Aeroflot has defended its decision to cut pay for ‘overweight’ female cabin crew, claiming passengers only want to see thin flight attendants.
At a press conference last week, Aeroflot officials defended the airlines stance on policing the appearance of female flight attendants.
The controversial comments were made in response to two separate unsuccessful lawsuits against the airline from former employees who labelled themselves STS – an abbreviation for “old, fat and ugly” in Russian.
Evgeniya Magurina and Irina Ierusalimskaya said they were removed from better-paid international routes because of their larger clothing sizes. They claim the airline would only give them shifts on domestic flights.
Pavel Danilin, a member of the airline’s public council, said that in a survey of Aeroflot passengers, 92% want to see stewardesses who fit into small clothing sizes.
The two former employees said that in 2016 Aeroflot began enforcing weight guidelines for their female cabin staff. The airline apparently suggested that women must fit into a Russian size 48 (equivalent to a 14 in the United States).
Nikita Krichevsky, another member of Aeroflot’s public council, said the policy shouldn’t be regarded as a penalty but as an incentive to lose weight and be healthier.
“I myself used to weigh 103kg, and now I weigh 80kg. I just corrected my eating habits and lost weight. I don’t understand why the request to be a particular size is unrealistic,” he said.
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