Hot Air: Why Flight Attendants Are No Longer Cute, Apparently

A recent article postulates that the dearth of “hot” flight attendants is a direct result of airline deregulation. Really.

Using the relatively new (and somewhat tenuous) ABC-TV program Pan Am as the basis for this hypothesis, blogger Glen Whitman bemoans the fact that he can no longer expect to see a cute flight attendant when he boards a plane these days. No, because of deregulation that took away the power of the Civil Aeronautics Board in 1978, men were subsequently relegated to looking at not-so-hot women who were now serving passengers coffee, tea and…oh, whatever.

According to Whitman’s theory, the airline travel industry, prior to deregulation, existed by providing airfares that were too high for the “Average Joe.” Due to a standard supply-and-demand model, the airlines were content in offering more flights at these high prices than customers were willing to buy. Not being able to compete on price, the airlines competed on quality instead, offering better service, food and equally importantly – “hot” stewardesses (as they used to be called).

The theory continues with the idea that deregulation made it difficult for male customers to fork over those extra bucks just to look at the cute stewardesses – apparently these chicks just weren’t worth the extra fare. Because of the now democratized air travel industry, this once luxury privilege – traveling on a plane – was open to the most common of citizens. And these citizens were looking for deals and discounts on their airfares.

The mass availability of flight to an even larger consumer group dictated – perhaps surprisingly to some – that the “bells and whistles” that heretofore included “hot” stewardesses were at once discounted.

While this hypothesis is interesting, its veracity is questionable. The same article that outlines Glen Whitman’s theory expounds an equally viable reason as to why there is an apparent dearth of hotness at 30,000 feet.

Megan McArdle, senior editor for The Atlantic, posits a few reasons behind the change in the profiles of flight attendants in recent years. Following deregulation, factors such as feminism, seniority, union demands and anti-discrimination laws gave women more power and subsequently less reason to leave a job that paid the bills. Unlike the stewardesses of previous eras, the new complement of flight attendants (as they were now called) demanded an equitable workplace and one that did not focus upon their physical assets.

With the evolution of laws that supported women in the workplace, there came a comfort level that allowed these same women to for once perhaps enjoy their jobs and stay in their positions – for the long haul. Union rules in many cases provided the stability and fairness that many of these women were looking for in previous years.

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