church. She was a registered nurse. After that, other airlines followed suit, hiring nurses to serve as flight attendants. Here is the picture of Ellen Church.

Because of the Great Depression and there were few other professional careers for women, a lot of women applied for the few open jobs. By 1936, male flight attendants were replaced by females. It was regarded as a glamorous career.

They were selected not only for their knowledge but also for their features. A 1936 New York Times article described the requirements:

The girls who qualify for the hostesses must be petite; weight 100 to 118 pounds; height 5 feet to 5 feet 4 inches; age 20 to 26 years. Add to that the rigid of physical examination each must undergo four times every year, and you are assured of the bloom that goes with perfect health.

Three decades later, the requirement that flight attendant must be registered as nurse was relaxed as more women were hired and disappeared during World War II when many nurses were enlisted in the military. A 1966 New York Times ad for flight attendants at Eastern Airlines listed these requirements:

A high school graduate, single (widows and divorcees with no children considered), 20 years of age (girls 19 1/2 may apply for future consideration). 5'2" but no more than 5'9", weight 105 to 135 in proportion to height and have at least 20/40 vision without glasses.

 Flight attendants were not allowed to married and would be fired if they decided to do so. It was not until 1970s they were consented to marry and keep their jobs.