Indian airline will only hire women

[Phoenix84]

Thought this was interesting.  It appears an India based airline will only hire women for it's flight crew because they weigh less than men, and therefore will save money in fuel.  Obviously this would never fly (no pun intended) in the U.S, but still, I thought it was interesting.  It does make one wonder if perhaps in the future airlines will be charging based on weight, and how well that will go over when/if it happens.


money.msn.com/now/post--to-cut-fuel-costs-this-airline-wont-hire-men

[thyme4change]

Maybe they should only hire little people.

[Opti]

I figured before I opened the link this only applied to the flight attendents, and no surprise it does.

Men are out of luck, given management's plan to pare spending on fuel by hiring only female flight attendants, who on average weigh less than their male counterparts, the Times of India reports.

The decision is expected to save GoAir as much as 30 million rupees per year, or about $500,000.

The airline's plan doesn't mean it'll shed its current male crew members, however. The company's 130 male flight attendants will continue on their jobs, but all new hiring will be female-focused. GoAir has about 330 cabin crew members, but it plans to recruit 2,000 new ones and pilots as it adds 80 aircraft.

Notice they aren't so concerned about increased weight that they are hiring women pilots or only women pilots.  Might be money oriented or might be a way to make hiring an all female flight crew OK and advertise the fact.

[Phoenix84]

Jul 1, 2013 14:52:15 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Maybe they should only hire little people.

Maybe you're onto something.  Maybe they should only hire impovrished Indian children to be flight attendents.

[thyme4change]

I wonder if they have a weight restriction, too.  Maybe a non-advertised one.  

[Phoenix84]

I guess the requirements for flight attendants have changed a lot over the years.  Back in the 50's and 60's, I guess they had to be female, within certain height and weight limitations, under 30, and nurses.

I wouldn't want to be a flight attendant.  They work way too hard for way to little money.

[Phoenix84]

I was wondering if this restriction applied to pilots, but I guess it doesn't.  I'm not very familar with the profession, so I might be wrong, but I would think the numbers of prospective male pilots would vastly outnumber those of female pilots.

[Deleted]

I figured before I opened the link this only applied to the flight attendents, and no surprise it does.

It seems to me that women in India are treated as kind of 2nd rate. My guess is that in that society men wouldn't feel all that comfortable with a woman pilot.

Of course the fact that it does save them money makes it a smart business solution. Besides legs with a lot of hair just don't look good in those short dresses.

Really though I find it interesting that we Americans constantly try to apply our standards to other people in other lands. Of course that's not new because we also apply them to other Americans that don't agree with us.

[hoops902]

::Notice they aren't so concerned about increased weight that they are hiring women pilots or only women pilots.::

Flight attendants are a largely meaningless position, other than a little luxury and order, but no real skill required.  They'd probably like to hire pilots based on decisions other than weight though. 

[Opti]

Some of the comments to the article the OP posted made a valid point. They also may be cutting costs as being India it is likely the women are being paid less than the men. Also noteworthy that they are currently the smallest of the 5 airlines in India yet are planning per this article to more than double in size. They have 300 some flight attendents. They plan to hire 2000. Not the plans of an airline cutting costs simply to survive IMO.

[973beachbum]

We have a good friend who lived here for a while, but has since moved back to his native India.  He told us that airlines in India only hire pilots who had been pilots in the air force.  Maybe their air force is more intergrated than I think but I doubt they have a lot of women pilots in their air force.

He says the way they take off and land is horrible because they still act like they are in a fighter jet that is trying to get away from the enemy.  It takes make sure your tray tables and seat backs are in their upright and locked positions to a whole new level.

[Sam_2.0]

He says the way they take off and land is horrible because they still act like they are in a fighter jet that is trying to get away from the enemy. It takes make sure your tray tables and seat backs are in their upright and locked positions to a whole new level.

Yep. Worst flights I have ever experienced were in India or on India Air on my way over there. And if you think our TSA is invasive....