80-year-old flight attendant recruitment standards were judged "unreasonable"

(Dan Tri) - A flight attendant recruitment notice from the 1940s by an American airline shocked many people because it made many requirements that were considered "unreasonable".

A recruitment notice from Transcontinental & Western Air (TWA) shared on Reddit's forum sets out a series of strict standards that surprise readers.

This is an advertisement for flight attendants from the 1940s. The airline operated in the US from the 1930s until it was acquired by American Airlines in 2001.

A flight attendant recruitment notice from Transcontinental & Western Air over 80 years ago (Photo: Reddit).

Specifically, flight attendants must be between 21 and 26 years old. In addition, candidates must be taller than 1m57 and shorter than 1m68. Applicants must not weigh more than 59kg. They must have at least one year of college education, be a nurse, have good eyesight and be unmarried.

These standards were introduced 80 years ago, leaving many Reddit users stunned.

"Why are flight attendants fired before they turn 32? This doesn't make sense in this day and age," one account said.

Previously, an old advertisement for flight attendants by United Airlines (USA) also had similar requirements. That is, candidates must be unmarried, between 1m57 and 1m70 tall, and weigh less than 61kg.

The ad also stated “attractive starting salary” and “flight attendants will receive regular pay raises.”

Previously, some airlines also caused controversy by making strange requests of flight attendants.

A flight attendant of Asiana Airlines (Photo: Trip).

In 2023, according to the Global Times , Chinese airline Hainan Airlines caused controversy when it threatened to fire female flight attendants if their weight exceeded the standard limit by 10% or more.

According to the published guidelines regarding the appearance of cabin crew, the airline's flight attendants must manage their body weight using the following formula: Height (in cm) - 110 = standard weight.

Those who exceed the standard by 5% will be placed on weight monitoring, while those who exceed by 10% will be suspended from work and placed on a "weight loss plan".

Similarly, in October 2022, Air India banned crew cuts for male staff with “high hairlines” or “bald patches.” Flight attendants with hair loss were instructed to shave their heads instead. Those with grey hair were also required to dye their hair black, while beards and moustaches were banned.

On Air India's career page, the permissible BMI range for female candidates is 18 to 22 and for male candidates is 18 to 25.

This means that a woman who is 1.62m tall will not be eligible for work if she weighs more than 58.5kg.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/tieu-chuan-tuyen-tiep-vien-hang-khong-80-nam-truoc-bi-danh-gia-bat-hop-ly-20250707125538383.htm